“Neurolanguage in a life coaching session”
part III – How does neuro-linguistic coaching work in (life) coaching sessions?
the series of articles: “Neurolanguage in a life coaching session”
Part III
How does neuro-linguistic coaching work in (life) coaching sessions?
Neurolanguage coaching reveals a learner-centered approach. In neuro-language coaching, as opposed to traditional language teaching, the learner is far more engaged and directly responsible for the learning. Though it could be disconcerting at first, language coaches motivate learners to develop their individual natural solutions and learning strategies since they are recognized as the experts of their own learning styles.
A neurolanguage coach understands how to help a coachee connect with inner motivation and stay motivated throughout the learning process, encouraging the learner to surely become such an independent learner. Coach takes advantage of coachee’s learning resources to make the learning process more effective and even faster. Assisting the learner to build bridges to improve memory retention and create new neural networks whenever completely new information is being processed and eventually learned. A neurolanguage coach is aware of the importance of connecting natively to the target language whenever possible and “disconnecting” wherever there are false friends.2
A neurolanguage (NL) coach provides consistent brain-friendly coaching conversations by being aware of how the “fight or flight” state may be triggered when learning a language. Furthermore, an NL coach recognizes language learning social and emotional pain as well as xenoglossophobia[1], and can excellently coach learners around these triggers. A neuro-language coach constantly incorporates brain awareness into:
– the learning process
– neuroplasticity
– neurogenesis
– the thinking and conducting brain
– how the brain adapts through connection
– different learning styles
– the training journey
– the learning plateau
– spaced-out learning
– the limbic system
– emotional and social pain
and never loses his/her curiosity to learn more and more about the brain and bring this “brain-based” information to the learner.
A neuro-language coach is skilled at teaching languages without the use of books and can conduct brain-friendly coaching dialogues around any aspect of grammar. By turning grammar into live, interactive, real-world conversations, the learner is constantly experiencing “aha” moments. A neuro-language coach manages the process, is accountable, and simultaneously encourages the learner to take responsibility and ownership for the learning so that there is a constant link to outcomes, goal achievement, and a constant review of progress. A neuro-language coach is always fully aware of the cost-effectiveness of the process.5
For a long time the cortical systems for language and actions were believed to be independent modules. However, as these systems are reciprocally connected with each other, information expressed in language and on actions (to be taken by a coachee) might interact in distributed neuronal assemblies. A critical case is in action words that are semantically related to different parts of the body (for example, ‘lick‘, ‘pick‘ and ‘kick’): so… does the comprehension of these words specifically, rapidly and automatically activate the motor system in a somatotopic manner? And we can observe a distinct the implications that highlight the role of language in emotion perception and understanding. Understanding language semantically related to actions activates the motor cortex.
Each language, in this case English[2], takes on different registers of formality depending on the social situation and the cultures and sub-cultures between those involved. As mentioned by Jennifer Young: “Register is an essential social skill that provides flexibility and demonstrates competence in speech and appropriate social norms“. What this means is that we as humans, address and converse with people depending on what sort of relationship we have with them and our speech is shaped by our experiences, social background and culture but more importantly, the relationship shared with that person[3]. There are factors such as how long someone you’ve known that person for, their purpose for conversation and social norms and culture that determines which register of formality one would use when in conversation.
“Be careful who surrounds you, emotion is cognitively contagious.”
figure photo source:
“Brain mechanisms linking language and action” https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn1706
Understanding language semantically related to actions activates the motor cortex. As I mentioned above motor movements of the hands or feet can have a causal effect on memory maintenance of action words, suggesting that the involvement of motor systems extends to working memory. This proves that verbal memory maintenance in the high-load condition produced greater activation in left premotor and supplementary motor cortex, along with posterior-parietal areas, indicating that verbal memory circuits for action-related words include the cortical action system. These findings support a neurocomputational model of distributed action-perception circuits (APCs), according to which language understanding is manifested as full ignition of APCs, whereas working memory is realized as reverberant activity receding to multimodal prefrontal and lateral temporal areas.
Just as extensive exercise can change our bodies, so can mental activity, such as learning and using language, shape the physical structures of our brains. When two neurons respond to a stimulus (such as a word), they begin to form chemical and physical pathways to each other, which are strengthened or weakened depending on how often they are co-activated. This process of “neurons that fire together, wire together” is the basis for all learning, and is reflected in the formation of gray matter (where neurons communicate with each other) and white matter (fatty tracts connecting gray matter regions).
9th April 2023
Bibliography:
[1] Xenoglossophobia – the feeling of uneasiness, worry, nervousness, and apprehension in learning, using, or speaking foreign languages
[2] The language network in the brain shows similar properties across 45 languages spanning 12 language ‘families’. The language areas are lateralized to the left hemisphere, selective for language, and strongly functionally inter-connected. Variability among speakers of different languages is similar to the variability that has been reported among English speakers.
[3] The language network in the brain shows similar properties across 45 languages spanning 12 language ‘families’. The language areas are lateralized to the left hemisphere, selective for language, and strongly functionally inter-connected. Variability among speakers of different languages is similar to the variability that has been reported among English speakers.
[4] “How different registers of language shape our identity” from English Study: https://17arneenglishstudy.weebly.com/blog/how-different-registers-of-language-shape-our-identity
[5] Chomsky, N., 2017. Language architecture and its import for evolution. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 81, pp.295-300. https://DOI:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.053
you can read the Article also on Linkedin website:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/series-articles-neurolanguage-life-coaching-session-mr