The effect of neurolinguistic programming on academic achievement, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking of EFL learners

Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) is a method of personal communication. This study aimed to determine the effect of NLP strategies on academic achievement, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking. Although NLP has been studied, more studies still need to be conducted on this variable contributing to language learning success. This experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design with the control group in 2021. Sampling was conducted through the multistage cluster random sampling (MCRS) method, and based on the Cambridge placement test (2010), 50 students proved to be at an advanced level and participated in this study. To test the hypotheses, an ANCOVA test was employed. Participants were randomly divided into two control (25 people) and experimental groups (25 people). They were performed on the experimental group during 12 sessions of 90 min of the strategic training in NLP. In the experimental group, the mean and std of critical thinking was 16.24 ± 2.59 in the pretest, which increased to 18.88 ± 2.77 in the posttest; the mean and std of academic achievement was 155.02 ± 15.90 in the pretest, which rose to 171.70 ± 10.83 in the posttest and the mean and std of emotional intelligence was 96.51 ± 12.44 in the pretest, which increased to 118.28 ± 6.18 in the posttest. The results of data analysis by covariance method showed that NLP was practical on learners' academic achievement, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking. Justifications and implications for the study's findings and suggestions for further research are presented.