You speak English don't you?
Some of you speak also Hebrew, Arabic or
another foreign language but do you speak Giraffe?
Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, a psychologist and
founder of the international nonprofit Center for Nonviolent Communication
coined the terms giraffe and jackal languages.
He explains that we tend to speak the jackal
language that damages interpersonal relationships. The jackal language is a
language of criticism and demands which provokes defensiveness and
counterattack. The giraffe is a land mammal with
the biggest heart and a long neck which helps to see further and observe a
situation. It's an empathic animal. The Giraffe language is the language of the
heart. Speaking Giraffe will help you to improve your relationship with
yourself and with others. How do you learn to speak Giraffe? You won’t have to
learn irregular verbs by heart or to learn the difference between present and
past perfect but as another language it has its own rules.
The first rule is to observe a
situation without evaluating or judging it. The second rule is to be able to
describe your emotions. The third one is to be able to recognize your needs
that aren’t being met and the last one is to be able to make requests instead
of demands.
Beside the fact that reading
books and watching videos of Marshall Rosenberg might be enriching for our
personal lives, it could be very interesting to adapt his material for activities in our classrooms. Here is a site dedicated to teachers:
What a satisfaction it is for us as educators to
be able to combine not only English teaching but also values we believe in!
fascinating! I find I'm a little of both. I definitely need to work more on my giraffe language.
ReplyDeleteWow! I've never heard of it... and I must say it is truly amazing! I think it is a fascinating point of view.
ReplyDeleteThis is very insightful and useful for any teacher or person working in education. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteJulia Schlam Salman
I saw the title of this and immediately thought of Dr. Dolittle... Then read a bit further and realized it is a little more than that!
ReplyDeleteMAybe it would help us to learn some giraffe...
Why didn't i use those two languages through out my travelings in Africa....???? I think I could use the help of a giraffe to spot me some wild animals from above. Great topic Mademoiselle :-)
ReplyDeleteIllan, the topic is very interesting. Thank you for sharing it with us and for broadening my knowledge.
ReplyDelete