Leveraging the Science of Motivation to Learn Languages – Nadu Barbashova | PGO 2024

Have you ever wondered why so many polyglots didn’t thrive in a language classroom but began to excel at language learning when language learning became a hobby? It is the same reason some subjects are an uphill battle to learn, while others are pure fun. There is a key ingredient that supercharges the learning process: motivation. Without motivation, any goal becomes harder to reach, even goals that we value and look forward to. In this talk, I will discuss three insights from the science of motivation that can explain why so many polyglots find joy in language learning outside of a classroom and how you can design a learning plan that sparks and sustains your motivation to learn.

NADU BARBASHOVA
Nadu is studying for her Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience in Santa Barbara. In her previous life, she worked as an English teacher in Thailand, China, and Germany and completed a Masters degree in Linguistics at the University of Tübingen. She wrote her thesis on the Foreign Language Effect, an effect in which people take more risks when using a foreign language. This drove her to her current research topic: fear and cognition. While living abroad she discovered the joys of self-driven language learning which she continues to enjoy in her free time.

https://www.youtube.com/@english-now-nadja

This video was recorded at the Polyglot Gathering Online 2024 (https://www.polyglotgathering.com).