Bilingual news and shares about the brain, languages and coaching
Newsletter 9 - Back to Basics
The N in NeuroLanguage Coaching®
“The brain is wider than the sky”
“Le cerveau est plus spacieux que le ciel ”
― Emily Dickinson
This week I've decided to go back to basics: why and how can neuroscience help with your language learning?
Here's a (very) brief and (very) simplified overview of the brain and a quick zoom on the parts of the brain that are most interesting in language learning (and speaking!) situations.
The more aware you are of how your brain reacts to situations, the better you can “hack” it to:
learn better (and possibly faster)
manage and rationalize stressful situations (when you have to speak the language and things don't go the way you wish or imagine).
The brain
the cerebrum (learning, memory, interpretation, personality)
the cerebellum (movement, balance, coordination)
the medula oblongata (breathing and blood pressure)
The cerebrum has 2 hemispheres, each made up of 4 parts
the frontal lobe
the temporal lobe
the parietal lobe
the occipital lobe
The limbic system
processing and regulating of emotions
memory formation and storage, learning, desire
the body’s response to stress
While scientists don't agree on all the structures that make up the limbic system, the 2 following are agreed on (1 of each in each of the 2 lobes):
Amygdala
emotional responses
memory formation
response to threats (fight or flight)
Hippocampus associated with
memory centers of our brains.
emotions of the event we memorize
learning and emotions
neurogenesis – new nerve cells are made here from adult stem cells
The prefrontal cortex (PFC)
one of the last brain regions to mature (the brain may be done growing in size, but it does not finish developing and maturing until the mid- to late 20s)!
Critically important role in executive functions:
self-control.
planning
decision making
problem solvings.
“One general model of PFC function is that it receives sensory information about the external world, uses that information to plan responses, and then communicates with other areas of the brain to enact a response”
(from the 2-Minute Neuroscience: Prefrontal Cortex youtube video)
Emotions, fear, anxiety, memory, learning, planning, controlling…see where I'm going with that?
Lets find out in next week's newsletter ;-)
If you're curious about my sources you should click here
And if you want to go back on my other newsletters that cover all kinds of brain related, language related, coaching related fascinating subjects, I suggest you go to my newsletter webpage
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Neurolanguage Coaching® is an amazing method that will help you learn a language more efficiently than you've ever experienced before. It brings together findings about how the brain learns bests and integrates these into a coaching process that will put you in charge of YOUR learning journey. As a Coach, I'm the GPS to your driving. If you want to try it but are not ready to commit, I have a 2H Discovery Offer that might be just what you're looking for. Or we can just have a casual chat about it, just reply to this email.
Good to know
The Neurolanguage Coaching® certification is accredited by the ICF
La certification est accreditée par la Fédération Internationale de Coaching