Just one drop of Cortisol can disrupt the learning ........
Rachel Paling
DBA Student CWR, MA x 3, BA Hons, ICF PCC, ICF Mentor, Certified Coach Supervisor Creator Neurolanguage Coaching, NeuroHeart Education
One of the major messages that I bring across in my courses training teachers worldwide is “if our learner is suffering from stress, social pain or is in a "fight or flight" mode, he/she will not be in the right state to learn anything!”
And as trainers, teachers, coaches/educators it is essential for us to really know and understand this! In the end, we are there to help them learn and really ensure that learning is effective, otherwise what is the point! However, all too often, we are not aware of what is happening to our learner. Even a directive order like “say that again” or “say that in a different way” could have a direct impact on a learner, arousing their threat response and pushing them into an adverse reaction and fight or flight mode. I know this from first-hand experience when I was taking some Russian lessons as a learner myself some years ago and the teacher told me I should “record my conversation and then listen to it when walking around”. This provoked one of my “gut rejections” where I immediately retorted “no way”. I think the teacher was shocked by my response and I quickly explained to her that actually I really did not like walking down the street listening to things and besides at the point of my life as a busy entrepreneur I was normally hectically running around and driving from client to client and not "walking around". Now when I look back it was not only the fact that the teacher had told me to do something totally contrary to my nature, but also the fact that she had “ORDERED” me to do it and this had aroused my response.
Now as a coach, I understand that independent learners actually respond better when they are “requested” or asked though permission questions. So in fact it is could be better to coat an order with permission – “may I ask you to….” or in my case, “Rachel, how about we record this conversation and may I ask you then to listen to it now and then whenever you get a moment?" Now that would have sounded like music to my ears ??.
From the research, it is fascinating to understand just how much cortisol (one of the stress chemicals) absolutely affects the learning process.
One of the universities I studied at, “Ruhr University Bochum (RUB)” in Germany in 2017 released results relating to this https://neurosciencenews.com/stress-learning-senses-5942/
Dr Hubert Dinse stated how “Previous research has already shown that stress can prevent the retrieval of memories. But now we have discovered that it also has a major effect on our perception and perceptual learning”.
And cognitive psychologist Prof Dr Oliver T. Wolf explains: ”Our data show that a single dose of cortisol not only disrupts memory in the hippocampus, but it also has a substantial effect on the plasticity of sensory areas of the brain”.
The study goes on to say that "Cortisol blocks synaptic connections. In previous studies on a cellular level, neuroscientists have demonstrated that cortisol suppresses the strengthening of synaptic connections, and therefore the plasticity of the brain -- its ability to learn."
In practical terms, this means that educators should be constantly aware of how stressed our learners are and especially when learning languages. Language learning has to be one of those topics that can instantly trigger the fight or flight response. Previous research in 2002 already demonstrated how anxiety for Mathematics, "diminishes working memory capacity, attention and PFC functions"
(Math Anxiety: Personal, Educational, and Cognitive Consequences,? 2002, Current Directions in Psychological Science 11(5):181-185 DOI:10.1111/1467-8721.00196).
Personally, I think that language learning is even worse than learning maths for some people! I have seen confident top executives visibly shaking when they have to deliver a presentation in English. In fact, in one presentation, one lady stood up, nervously went to the lectern to present, operned her mouth to speak and the next minute she had passed out "cold" on the floor. Now that was the most extreme “limbic reaction” I have ever witnessed in my life!
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I think all of us can relate to these moments. We have all had “panic moments” or “extreme reactions” and we will surely still have them at some point in our lives. Once we truly can understand what is happening to us in those moments, what is happening to the brain, how our survival mechanisms are responding, then we can develop strategies to “help” us get through them. And perhaps one of the most important things to understand about the brain is that “the brain loves habit”. The more we do something, the more it becomes a habit, the more it becomes an automatic subconscious programme and the quieter/calmer the brain becomes.
So if you have a language learner who is really suffering from nervousness, stress and physical reactions when speaking, it could be good to explain about the brain, the limbic system, amygdala hijack (coined by Daniel Goleman), the survival fight or flight modus and how cortisol disrupts learning and then talk through some strategies to assist the learner to build confidence and help to "normalize speaking that new language".
Looking to take your language learning to a higher level or looking to learn more efficiently and potentially faster with a process that is totally personalised to you?Connect with our network of highly skilled Neurolanguage Coaches across the world and for any language www.neurolanguagecoachnetwork.com or connect me personally and I will connect you with one of our Professional Neurolanguage Coaches.
Looking to take your language teaching to an even greater depth of intuition and professionalism? We are currently offering discounts to the ELC Language Coaching Certification course which is accredited by the International Coach Federation. But a really special discount for subscribers available for the October Courses! DM me for details ??
Get in touch if there are other topics you’d like me to cover in future newsletters.
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DBA Student CWR, MA x 3, BA Hons, ICF PCC, ICF Mentor, Certified Coach Supervisor Creator Neurolanguage Coaching, NeuroHeart Education
11 个月Thanks for sharing Cristina ??
Leadership from WHO Organization, ,Communication Directory, Supervisor, Mentor and Coach
11 个月Fortunately for each and everyone of us throughout this world and in our own countries we have these types of detox remedies that will connect us to our deep roots with nature and by doing these all Chakra will be cleared and all the patients will embrace improvements. Chakra are very important for the daily performances, If one of them confront with the knot, the whole system will not function correctly. Therefore daily habits of meditation exercise, prayer, are extremely important and necessary. Creating time management to do them are needed.
Leadership from WHO Organization, ,Communication Directory, Supervisor, Mentor and Coach
11 个月Once I read in the news that scientists recommend that for those who suffer from so many stressful situations, They can travel to the cottages in Switzerland and Italy, When they go there ,they must put away their PC , Mobley,IPad and all the tools in that connect them to the social media. Instead they will embrace the new lifestyle there and will experience the true engagement, activities, living in the nature with the people who have had these lifestyles for decades and the excellent news that these remedies will cure them as if every thing that bothers these patients were only dreams .
Leadership from WHO Organization, ,Communication Directory, Supervisor, Mentor and Coach
11 个月We are living in the world that every day some sort of unexpected event is created which in the past decades ,our parents and great grand parents had no idea about them . That is due to the our distances from our roots our beliefs and source of solidarity and stability. We all are heard that our ancestors had a golden age of living , We all want to remember those times that the world was a safe place to live , They may not have as much accessories, lavish and luxurious items in their live , but what they had and used brought them real and true happiness. That's why we feel emptiness in the modern world.