Dr. Lonna Dickerson is the associate director of online learning and was the founder and former director of the Institute for Cross-Cultural Training (ICCT) at Wheaton College. With a Ph.D. in second language acquisition, Lonna has many years of experience preparing cross-cultural workers to succeed at learning new languages. Her current focus is primarily to develop and teach a variety of courses that equip language coaches to offer more effective guidance to their learners as they move through the language and culture acquisition process.

Coaching Basics: Beliefs & Principles

Part One: Learners often have misconceptions that slow down their learning, undermine their motivation, and even negatively affect the language proficiency they attain. In this session we’ll discuss ways to identify your learners’ misconceptions and then implement practical steps that ensure that those you coach---new as well as more advanced learners---are not held back by damaging belief.

Part Two: In this session we’ll discuss a few easy-to-understand language learning principles that, when applied, can make a significant positive difference in learners’ progress. They are so fundamental that they are relevant for learners at all levels of proficiency and are applicable regardless of the target language, the learning situation, and the methods employed.