Neurolinguistic Programming

MOHAMMAD JAVAD AHMADIAN

­Framing the Issue

Neurolinguistic programming was innovated by Richard Blander and John

Grinder in the early 1970s. Initially, their aim was to explore the internal and exter-
nal behaviors that made successful therapists more effective than others. As befits
the name, NLP involves the nexus among three areas: (1) the nervous system
(neuro-), (2) the communication system (linguistic), and (3) an ability to (re)organ-
ize thoughts, images, and models that we create to achieve the desired outcomes
(programming) (Shah, 2011). According to Revell and Norman (1999, p. 14), NLP
comprises “a collection of techniques, patterns, and strategies for assisting effec-
tive communication, personal growth and change, and learning. It is based on a
series of underlying assumptions about how the mind works and how people act
and interact.” Back in the 1970s and the 1980s, Blander and Grinder focused on
such important processes as distortion, deletion, and generalization which, they
believed, were enormously crucial in overcoming the inherent limitations of
human processing and attentional resources (Vaknin, 2010). Over time, however,
attempts were made to expand the scope of NLP techniques in order to render
them applicable to a wide range of domains.
At the heart of NLP is a desire to establish rapport. The concept of rapport is so
broad that it is construed as “the total context round the verbal message” (O’Connor
& Seymour, 1990, p. 21). In order to build up rapport, practitioners need to enter
their costumers’ worlds through “matching” and “mirroring” their body posture
(since NLP focuses on both verbal and non-verbal communication), intonation,
facial expression, values, and beliefs (Shah, 2011, p. 42). One peculiar characteristic
of NLP is the premium it attaches to outcomes or goals as well as to the way we define
and perceive them. NLP instructs that people must define their goals as specifically
as possible, adopt a positive attitude toward the desired goals, and make deliberate
and serious attempts to achieve their predetermined goals (O’Connor & Seymour,
1990). Flexibility, according to many NLP practitioners, plays a pivotal role in
­achieving outcomes. This requires people to possess and hone disparate skills which
enable them to do things differently if the techniques they are using do not work.

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, First Edition.

Edited by John I. Liontas (Project Editor: Margo DelliCarpini).
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0171

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2 Neurolinguistic Programming

In spite of the fact that NLP entails such processes as observation, experimenta-
tion, and feedback, viewed from a scientific perspective, it may seem to be quite
superficial and most of the books and articles published on this topic do not match
the language of science (Vaknin, 2010). Essentially, the effectiveness of NLP tech-
niques and the validity of the claims made by its advocates have not been rigor-
ously researched and tested. Most of the available studies lack scientific rigor; that
is, they have not followed standard systematic research procedures and therefore
are not replicable. Nevertheless, according to the advocates of NLP, since NLP is
not a monolithic notion, it is not fair to argue that research disproves NLP
(Vaknin, 2010).

­Making the Case

The process of learning delineated in NLP is very much in line with the current
theories of second language acquisition, particularly implicit and explicit learning.
NLP makes an important distinction between conscious and unconscious learn-
ing. In NLP parlance, when something is conscious, it is in “present moment
awareness” and when something is not “in present moment awareness” it is con-
sidered unconscious (O’Connor & Seymour, 1990, p. 7).
In language teaching, for example, NLP aims to guide learners through four
levels or stages of consciousness. The first stage is called “unconscious incompe-
tence” during which learners are not aware of their lack of competence in a certain
area (e.g. past perfect tense). Next, learners enter the “conscious incompetence”
stage during which they are fully aware that they need, for instance, the past per-
fect tense to communicate their intended message and at the same time they are
cognizant of the fact that they do not know how to formulate a past perfect
­structure. Then, they enter what is called “conscious competence” stage in which
learners know how to formulate a past perfect structure but it takes all their atten-
tional and processing resources. Obviously, language learners’ knowledge at this
stage is “explicit” in nature and has not yet become automatic. Finally, with prac-
tice and modeling excellent performance, learners may enter the final stage which
is labeled “unconscious competence.” During this final stage, learners produce the
target structure (the past perfect tense) with ease but they are not aware of how
they are doing it. Language learners’ knowledge in this latter stage bears a
­resemblance to “implicit knowledge.” NLP, however, does not at all constitute a
­language teaching method (Richards & Rodgers, 2001); however, its techniques
and principles have been formulated in ways which are applicable to virtually all
language teaching methods (Revell & Norman, 1999).
From a theoretical perspective, NLP’s conception of the interrelationships
between context and participants (be they teachers or learners) is very similar to
that of Complexity Theory. That is, NLP does not treat communication as a sim-
ple chain of causes and effects; far from it, it considers such a conception “a
great simplification” (O’Connor & Seymour, 1990, p. 67). Both Complexity
Theory and NLP are predicated on the assumption that systems such as

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Neurolinguistic Programming 3

communication are contingent upon a myriad of variables and the interrelation-

ships among these variables lead to the emergence of certain outcomes or
behaviors. Therefore, understanding and learning a grammatical structure, and
in fact any other aspect of language for that matter, will not happen without
considering the context in which it occurs. NLP, however, does not consider all
elements in a system as equally important; rather, it attempts to identify and
manipulate the  most influential elements to achieve the desired outcome
(O’Connor & Seymour, 1990).
NLP also emphasizes the power of language which is in line with the notion of
Linguistic Relativity (i.e. the idea that the language we speak and the kind of
words we use affect the way we think). NLP considers language an important
­filter on the way we experience the world around us (O’Connor & Seymour,
1990) and it is exactly in light of this particular conception of language that
Blander and Grinder developed what is called the “Meta Model,” which “uses
language to clarify language” (O’Connor & Seymour, 1990, p. 90). Their overall
aim was to help practitioners understand and reverse such processes as “deletion”
(of adjectives, adverbs, etc.), “distortion,” and “generalization,” which normally
happen when one tries to convert the intended message to actual articulated
speech.

­Pedagogical Implications

NLP need not be construed as a language teaching method or approach per se.
Rather, it would be much more productive to suggest that language teachers capi-
talize on the key principles of NLP regardless of their method or approach to
­language teaching (e.g., Presentation, Production, Practice, task-based language
teaching, etc.). It is important to note that the principles of NLP are so general that
they are applicable to a wide range of disciplines and practices (e.g., management).
By way of illustration, NLP assists effective communication in that it focuses not
only on the linguistic aspects of communication but also on eye contact and body
language. In real-life communication we normally express a considerable propor-
tion of our thoughts, intentions, and feelings through signs and signals of body
language, which of course vary from one culture to another. Therefore, it is safe to
suggest that language learners need to be reminded that, not unlike their mother
tongues, in the language that they are learning body language and eye movement
play significant communicative roles and they should be encouraged to draw on
this potentially useful instrument. This will hopefully reduce the amount of stress
and anxiety that language learners may experience when they engage in L2 com-
munication. As it happens, especially in EFL contexts, excessive importance is
attached to the roles played by grammar, vocabulary, and other systemic aspects
of language which may culminate in dysfluency. Also, and closely linked to this
issue, NLP is based on the idea that we experience the world through our “five”
senses but there are inter-individual variations in terms of language learners’ pref-
erences for one of the three principal senses (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic,

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4 Neurolinguistic Programming

VAK) (Revell & Norman, 1999). Obviously, it may not be economically viable for
many publishers to publish separate text books for learners with different prefer-
ences, but materials developers need to be urged to include language teaching
materials which are appropriate for learners with different preferred learning
styles (see Revell & Norman, 1999, for a wide range of tasks for different learning
styles).
As mentioned above, setting goals and knowing what one wants to accom-
plish are another key practical dimension of NLP. Asking language learners to
ponder over their goals and then to write them down would help them have a
clear idea of what they want to achieve as well as have a sense of accomplish-
ment once they have achieved their goals. Such questions as what language
learners want to achieve by the end of the course, why they are learning English,
how and for what purpose they think they want to use the language they are
learning are important, and will help language learners orient their efforts
toward their goals. One of the interesting tasks that Revell and Norman (1999)
presented in their book is what they call “personal profile,” whose overriding
purpose is to help language learners “decide on priorities and goals in their
lives” (p. 8). This could be a particularly interesting and useful task for upper-
intermediate and advanced language learners in that: (1) it can be done in groups
or pairs (hence fostering the provision of interactional feedback), and (2) it is
closely linked to language learners’ personal lives and therefore makes it possi-
ble to establish rapport in the classroom. In addition, requiring learners to do this
task could be of paramount importance in an EFL (English as a foreign language)
context where learners may easily lose their enthusiasm and motivation because
their learning goals are affected by the fact that they are not in contact with native
speakers on a regular basis and basically there is not much that they can do with
what they are learning.
Another implication of NLP for language pedagogy is the use of modeling in the
classroom. In NLP, language learners and teachers are recommended to find,
observe, and follow someone who is very competent in the use of language (such
as native speakers, more competent peers, or teachers/mentors). One of the
­essential tenets of NLP is learning study skills and strategies from more capable
peers (Revell & Norman, 1999). This is in line with the principles of sociocultural
theory and the zone of proximal development (ZPD) as put forth by the Soviet
psychologist, Lev Vygotsky. NLP, like ZPD, suggests that learners can fulfill their
potential under adult guidance and through scaffolding. One very interesting task
that Revell and Norman (1999) describe in their book is what they call “Native
Speaker Watching.” In this task, language learners are asked to watch a video and
make notes on how native speakers converse with each other. Then, they will be
asked to think about, for example, how fast and loudly native speakers talk, what
features of their intonation and rhythm sound interesting, how close they are to
each other, and so on. Finally, language learners will be provided with a script and
will be asked to model native speakers when reading the script. This type of task
is believed to foster the development of meta-cognition (i.e., knowing about
knowing) (Shah, 2011) which, as Revell and Norman (1999) point out, is
­

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Neurolinguistic Programming 5

particularly useful in improving learners “awareness of” and “competence in” L2

communication. In addition, given the fact that EFL learners have very limited
opportunity to communicate with native speakers, this task would be very useful
to familiarize them with authentic communication and how much importance
native speakers attach to such accuracy and fluency.
In addition to helping language learners hone their communicative skills, as
mentioned above, NLP emphasizes the importance of auditory and listening skills.
It is important to note that most of the tasks proposed in NLP are in line with
­communicative language teaching and learning. By way of an example, one of the
tasks that Revell and Norman (1999) suggest is where learners are asked to listen
to a sound-only video and as they listen they are asked to imagine the characters,
context, and so on. Obviously, such sort of communicative task requires learners to
make form-meaning connections which has been shown to foster L2 development.
As it noted above, the principles that NLP puts forth are diverse and broad which
makes it possible to incorporate them into a wide range of teaching methods and
approaches such as Task-based Language Teaching and Learning.

SEE ALSO: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT); Task-Based Language

Teaching (TBLT)

References

O’Connor, J., & Seymour, J. (1990). Introducing neurolinguistic programming: Psychological

skills for understanding and influencing people. London, England: The Aquarian.
Revell, J., & Norman, S. (1999). Handing over: NLP-based activities for language learning.
Gosport, England: Ashford Colour Press.
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.).
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Shah, N. (2011). Neurolinguistic programming: A practical guide. Malmesbury, England:
Totem Books.
Vaknin, S. (2010). The big book of NLP. USA: Inner Patch Publishing.

Suggested Reading

Bartkowiak, J. (2014). Secrets of NLP masters: 50 techniques to be exceptional. London, England:

Hodder & Stoughton.

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