Translated from Estonian. The original post was published by Anneli Salk in Estonian on 13.12.2021. To change the language version, select the desired language from the drop-down menu next to the post on the website or in the settings of the EPALE application.

_{Photo: Multilingua}

How to teach foreign languages ​​so that adult learners remember the language easily and find it interesting to learn? Knowledge about linguistics and neurology and the ability to use them in your training enable you to teach better.

Teaching and learning are two different sides of the same coin, therefore the teachers of the Multilingua Language Center are constantly improving their teaching competencies. One of the important teaching competencies is the understanding of people's ability to acquire information and the ability to convey knowledge based on this. This requires knowledge of neurology, or how students use their brains to remember information. It is important for teachers to know how students' brains work - how information is received and how information is stored from short-term memory to long-term memory.

So what does this mean?

People have a different ability to receive information, this primarily means that people's sensory information reception channels work differently. Based on this, people can be divided into visual, auditory or body-dominant learners. Learners with different dominants express themselves linguistically differently, and if the trainer uses similar linguistics, it is easier for the learner to acquire knowledge. For example, visually dominant people learn most easily through watching, through movies or pictures, and in their speech they use a lot of visual expressions (an example of a linguistic expression - new knowledge broadens my horizons and I can fulfill my bright blue dreams!). The learner takes in information more easily, and this is especially important nowadays, where there is more information to pay attention to than ever before. It is good for the trainer to know the characteristics of people's learning ability and memory storage and to take this into account when teaching. If the trainer does not have first-hand knowledge of the learner's ability to receive information and how memory works, he may want to convey his knowledge, but it may happen that only part of the knowledge reaches the learners. Until now, it has been called the problem of "difficult learners" when knowledge is not acquired, but it can also be considered a consequence of the incompetence of the educator, if he is unable to convey knowledge according to the student's learning ability.

The teachers of the Multilingua Language Center learned to prepare language teaching materials taking into account the sensory information reception channels of the learners. During the training, materials were prepared for learners with a dominant sense of sight, hearing and body awareness. Linguistic expressions were also monitored to make it emotionally interesting for the learners. The influence of linguistics and words in learning are often underestimated. It is useful for the trainer to monitor the use of his words, because different expressions create different feelings in the learners. Positive expressions create positive feelings, it's that simple! If the acquisition of knowledge is emotionally exciting, then in language learning words are remembered as if by themselves. This, in turn, gives a sense of success and learners have a desire to speak a foreign language even more. As a result of repetition, information is stored from short-term memory to long-term memory and this allows learners to remember what they have learned for a longer period of time. After all, so that the students remember what they have learned even after leaving the classroom or the online environment and for a longer time. Learning a foreign language is very practical, because it expands the world and people can start communicating in that language.

Knowing the connections between neurology and linguistics, it is easy for educators to conduct trainings that are both engaging for learners and effective.

Author: Anneli Salk is a psychologist and trainer