Pilgrims Coaching for Professionals

A radical new way of learning/coaching that is everything that traditional EFL teaching isn't!

This article is the result of 4 years of work by Jim Wright (Principal) and Kevin Batchelor (Programme Orchestrator). Starting from a point of being frustrated and constrained by the status quo of business English teaching they embarked on journey of personal and professional transformation. Their goal was simple - to take the suffering out of learning English.

The results have been extraordinary and this has been achieved by being in a constant state of enquiry.

4 years ago our courses for professionals (or English for business) were like any other offering for "Executives" wanting to learn English in England. We did the usual entry test to establish level; we put students in classes at the appropriate level; we taught grammar; we made hundreds of photocopies with relevant exercises and gap fills; we did role plays of business situations, etc. And the results and feedback? The same as any other traditional school. Satisfied students but nothing more. More importantly, something was missing in the students. What was missing was any sense of vibrancy, self-belief, confidence, inspiration and a "can do" responsibility for their English and communication.

We were teaching using sound EFL practice, following established and respected pedagogical principles and yet students were not achieving anything beyond their expectations and were experiencing the predictability of "same old-same old".

Like in probably almost all other EFL business training situations something wasn't working. Something was going wrong for both teachers and students.

What was going wrong was who we were BEING. We were being traditional (professional) teachers and our only focus was teaching people "stuff". We were being better than our student because we knew more English. We were being disconnected from the students because it was an "us and them" relationship. We were being focused on the English, the right and wrong of English and not on the person behind our label of "student". And the people we were teaching were all highly skilled and respected and held positions of significant responsibility in their fields; yet we were not acknowledging their potential contribution to the course. We were being self-righteous teachers who knew all the answers.

We had had enough and declared transformation for ourselves and participants as a possibility. We said, "How can we transform people if we don't transform ourselves?" The journey had begun!

The first step was to stop being teachers and become coaches and "un-teachers" at our level of identity. What we do flows from who we think we are and think we are not - hence the focus on NOT being traditional teachers -this was achieved by NOT preparing lessons. Our motto became "Don't prepare, be prepared!"

The next step was to stop using books, photocopies, and most other resources. This had the result of both coaches and participants becoming extremely resourceful. So resourceful in all of our selves that real, powerful, co-created learning happened resulting in authentic communication, interest and motivate between coaches and participants.

The third key step was to stop using classrooms and, instead, using the common open spaces in the building - the result was open, spontaneous and flexible working that stopped feeling like "school" and started reflecting real life. And with no more entry tests there were no more "levels" and everyone now works in multi level groups - just like real life. After all - you don't ever attend a business meeting limited to intermediate speakers of English - you attend meetings with all levels of English.

Today, 4 years after declaring transformation as a possibility, we are continually transforming. We have moved to a new coaching centre where there are no physical classrooms AND our management team also work in the exact same space that we coach in! (See the photos here) This is because the whole team is responsible for creating results for everyone who comes to Pilgrims.

And...... the most amazing thing is...... IT WORKS! Our online feedback far exceeds that of other schools in our group. In fact, it reports that what was missing is now present for us all. What is now present is vibrancy , self-belief, confidence, inspiration and a "can do" responsibility for English and communication all the elements essential for effective learning to take place. And there's one added feature - enjoyment! Coaches, participants and our team all report that Pilgrims Coaching for Professionals is such an enjoyable place to be.

So that's our story but maybe the words of participants can sum this up best of all. Please be inspired by what you are about to read below.

"In only 1 week in Pilgrims I achieved something I have never been able to achieve in 10 years of courses before: being confident!" Eric - Director of an energy company, France

"A school without boundaries which made the best come out of me." David, Spain.

"Pilgrims is not simply a normal language school. What makes them so effective is they motivate you in such a way that it gives you the confidence to make your English FLOW. You don't "suffer" studying English. You enjoy it a lot and realise what you are able to do, which is more than you think! Your FEAR to communicate disappears. I love it!" Juan - Business Owner, Spain.

"In a traditional English language school … you listen to what THEY say.

In Pilgrims… they listen to what YOU say." Christoph Looschelders, Plant Controller, Hydro Aluminium, Germany "In Pilgrims, you won't learn English speaking, you will speak it ! That's all!"

Jean-Baptiste Verdier, Sales Development Manager, Groupe Poult, France

This last quote sums it all up. Pilgrims Coaching for Professionals doesn't leave people learning to speak - it leaves people BEING speakers of English. Mission accomplished! But this is not THE END. Every day we question what we do, why we do it and how we can do it better because we are a LEARNING organisation and not a TEACHING organisation.

Kevin explains what we do in a series of short videos on our website. Follow the link.
www.pilgrims.co.uk/page/?title=Coaching+for+Professionals&pid=7