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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 510 – 516

GlobELT: An International Conference on Teaching and Learning English as an Additional

Language, Antalya – Turkey

The effect of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques on young

Iranian EFL Learners’ motivation, learning improvement, and on teacher's
success
Anita Lashkariana*, Sima Sayadiana
a
Department of English,Maybod Branch,Islamic Azad University,Maybod,Iran

Abstract

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques can help EFL learners become successful by increasing their motivation, by decreasing their
anxiety leading to learning improvement. But much research has shown a poor understanding of NLP, and suffers from methodological problems
as well. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of NLP techniques on young Iranian EFL learners' level of motivation,
learning improvement and teacher's success. Sixty students from a junior school in Iran were randomly assigned to two groups of thirty each. The
experimental group was taught from the prescribed text aided by NLP techniques. The control group received no treatment. In order to see
whether NLP techniques had a significant effect on the learners’ motivation, an Attitude/Motivation questionnaire was administered to the two
groups before and at the end of teaching sessions that lasted for twelve weeks, in the form of a pre-test and a post test. The learning improvement
was assessed on the basis of the related tasks administered to the students in both groups. Moreover, a questionnaire was administered to the
teacher(s) in the form of an interview to see whether the application of NLP techniques was an added criterion to the teacher's success. The
results of the independent samples t-test and content analysis indicated that the young Iranian EFL learners of English not only increased on their
motivation level as a result of receiving NLP techniques, but showed a considerable improvement in EFL proficiency. Furthermore, NLP
techniques contributed positively to teacher’s success. The results emphasized the importance of NLP techniques in EFL settings by enabling the
teacher to communicate better with students, strengthen the learning environment, and develop positive interaction that would increase academic
effectiveness, motivation and proficiency of learners.
© 2015
© 2015 The
TheAuthors.
Authors.Published
Publishedbyby
Elsevier Ltd.Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Elsevier
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Universitesi.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Üniversitesi.
Keywords: NLP techniques; teacher's success; attitude/motivation questionnaire; EFL.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 00989131568544.

E-mail address: anitalashkarian@yahoo.com

1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Üniversitesi.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.540
 Anita Lashkarian and Sima Sayadian / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 510 – 516 511

1. Introduction

Communicative language teaching (CLT) is currently popular and in practice in most of the educational
institutions all over the world. CLT can be understood as a set of principles about the goals of language teaching,
how learners learn a language, the kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the roles of teachers
and learners in the classroom. To achieve CLT goals more effectively Neuro-Linguistic Programming (Grinder and
Bandler, 1976) can be helpful. In fact Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the study of how the interaction of our brain
(NEURO), our language (LINGUISTIC) and body produces patterns of behavior (PROGRAMMING). Furthermore,
NLP techniques such as reframing, anchoring, creating rapport can be applied by learners and educators to facilitate
learning. By applying these techniques effectively, an educator can communicate better with students, strengthen the
learning environment, and develop positive interaction that will increase academic effectiveness.

2. NLP techniques for ELT/EFL Classes

Reframing is the technique that the teacher utilizes by relating to personal experiences and makes it concrete and
tangible for the learners. It can be used to modify students’ conception of themselves or of the language, which
makes it a powerful motivational tool. Reframing can also be used for creating artificial contexts to be used in the
classroom and thus provide the students with a wider array of learning opportunities without the need of material
support.
Anchoring is one of NLP techniques that make association between what we see, hear and feel and our emotional
states. Fortunately, anchors can in fact be formed with any sensory experience. Evidence for this claim is widely
available in the personal history of every individual. The fact that simply by seeing a spider a person can get a
phobic response is one of them. Anchoring is one of the reasons why it is advisable to keep teaching multi-sensory
since students have a wider array of sensory stimuli to link the language to. For the purposes of teaching English,
auditory anchors are the most suitable since they can be used by the teacher during normal classroom interaction.
Rapport is at the heart of every healthy classroom. It is the critical ingredient that allows teachers and students to
create is defined in the Webster dictionary (2014) as a “relation marked by harmony, conformity, accord, or
affinity”. Simply put, and for the purpose of this paper, rapport can be seen as that shared sense of oneness amongst
the people in the classroom when there is a willingness to engage and focus on tasks. In essence, creating rapport
through building community helps to facilitate students’ willingness to participate in tasks. It has been noted by
researchers that students who are in rapport with a teacher are more motivated and able to learn more easily. Thus,
working on the creation of rapport is a goal that can help teachers and students to develop more cohesive learning
communities. Teachers need to create rapport with students in a variety of situations such as the beginning of a
course, the beginning of a lesson, and the beginning of specific activities, to name just a few. It is also important for
teachers to re-establish rapport or repair it during times when student response is lacking, when the class is tired or
bored, or when students are being “problematic.”
NLP not only provides techniques, strategies, and solution to the problems of teaching and learning, motivating
and engaging students, it goes further. It enables teachers to develop the flexibility of response to create their own
changes. A report on the background study will reveal the importance of NLP in education and in EFL classes.

3. Review of literature

Neuro-linguistic programming or NLP (Hardingham, 1998) has been seen recently as one of the resources to
enhance effectiveness of language instruction. NLP claims to help achieve excellence of performance in language
teaching and learning, improve classroom communication, optimize learner attitudes and motivation, raise self-
esteem, facilitate personal growth in students, and even change their attitude to life (Thornbury, 2001, p.394).
Richards and Rodgers (2001) also have introduced NLP as a supplementary technique in teaching second
language, and Millroad (2004) defined this technique as “an approach to language teaching which is claimed to help
achieve excellence in learner performance” (p. 28), enjoying much potential for teaching and learning second
language. Proponents of NLP, such as O’Connor and Lages (2004) and O’ Connor and Seymour (2003), see NLP as
a highly effective motivational tool.
512 Anita Lashkarian and Sima Sayadian / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 510 – 516

The concept of teacher success has been the major concern of educators and researchers for a long time.
Evidently, this notion is highly considerable to teacher educators and supervisors due to its direct impact on learning
and teaching. For this very reason, in 2007, Elizabeth, May and Chee tried to build a model of teacher success in
Hong Kong. They concluded that effective teachers were creative, skillful, and fair in assessment and grading.
Additionally, they managed to engage learners, improve critical thinking and provide feedback. In another attempt
to define teachersெ success Tamblyn (2000) distinguished seven attributes of successful teachers: creativity, skill,
flexibility, warmth and humor were a few of them. Similarly, Beck (1967) determined that pupils perceive the
effective teacher as a warm, friendly and supportive person.
Although not much related literature could be traced in the Iranian context, Pishghadam's (2001) findings support
to the use of NLP factors in education. By implementing NLP techniques, the researcher noticed a significant
change in learning and teaching context consequently resulting in an increase in learners' motivation and progress in
achieving their ultimate capabilities. In another study, Moafian and Pishghadam (2009) designed a questionnaire to
measure teacher success in schools and language institutes in Iran. They specified 12 constructs, which can measure
teacher success.

4. Objectives

The aim of this report is to address two significant gaps in the research literature: the absence of any formal and
systematic literature review of evidence in relation to the impact and use of NLP in education, and the lack of any
substantive teacher-led and classroom-based action research in this area.

The objectives of this study are:

1. To investigate effect of Neurolinguistic programming techniques on young Iranian EFL learners’ motivation.
2. To examine the effect of NLP techniques on young Iranian EFL learner's achievement.
3. To examine the effect of NLP techniques on Iranian EFL teacher’s success.

5. Methodology

5.1. Participants

The participants of this study were 60 young seventh grade Persian-speaking EFL learners at a Girls' school in
Iran ranging in ages from 13 to 14. These students were randomly assigned to two groups of experimental and
control. They were at the beginner's level of proficiency. Moreover, EFL learners in the study can be classified as:
Visual learners tend to sit up straight and make eye contact, talk fast and have shallow breathing
high in the chest.
Auditory learners often softly repeat what has been said to them and nod their heads as they listen. They breathe
more deeply and in a controlled way from the diaphragm. Their tone, intonation and speed of speech are also
controlled. They tend to use a rich vocabulary.

Kinesthetic learners often slump down in their seats or fidget and speak much more slowly. If they are also tactile
they will feel a need to fiddle with their pen or papers whilst listening.

5.2. Instrumentation

Three instruments were used in this study.

1. A 27-item motivation questionnaire taken from Gardner’s Persian-language version of the
Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB).
2. An 11-item questionnaire taken from Pishghadam used in the form of an interview with the teacher.
3. Related class assignments to check young EFL learners' achievement.
 Anita Lashkarian and Sima Sayadian / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 510 – 516 513

5.3. Procedure

Sixty female learners from a junior school in Iran were randomly assigned to two groups of thirty each. The
experimental group was taught from the prescribed text aided by NLP techniques. The control group received no
treatment. In order to see whether NLP techniques had a significant effect on the learners’ motivation, an
Attitude/Motivation questionnaire was administered to the two groups before and at the end of teaching sessions that
lasted for twelve weeks, in the form of a pre-test and a post test. The sessions lasted for 45 minutes twice a week.
The learning improvement was assessed on the basis of the related tasks administered to the students in both groups.
The technique of NLP in teaching language is applied by describing a picture. Since they are zero beginners this
activity is conducted by every student in make sentences based on the picture. All this is done orally. Moreover, a
questionnaire (from Reza Pishghdam) was administered to the teacher(s) in the form of an interview to see whether
the application of NLP techniques was an added criterion to the teacher's success. To analyze the data, independent
samples t-test and content analysis were performed.

6. Data analysis

To test the effect of NLP techniques on learners’ motivation, Independent samples t-test were performed to see
whether NLP techniques have a significant effect on learners’ motivation.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for pre-test of experimental (NLP) and control (traditional) groups

Method N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

NLP 30 13.3333 6.00766 1.09684

test
Traditional 30 12.7000 5.08649 .92866

Table 2. Independent Samples Test for pre-test of experimental (NLP) and control (traditional) groups

Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of Means

Equality of
Variances

F Sig. t df Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval of the
tailed) Differen Difference Difference
ce
Lower Upper

Equal variances assumed .680 .413 .441 58 .661 .63333 1.43718 -2.24349 3.51016
test Equal variances not 56.46
.441 .661 .63333 1.43718 -2.24516 3.51182
assumed 4

An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare the attitude scores of motivation as a pre-test. There
was no significant difference in scores for NLP class (M=13.33, SD=6.00) and traditional class (M=12.70,
SD=5.08649; t (98) =.441, p=.11 (two tailed). The magnitude of the differences in the means mean difference=.63,
95% CI: .63 to 3.51).
514 Anita Lashkarian and Sima Sayadian / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 510 – 516

Fig.1. Pre-test score distribution of experimental (NLP) and control (traditional) groups

Table 3. Descriptive statistics for post-test of experimental (NLP) and control (traditional) groups

method N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

NLP 30 23.0333 2.73525 .49939

test
Traditional 30 12.7000 5.08649 .92866

Table 4. Independent Samples Test for post-test of experimental (NLP) and control (traditional) groups

Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of Means

Equality of
Variances

F Sig. t df Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval of

tailed) Difference Difference the Difference

Lower Upper

Equal variances assumed 9.700 .003 9.800 58 .000 10.33333 1.05442 8.22268 12.44398
test Equal variances not
9.800 44.478 .000 10.33333 1.05442 8.20893 12.45773
assumed

An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare scores of motivation as a post test. There was a
significant difference in scores between NLP class (M=23.03, SD=2.73) and traditional class (M= 12.70, SD=
5.08649; t (98) = -.069, p=.11 (two tailed). The magnitude of the differences in the means (mean difference= 10.33,
95% CI: 10.33 to 12.45).
 Anita Lashkarian and Sima Sayadian / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 510 – 516 515

Fig. 2. Post test score distribution of experimental (NLP) and control (traditional) groups

According to results of content analysis of the interview, the teacher could change their classroom environment
by reflecting on their personal experiences that makes students pay more attention to the learning process and
thereby an increase in their perception of English is noticed. This is a kind of reframing. To implement anchoring,
the teacher presented every new topic followed by a question/answer procedure. In this case, the teacher needs to
pay specific attention to individual differences. Some students are sociable and talkative while others are not. The
teacher used body language, eye contact. According to her, using these aids made learning more reinforced, made
their mind more accommodated for learning and reduced students’ noise. The teacher called the students by their
first name more than before. She said this technique, as one way of reframing make their relation more friendly and
students feel more comfortable in class. The teacher encouraged the students who were innovative in their
responses.

7. Results and discussion

The results of t-test revealed that NLP techniques increased learners' level of motivation and language
achievement. The results of the content analysis of the interview revealed that NLP techniques improved teacher’s
success or teaching effectiveness. NLP is a collection of techniques, patterns, and strategies for assisting effective
communication, personal growth and change, and learning (Revell and Norman, 1999). By using NLP in teaching
English makes the students become active learners. Other finding of the study, revealed by content analysis of the
interview, is that NLP techniques provide very effective techniques, strategies, and solutions to the problems of
teaching and learning, motivating and engaging students. All in all, the results of the present study indicated that the
young Iranian EFL learners of English improved their motivation level as a result of receiving NLP techniques.
Besides, NLP techniques contributed positively to teacher’s success. These results emphasize the importance of
516 Anita Lashkarian and Sima Sayadian / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 510 – 516

providing NLP techniques in EFL settings where teacher's support and learners’ feelings are important ways through
which learners can improve their attitudes and language proficiency.

8. Conclusion

The question of incorporating neuro-linguistic programming in to the practice of teaching English was tackled in
two stages. The process involved the study of techniques and concepts proposed by the founders of NLP, which
were then compared to critical studies published by researches in psychology. In an effort to gain more perspective,
the technique of reframing has been isolated as the most suitable for being integrated into ELT.
The second stage was the actual design and testing of the methods in English classes, which involved designing
the experiment. During the design process, the needs of the students were taken as a forming factor which
influenced the designs in order to make the design as effective as possible and best suited for that particular group.
The experiment showed that NLP can be incorporated into classes of English language and that the techniques make
a noticeable change in the learning experience. Furthermore, it was proven that the pattern of reframing is useable
with the whole class of students and has a positive effect on teaching both in terms of making it less demanding as
well as effective.

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