ABSTRACT
By the mid-1970s the first version of Suggestopedia which, as we have seen, was largely elaborated by Aleko Novakov at the Institute of Suggestology, had been abandoned in favor of another version largely developed by Evalina Gateva at the same Institute. The two versions of Suggestopedia are similar in a number of respects but also different one from the other.1 Rumors of all kinds were rife at the time as to why Lozanov dropped version one (which was supposed to have been very successful and which had been taken up by prestigious institutes in the [then] German Democratic Republic and the [then] Soviet Union) in favor of version two (which, at the time it began being presented in Western Europe and North America, did not have the experimental data behind it). It seems probable, however, that Lozanov favored the second version of Suggestopedia for both pedagogical and political reasons. Deprived of such overtly yogic elements as the three intonations of the active session, muscle relaxation and rhythmic breathing, the second version of Suggestopedia was less likely to be attacked in the communist Bulgaria of the 1970s on grounds of “mysticism” and “hypnosis.” With more emphasis on grammar, reading and translation, the second version was less likely to be criticized by traditional Bulgarian pedagogues. The greater use of the various arts (music, painting, dancing, theatre, etc.) and their integration into the foreign language class(room) made for a greater aesthetic appeal and also provided for an atmosphere of relaxation (but relaxation in a primarily psychological sense, without any obvious physical, autogenic or yogic aspects).
