I adored the conversation with Virginia Jenkins and it got juicier and juicier. In the first part of the conversation we talked about mindfulness in general to then, in the second half, focus on how mindfulness applies to the realm of languages and expression in a non-native language.
Notes from ep. 2 of Words Off Limits with Virginia Jenkins
- A simple definition of what mindfulness is and what is not.
- The distinction between judgment and discernment.
- About formal and informal mindfulness practices.
- The quality of being aware, brings the question of “now, what do I do with all this awareness?”
- Not all is positive in mindfulness: practising mindfulness can become overwhelming.
- The importance of slowing the process down.
- Mindfulness means being curious.
- It’s ok to not be mindful.
- When you teach/learn a language like math, you think of it like math.
- How mindfulness can help you get “unstuck” during a conversation in a non-native language.
- When we have been focusing on the wrong thing when we are communicating in a non-native language.
- What happens when we focus on the person we are talking to instead of focusing on our message.
- The two main areas to focus on are your internal experience (how am I feeling when I am feeling stuck?) and then to the connection between speaking and listener through the message that is being communicated.
- The importance of dropping the formulaic language in order to integrate the language into your self-expression.
- How a language teacher’s role needs to expand beyond what is traditionally considered “language”.
- Language as a boat.
- Why mindfulness is an essential tool for a language teacher.
- Why even when the purpose of language is to pass an exam, the focus shouldn’t only be the language.
- Language is a tool and when we don’t pay attention to how we use it, it won’t be integrated.
In episode 2 we discuss:
[0:52] What does mindfulness mean?
[8:55] About just noticing in the moment or action.
[11:28] What do you do with all this awareness?
[14:04] Discernment vs. judgement.
[16:50] The importance of listening to ourselves, to our intuition.
[21:27] Mindful can bypass instincts.
[23:00] Mindfulness in the context of language.
[25:46] How do you access the language you have when you are feeling stuck? Mindfulness!
[29:31] The real purpose of language is to communicate and connect.
[34:31] Where you put your attention makes a huge difference when you are communicating.
[37:27] Language can point at things but also carries things.
[42.27] How language teachers have been trained to “break the student’s soul” to make them fit into the target language.
[44.42] Why the language structures won’t stick if your only focus is precisely that.
[48.47] The role of nerves in language learning.
[54:20] Expressing ourselves in a non-native language is much more malleable than we are taught.
quote
“The act of mindfulness is very simple, the application is complex because humans are complex.”
And here is my favourite line from Virginia talking about expressing authentically in the language.
“Language influences me and I also adapt the language to me. It’s a mutual influence.”
You can connect with Virginia in many different ways:
Wholly Mundane (mindfulness-based transformational coaching):
www.whollymundane.com
instagram.com/wholly.mundane
facebook.com/whollymundane
Ouren Relational English (mindfulness-based English language and communication coaching)
www.ourenrelationalenglish.com
instagram.com/ouren.relational.english
facebook.com/ourenrelationalenglish
