Educating Psyche — IELTS Reading Answers

The book Educating Psyche is mainly concerned with

1. Athe power of suggestion in learning.
2. Ba particular technique for learning based on emotions.
3. Cthe effects of emotion on the imagination and the unconscious.
4. Dways of learning which are not traditional.correct

“Educating Psyche by Bernie Neville is a book which looks at radical new approaches to learning, describing the effects of emotion, imagination and the unconscious on learning”

'Radical new approaches to learning' means methods departing from tradition, which is option D; the other options are only components of the book.

Lozanov's theory claims that, when we try to remember things,

1. Aunimportant details are the easiest to recall.correct
2. Bconcentrating hard produces the best results.
3. Cthe most significant facts are most easily recalled.
4. Dperipheral vision is not important.

“If we think of a book we studied months or years ago, we will find it easier to recall peripheral details - the colour, the binding, the typeface, the table at the library where we sat while studying it - than the content on which we were concentrating”

Recalling 'peripheral details' more easily than the content studied makes unimportant details the easiest to recall — option A.

In this passage, the author uses the examples of a book and a lecture to illustrate that

1. Aboth of these are important for developing concentration.
2. Bhis theory about methods of learning is valid.correct
3. Creading is a better technique for learning than listening.
4. Dwe can remember things more easily under hypnosis.

“Lozanov's instructional technique is based on the evidence that the connections made in the brain through unconscious processing (which he calls non-specific mental reactivity) are more durable than those made through conscious processing.”

The book and lecture examples support Lozanov's claim that peripheral, unconsciously processed material persists, so they illustrate that his theory holds — option B.

Lozanov claims that teachers should train students to

1. Amemorise details of the curriculum.
2. Bdevelop their own sets of indirect instructions.
3. Cthink about something other than the curriculum content.correct
4. Davoid overloading the capacity of the brain.

“In suggestopedia, as he called his method, consciousness is shifted away from the curriculum to focus on something peripheral”

'Consciousness is shifted away from the curriculum to focus on something peripheral' means students attend to something other than the curriculum — option C.

In the example of suggestopedic teaching in the fourth paragraph, the only variable that changes is the music.

“In the first part, the music is classical (Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms) and the teacher reads the text slowly and solemnly, with attention to the dynamics of the music. The students follow the text in their books. This is followed by several minutes of silence.”

Besides the music, the teacher's delivery changes from 'slowly and solemnly' to 'a normal speaking voice', and books go from open to closed. More than one variable alters.

Prior to the suggestopedia class, students are made aware that the language experience will be demanding.

“Through meeting with the staff and satisfied students they develop the expectation that learning will be easy and pleasant and that they will successfully learn several hundred words of the foreign language during the class”

Students are told learning 'will be easy and pleasant', the opposite of demanding, so the statement is false.

In the follow-up class, the teaching activities are similar to those used in conventional classes.

“Such methods are not unusual in language teaching”

'Such methods are not unusual in language teaching' means the follow-up class uses ordinary, conventional activities, so TRUE.

As an indirect benefit, students notice improvements in their memory.

“Another difference from conventional teaching is the evidence that students can regularly learn 1000 new words of a foreign language during a suggestopedic session, as well as grammar and idiom”

The text reports learning '1000 new words' per session but never says students notice their memory improving, so that indirect benefit is not given.

Teachers say they prefer suggestopedia to traditional approaches to language teaching.

“While suggestopedia has gained some notoriety through success in the teaching of modern languages, few teachers are able to emulate the spectacular results of Lozanov and his associates”

Few teachers can 'emulate the spectacular results', but the passage never reports teachers' preferences between suggestopedia and traditional methods.

Students in a suggestopedia class retain more new vocabulary than those in ordinary classes.

“Another difference from conventional teaching is the evidence that students can regularly learn 1000 new words of a foreign language during a suggestopedic session, as well as grammar and idiom”

Learning '1000 new words' per session is presented as 'another difference from conventional teaching', showing greater vocabulary retention than ordinary classes.

“Lozanov acknowledges that the ritual surrounding suggestion in his own system is also a placebo, but maintains that without such a placebo people are unable or afraid to tap the reserve capacity of their brains”

Lozanov calls the 'ritual surrounding suggestion' in his own system a placebo, so the summary gap needs 'ritual' (F).

“Lozanov acknowledges that the ritual surrounding suggestion in his own system is also a placebo, but maintains that without such a placebo people are unable or afraid to tap the reserve capacity of their brains”

The ritual is described as 'also a placebo', and Lozanov insists people need such a placebo to tap their brain's reserve capacity, so H fits.

“While suggestopedia has gained some notoriety through success in the teaching of modern languages, few teachers are able to emulate the spectacular results of Lozanov and his associates”

Few teachers can 'emulate the spectacular results of Lozanov', so the summary needs 'spectacular' — option K in the full list.

“While suggestopedia has gained some notoriety through success in the teaching of modern languages, few teachers are able to emulate the spectacular results of Lozanov and his associates. We can, perhaps, attribute mediocre results to an inadequate placebo effect”

'Mediocre results' is the opposite of spectacular, so the gap needs 'unspectacular' (G), explaining weaker outcomes by an inadequate placebo effect.