In the kind of language learning we have always known, we are accustomed to conceiving grammar as something boring, abstract and perhaps not always so necessary for learning a language. Many of us would gladly do without it. Indeed, cases of those who learn a language simply by using it are not rare.
Unfortunately for me, I am not among those. I am in fact one of those people who needs, at least to some extent, to be able to understand the workings and structure of the language I am learning.
When we talk about grammar, it is difficult not to conjure up the image of the teacher explaining a series of rules to his students, and then following up with exercises to check their understanding and assimilation.
This method has certainly evolved over time to make this part of language teaching less boring, less theoretical and more effective.
However, when I started my process of training as a Neurolanguage Coach® I had the opportunity to become acquainted with a technique, which in my opinion is the most effective of all those I have come into contact with in my 21 years of experience as a Language Trainer.
This is PACT PQC, a Coaching model that allows grammar to be embedded within a conversation between Coach and Coachee. This conversation consists of the following different phases
- P: Placement
- A: Assessment
- C: Conversation
- T: Teach
- PQ: Powerful Questions
- C: Clarification
Placement: the client is let in on what is to be done in each part of the session. In addition to encouraging attention, this helps to keep the brain in a calm state favourable to learning.
Assessment: in this phase, the client's prior knowledge is established so that it can be supplemented with new information.
Conversation: once verified what the client knows through the Assessment phase and, if necessary, having supplemented this knowledge with new information through the Teach phase, the conversation is used to stimulate the use and consolidation of what has been acquired.
Teach: this phase can be used at different points in the PACT PQC conversation to supplement the client's knowledge with new information. To keep the brain in a calm state conducive to learning, the client's consent will always be sought before introducing new information. In this phase, we can also stimulate the formation of new brain connections by inviting the client to connect what he has just learned with his mother tongue.
Powerful Questions: these are questions that aim to stimulate reflection and to create the ideal conditions for a process of awareness during learning aimed at creating new neuronal connections. We saw an example of this in the previous paragraph when we talked about drawing a parallel between the language being acquired and the coachee's mother tongue.
Clarification: the last phase consists of clarifying any doubts that may have arisen during the entire process.
In my opinion, the most relevant aspect of this technique is that it allows the client to take an active role within the learning process, allowing him/her to take responsibility for it and thus making it more effective according to one of the key principles of Neurolanguage Coaching® according to which "he who does, learns".
In keeping with this principle, the use of PACT PQC implies, during the session, the preparation with the coachee of the material to be learnt, thus avoiding the use of language learning books in which instead we are presented with the material already packaged and ready to use.
Below you will find an example image showing the result obtained during a session with a colleague of mine who I am currently assisting in learning Italian. In this concrete case, PACT PQC was used to introduce some verbs typically used within sentences that might be useful during a tourist trip to Italy. In the typical style of Neurolanguage Coaching®, the sentences in question were chosen by the coachee and thus comply with his language learning objectives.
If you want or need to learn or improve your Italian, English or Spanish, whether motivated by a general interest in the language or by compelling, concrete needs, do not hesitate to contact me for a free trial session of Neurolanguage Coaching®. We will use it to define as precisely as possible your motivation, your language learning objectives, the techniques to be put in place to achieve them and I will help you discover how to continue your journey on your own and thus be able to do without my services in the shortest possible time.