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Lynne Reid-McConnell and Jennie Reed

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Lynne Reid-McConnell and Jennie Reed

Bio:

Lynne combines a background in psychology, business, and accounting with years of experience raising a family. After completing her CELTA in 2017, she trained as a Neurolanguage Coach® and now runs her Glasgow-based business, helping learners navigate Scottish English while building confidence in their own voice. Her focus on clear, practical communication stems from understanding that speech clarity – whether from international or native English speakers – is key to effective interaction.

Jennie is a Neurolanguage Coach and pronunciation specialist with a DipTESOL (2019), and is certified as a Neurolanguage Coach®. Having taught English since 2010, Jennie has supported teachers through her own business since 2020, helping them develop confidence and practical pronunciation skills. Jennie has presented at international conferences including Bridge International (2024), IATEFL (2025), PronSIG (2025), and IATEFL Themes (2025), and has a published article in University Grapevine (Issue 29, September 2025).

Together, Lynne and Jennie combine research-informed practice, real-world experience, and a learner-centred approach to empower teachers and learners to make pronunciation a confident, actionable skill.

Session synopsis:

Teaching Pronunciation with Confidence: From Awareness to Action

This interactive workshop (50 minutes) helps Neurolanguage Coaches feel more confident integrating pronunciation into their everyday sessions. We’ll explore key aspects of pronunciation including intelligibility, word stress, connected speech and intonation. Participants will experiment with classroom-friendly techniques, such as shadowing, mouth yoga, chants and minimal pairs, leaving with adaptable tools to use in their coaching sessions, to help their learners communicate more clearly and confidently.

Audience Takeaways:
– Understand the distinction between accent and pronunciation
– Recognise the importance of listening and awareness before production
– Explore practical ways to teach word stress, rhythm and intonation
– Gain ready to use classroom activities for pronunciation work- Build confidence in addressing pronunciation in everyday sessions.

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Ana Costa

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Ana Costa

Bio:

Ana Costa is a Certified Advanced Neurolanguage Coach and a language professional with over 20 years of experience teaching English and French. She holds a degree in European Studies and a certification in Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching. Ana is passionate about supporting individuals who need languages for work and living, as well as adolescents facing neurodiverse challenges, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD. Her work focuses on applying the Neurolanguage Coaching® framework to transform theoretical knowledge into personalised strategies that foster autonomy and intrinsic motivation, guiding learners toward verifiable success in one-on-one contexts. At this year’s conference, she is presenting a compelling case study illustrating how a neurodiverse learner harnessed deep internal motivation to co-create brain-friendly study materials and achieve measurable academic progress.

Session Synopsis:

When Motivation Meets Dyslexia – Transforming Barriers into Breakthroughs.

Description and Objectives: Dyslexia is often viewed as a barrier to language learning, yet with motivation and the right support, learners can turn challenges into strengths. This workshop presents a compelling case study on achieving extraordinary academic success with a neurodiverse learner, reframing the condition from a limitation to a catalyst for growth. The core objective is to demonstrate how deep intrinsic motivation, “Motivision”, and fully coached learner autonomy (core principles of Neurolanguage Coaching) empower students to bypass neurological learning blocks and achieve top results. 

The session will dissect the journey of a neurodiverse young learner who, driven by a powerful desire for self-worth and to prove her capability, refused lower marks and successfully co-created her own brain-friendly materials, ultimately earning A-grades in all subjects, including languages.

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Gaëlle Miani

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Gaëlle Miani

Bio:

Gaëlle Miani is the founder of les mots, a language coaching practice based in Nyon, Switzerland, where she offers personalized French and English coaching. A certified Neurolanguage Coach® and trainer accredited by the International Coaching Federation, she integrates neuroscience and coaching techniques to empower both learners and educators. 

With a career in education spanning over 25 years, Gaëlle has taught in the UK and Switzerland, and has collaborated with international organisations including the United Nations, Collège du Léman, and Aiglon Collège. She holds a Licence in English from Paris X Nanterre, a PGCE from the University of Bath, a diploma from the Chartered Institute of Linguists. 

In addition to her professional practice, Gaëlle is actively engaged in community leadership, having served on the municipal council of Eysins and as president of several educational associations. Passionate about languages, neuroscience, and education, she is dedicated to helping others thrive by first cultivating self-awareness and resilience as coaches and learners.

Session Synopsis:

“The Mirror Effect: Why Self-Awareness Is Your Greatest Coaching Tool”

Before we can effectively guide others, we must first look in the mirror. This keynote explores how self-awareness forms the foundation of neurolanguage coaching, shaping the way we manage ourselves, connect with learners, and thrive in our profession. Through practical insights and interactive reflection, participants will discover how knowing themselves more deeply can unlock greater impact in their coaching practice.

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Lonny Gold

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Lonny Gold

Manager/Animator at Resonance Learning

Bio:

Lonny hated school with a passion… and went into education with a vengeance. Originally Canadian, Lonny runs exuberant language and teacher training seminars worldwide where he develops techniques to speed up learning by communicating directly with the unconscious mind. He has been at the core of Suggestopedia since 1978 and has written EFL curricula for audiences in America, Europe, the Middle East and China and worked there. Lonny’s ambition is to help create a new culture of communication where people inspire and nurture each other, thereby enabling humanity to transcend existing norms and lead more fulfilling lives.

Session Synopsis:

Teaching Languages like an Undercover Spy

Spies are invisible. That’s why they’re effective. They remain unseen. And this is how language coaches should operate: Fixing problems but leaving no trace of our passage. Leaving learners with the feeling that “We did it all ourselves!”

Drawing on Suggestopedia, this session will provide coaches with mantles of invisibility.

There will be two main take-aways: A subversive technique for correcting mistakes and
a way of inducing telepathic intuition. For this to work, the coach must become a
colourless, odourless catalyst. This fun experience, with lots of physical movement, will
show you how to “vanish” and get out of the way of the breakthroughs you have
catapulted into motion. We will look at how to set the stage for unexpected things to
just bubble up to the surface.

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Irene Chinappi

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Irene Chinappi

Bio:

I am a Neurolanguage Coach® with a background in communication and foreign languages. I hold a degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures and two Master’s degrees, in Journalism and in Political Consulting and Marketing. I grew up in my family’s hotel in Sperlonga, a small Italian town, which served as an early school in hospitality and human connection. 

After a career spanning tourism, journalism, and communication, I dedicated myself to teaching Italian as a foreign language and helping people worldwide speak it with confidence and joy while deepening their connection to Italian culture. Alongside coaching, I design and lead immersive cultural and gastronomic tours in Italy, where participants explore local cuisine, wine, history, and traditions, discovering the richness and diversity of each region. 

My personal development journey has been extensive and transformative. I trained in Transactional Analysis and have pursued ongoing individual growth over the past 15 years, exploring relational dynamics, patterns of thinking, and emotional awareness. Today I integrate these insights with coaching and neuroscience. I am also the author of several publications and a novel dedicated to my hometown, celebrating its beauty, culture, and heritage.

Synopsis:

Experience of Ego States: Enhancing Relationships and Coaching with Transactional Analysis

The workshop will be divided into two parts. In the first part, participants will engage in a guided experience: through an experiential technique, they will be invited to immerse themselves, with all their senses, in a moment of their work where they faced difficulties in managing a relationship with a client. The exercise will allow them to relive the experience, recognize the emotions they felt, and reflect on them.

 

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Virginia Cutchin

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Virginia L Cutchin

Owner, Transition Success Consulting – Professional Neurolanguage Coach and Teacher Trainer for China

Bio:

“I am a life-long learner, teetotaling vegetarian, passionate Chinese language and culture enthusiast, neuroscience nerd, tireless champion of health and wellness, and am dedicated to learning and sharing about the role of nutrition in learning and memory. I have a BA in political science and an MBA in international business. I am ICF ACC-level coach, a Professional-level neurolanguage coach for English and Mandarin, and have a certification in Applied Neuroscience I have published articles on health and wellness, and exactly 1 poem (in “Highlights for Children”) when I was 12 years old.”

Session Synopsis:

The Impact of Nutrition on Learning, Memory & Recall

With profound respect and admiration for us all as unique individuals, this 60-minute workshop presents an overview of the major components of nutrition, delves deeply into those components’ influences in the body, and highlights current research on the impact of one’s nutritional status / habits on learning, memory and recall. This workshop invites audience members to assess their own nutritional status, and suggests any changes they might make to enhance or influence their own (or others’) learning, memory and recall.

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Natassa Manitsa

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Natassa Manitsa

English Educator, Teacher Trainer, Digital Marketing Specialist, and Author, Co-founder of EdSkills Academy and Founder of EduMarketing Agency

Natassa Manitsa is an English Educator, Teacher Trainer, Digital Marketing Specialist, and Author with over 25 years of experience in language education. She is the Co-founder of EdSkills Academy and Founder of EduMarketing Agency, specializing in teacher training, educational marketing, and content creation.

She has trained educators worldwide and has held key roles in academic consulting, communication, and social media management. A published author, she has co-written books on literature, writing, and CLIL and has contributed numerous articles and essays to various academic platforms and magazines. Her academic background includes studies in School Psychology, Translation, British Studies, Marketing, and Communication, and she is currently pursuing an MA in Philosophy & the Arts. She is also Webmaster and Social Media Coordinator for IATEFL TEASIG, focusing on trends in language assessment.

Session Synopsis:

Beat Imposter Syndrome in Your Classroom Through Your Lessons: A Confidence-Boosting Experience Using Vocabulary and Communication Activities

“Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand brake on.” — Maxwell Maltz

What are these agonising self-doubts and dark thoughts that appear in the middle of the night? Does the fear of failing ever make you want to give up? Yet, sometimes just a little failure can become the foundation of success. After all, it all comes down to self-confidence, something that can be learned and built, even though the demanding world of business, studies, expectations, and life in general can easily deflate it.

In this workshop, we will explore the causes behind this growing “teacher/student self-doubt epidemic” and examine practical ways to boost self-confidence through teaching techniques that simultaneously enhance vocabulary development and communication skills.

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Patricia Bergström

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Patricia Bergström

Bio:

Patricia Bergström is a multilingual Professional Neurolanguage Coach® and Licensed Teacher Trainer with over 26 years of experience guiding learners and educators through transformative change. Her work explores the intersection of language, emotion, identity, and intercultural awareness, informed by professional certifications in mindfulness, emotional intelligence, NLP, and laughing medicine, and grounded in neuroscience. Founder of Effective Learning 4 Life, Patricia holds an MA in TESOL and an MA in Modern Foreign Languages from the University of St Andrews. She serves as Project Officer for Alumni Relations for the UN SDSN Global Schools Programme and co-coaches the IHE micro-credential in Solutionary Teaching and Learning, supporting educators worldwide to create meaningful, sustainable impact.

Session synopsis:

From Wobblies to Grounded: Navigating the Emotional Slumps of Self-Employment

Becoming your own boss is often framed as freedom, flexibility, and fulfilment, yet the emotional and cognitive “wobblies” that accompany self-employment are rarely spoken about. Slumps in motivation, self-doubt, comparison, and identity confusion are common, particularly in the age of social media, where curated success stories distort reality and amplify inner pressure.

In this 60-90 minute experiential workshop, participants will explore the neuro-emotional dynamics behind entrepreneurial slumps and the identity shift from employee to self-directed professional where participants will learn how to recognise, normalise, and navigate these wobblies with greater self-compassion and clarity.
The session offers a safe space to name what is usually hidden, reframe internal narratives, and develop practical tools to remain grounded, resilient, and aligned, even when motivation dips and external validation is absent.

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Marie Claire Berkmans

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Marie Claire Berkmans

Neurolanguage Coach

Bio:

Experienced and qualified professional in the field of coaching and teaching english, with a career spanning over two decades. 

I am currently an independent trainer and neurolanguage coach®, with a particular focus on the preparation of job interviews in English for French professionals. My expertise is reflected in my range of competences and certifications, in both therapy ( master practitioner in NLP, practitioner in hypnosis, transactional analysis theory) and Neurolanguage Coaching.

Since 2013, I have worked as an independent trainer and coach, specializing in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of training programs for French companies and english groups (Kingfisher, Compass, IVC). I am Qualiopi certified (French quality certification for training centers), demonstrating my commitment to high standards in professional training.

I hold a Master’s degree in Translation Studies from the Lille Université, focusing on the translation of African American English in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and how to translate vernacular English into French.

In addition to my professional career, I serve as the President of the Board of Directors at QUANTA, a support and work assistance establishment for the Autistic near Lille. I represent the association in public institutions and private sector partnerships, further demonstrating my commitment to social responsibility, community development, using my coaching and interpersonal skills.

I have built a career dedicated to the advancement of education and the development of language skills with my 325 coachees!

Session synopsis:

Unlocking Language Learning Through Metaphor: Clean Language and Neurolanguage Coaching®

As neurolanguage coaches, we understand that language learning is never just about grammar or vocabulary—it’s about the way the coachee makes sense of his/her learning in a brain friendly way.

One powerful tool we can also bring into our sessions is the use of Clean Language—a questioning technique developed by David Grove that invites learners to explore their inner world through their own metaphors.

This 50 minute workshop will focus on the 12 clean language questions and will contain 3 group activities.

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Sinem Atamsoy Koşar

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Sinem Atamsoy Koşar

ELT Specialist
Advanced Neurolanguage Coach®
TESOL Türkiye, TEDSIG Committee Member
IATEFL, TDSIG Committee Member

Bio:

With over 33 years of teaching experience and 15 years as a learning consultant, I am deeply passionate about empowering educators, leaders, and learners to grow with confidence and curiosity. My expertise lies in teacher development, trainer training, leadership, as- sessment, brain-based learning, and Advanced Neurolanguage Coaching®, supporting personalised and science-informed learning journeys.
 
During my time at Ege University in İzmir, I served as the Vice Head of the
School of Foreign Languages, member of the Continuous Professional Deve-
lopment Unit, and exam writer. I am a founding member and former president of
TESOL Türkiye and continue to contribute actively to teacher education and
professional development initiatives nationally and internationally. I currently
serve as a committee member at TESOL Turkiye Teacher Education and Deve-
lopment Special Interest Group (TED SIG) and have recently joined the IATEFL
Teacher Development SIG as a committee member.

Session synopsis:

From Control to Connection: Coaching-Based Neuroleadership in Education

What happens in the brain when a leader speaks? Why do some teams shut down under pressure while others stay curious, engaged, and creative? How can leadership language shift people from survival mode into learning and flow?

Traditional leadership models often overlook how the brain responds to pressure, uncertainty, and hierarchy. In this interactive session, participants explore Neuroleadership through the lens of Neurolanguage Coaching®, relational neuroscience, and psychological safety.

The session highlights how leaders’ language, presence, and emotional regulation directly impact cognitive performance, motivation, and engagement. Participants will discover how coaching-based leadership activates autonomy, competence, and relatedness — essential drivers of learning and change.

Through reflection, case-based discussion, and practical micro-tools, attendees will learn how to create trust-rich environments where individuals and teams move from survival mode to growth and flow.