Silent Way charts for French

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With authorisation from Educational Solutions Worldwide Inc., we have revised Gattegno's Silent Way charts for French and created two new sets of charts: Silent Way Alpha FLE for groups containing beginners in French who are non-readers in their own language, and Silent Way Plus for non-beginners and for those teachers who would like to use these charts in conjunction with another method. All sets use the same colour code.

Gattegno began developing the Silent Way in the 1950's as an approach for teaching languages in schools to beginners. Now, many teachers want to use his tools and techniques for students who are not beginners, and the Silent Way Plus charts address this need.

To find out more about the materials, click here for Silent Way Alpha FLE, here for Silent Way and here for Silent Way Plus.

Note that these charts are teaching tools rather than reference materials; the teacher uses them to make students aware of all the facets of the language, large and small, and to help them to practise using new language until it is internalised. 

1) Classroom teaching

The charts are available in these sizes, suitable for classrooms with more or less wall space and classes with different numbers of students. In general, for the comfort of the students we recommend using the largest size of charts that you can fit onto the wall space available.

We would not recommend using the small set with more than 3 students, the medium set with more than 8 and the large set with more than 40. 

The classroom charts are printed on a tough polyester canvas using matte inks, so they can be seen clearly even if hung where a poster would suffer from light reflection. They can be rolled for transport and storage. We normally print orders in a batch at the end of each month.

2) One-to-one teaching

The charts also exist as a smaller set for one-to-one teaching, printed on card, with each Word chart at A5 size.

When working with one (or at most two) students, the One-to-one charts should be positioned vertically (i.e. off the table top), and within the student's reach to be able to point on the charts comfortably. (Wall space for the charts can be supplemented by using an artist's easel and mounting the charts on foamboard, as seen in the picture at the bottom of this page.)

3) Individual study

For individual study, all sets are laid out on A4 cards, eight charts to a card. 

The sets come with a full set of keys.

The charts can be purchased on canvas or on poster paper.

The canvas support is a tough polyester which can be rolled for transport and storage. These charts are sent from the UK.

The paper support is a medium weight (120 gsm) paper designed for hoardings which can be rolled for transport. These charts are sent from the European Union.

Many countries charge duties on imports. These have to be paid by the purchaser on receipt of goods.

For Silent Way Alpha FLE and Silent Way charts, a "set" is made up of a Rectangle chart, 12 Word charts and the Silent Way Fidel.

For Silent Way Plus charts, a "set" is made up of a Rectangle chart, 8 Word charts and a Grammar chart, the SW+ Fidel and the SW+ Conjugation chart.

If you wish to buy an additional Fidel or a Conjugation chart as part of the same order, the prices are shown to the right.

Either of the Fidels or the Verb chart can also be purchased separately:

Either of the Fidels or the Verb chart can also be purchased separately:

The price for a set of charts is £80. An additional Fidel or a Conjugation chart cost an additional £25 each.

Postage and packing for a One-to-one set ranges from £10 to £40 depending on the destination. For currency conversion, click here. Please contact us to purchase sets.

Individual sets are available for self study. A Silent Way Alpha FLE or Silent Way set contains 3 A4 cards in colour, a Silent Way Plus set contains 4 A4 cards. Each set also comes with 2 B&W keys.

The price for either set is £9/€10/$12.

Postage and packing for individual sets ranges from £5 to £15 depending on the destination. Please contact us to purchase.

If you would like to receive occasional mailings about our products for French, please subscribe to our mailing list.

If you are looking for reliable information about the Silent Way, we recommend the silentway.online site and Roslyn's website, which has articles in English and French.

The French Silent Way Alpha FLE charts were designed in collaboration with trainers from Aster Formation in Lyons.

The French Silent Way and Silent Way Plus charts were designed in collaboration with Cédric Lefebvre, Véronique Léval and Ben Renggli.

Cuisenaire rods and Gattegno's wall pictures for the Silent Way can be purchased through The Cuisenaire Company.