Brain Friendly Learning with Rachel Paling

This is the first in a new series of podcast episodes about brain-friendly language learning. When I began teaching English as a Foreign Language, I intuitively used my coaching skills so I began research language coaching. Just before the USA went into lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I enrolled in Rachel Paling’s course to become a certified Neurolanguage Coach®. As a result, I received my certification and a few weeks later, Rachel and I had this conversation.

About Rachel Paling

As a teenager, Rachel fell in love with a Spaniard and subsequently taught herself Spanish and moved to Spain from the UK. It was in Spain that she began teaching English. She went on to earn a BA with Honours in Law and Spanish, a Masters in Human Rights and Democratisation, and qualified as a UK Lawyer. Instead of pursuing a career as a lawyer, she combined her teaching experience, specialization in Business English with her legal knowledge, and coached top executives across Europe. She trained as a coach by Neuroleadership Institute Founder, Dr. David Rock and earned an MA in Applied Neuroscience. In 2008, she put it all together and founded Efficient Language Coaching Global and created Neurolanguage Coaching®.

How she came up with Neurolanguage Coaching®

The question for me was, okay, how do I research more about the brain, more about learning, more about languages and how to put it all together into a crystalized method package approach. . . .

What she means by brain-friendly learning

communicating in a way that keeps the brain’s limbic system calm
making it work for individual learners by differentiating according to learner preferences
implementing strategies that create connections in the brain
developing certainty by creating a roadmap with the learner
discovering the spark that motivates the learner