Newsletter 16 - Biases

Biases affect how you perceive and interact with the world around you. They can also influence how you learn new things such as languages; So let's explore ;-).

• The N(euroscience) : in my last newsletter, I talked about biases and the brain.

• The L(anguage learning) : in this newsletter, I’ll tell you a bit more about how different types of biases can help or hinder your language learning process.

• The C(oaching) : In the third and final part of this series, I’ll share some tips and strategies to overcome the negative effects of biases and enhance your learning outcomes.

The human brain's predisposition to form biases can significantly affect language acquisition on so many different levels. Biases concerning ourselves but also other countries, communication, and intercultural interactions will also affect our language learning. 

Let's explore 4 pertinent biases and their implications for language learners - there are 100s of biases, this was a tough choice!

• Confirmation Bias: looking for, interpreting, favoring, and recalling information in a way that confirms or supports our prior beliefs or values. 

• Negativity Bias: focusing on and recalling mostly negative feedback or negative experiences compared to positive ones. 

• Einstellung (attitude, mindset) effect: depending on a familiar solution or strategy, even when a better or more efficient one is available. This can limit our creativity and flexibility in solving problems or learning new things.

• Imposter Syndrome: doubting our skills, talents, or accomplishments and have a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as frauds despite external evidence of our competence.

• Anchoring Bias: relying heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions.

Being aware of the fact that biases exist is in itself a big step towards overcoming them. The next step to not falling prey to them is by identifying and acknowledging our own biases. The final step is taking proactive steps towards overcoming them and that is what we will see in our next newsletter ‘biases and coaching”.