NICK WRIGHT
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Learner

11/4/2017

44 Comments

 
Picture
As we walked through the village we were met by wide smiles and eyes full of vivid curiosity. Brightly-coloured clothing hung outside of wooden huts to dry in the sun. Rice and coconut lay on the ground, apparently there to dry too. We had travelled by plane, ship, tuk tuk and boat, meandering through lush green jungle and rice fields to reach this place in Samar, Philippines. The children were excited having waited 3 hours for us to arrive. A rich sense of anticipation felt tangible in the air.

This was my first experience of working with such a large group of children. 120+ turned up, ages ranging from 3 to 12. We were there 2 weeks ago to inspire the children with English language, lead play activities, share about Jesus and provide nutritious food. The children were eager to learn, to spend time with this strange, tall, white alien and his inspiring, energetic Filipina counterpart – and to have fun. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such wild, sustained enthusiasm in a group.

We chose a theme each day and, at the start, invited the children to teach me some Waray, their local language. The teacher became learner and the students became teachers. The kids loved it, scoring my pronunciation by signalling thumbs up if I did well, thumbs sideways if I needed to improve, thumbs down if I was unintelligible! After each phrase the children jumped up and down with excitement, big smiles and waving their thumbs in the air. A true spirit of encouragement.

This simple idea and approach gave the children real confidence to play and to practise with English language. They had seen my vulnerability, willingness to try, imperfect attempts and friendly laughter. It enabled them to give every activity we tried their best shot, encouraging each other when we-they did well and forgiving each other when we-they didn’t.  We were committed to learn together, to travel an exciting journey of discovery together, and that made such a difference.
44 Comments
Lisa Face MSc, BSc, PGCE,Executive Coach
11/4/2017 03:07:03 pm

Love this Nick - #encouragement is so often underused. Your post showcases its benefits beautifully. Looks like you had a lot of fun in Samar!

Reply
Nick Wright
11/4/2017 03:08:17 pm

Thanks for your encouraging feedback, Lisa. :) Yes, the experience in Samar was so life-giving!

Reply
Cristina Melnik
11/4/2017 10:18:53 pm

Wow, what an inspirational story. Thanks for sharing Nick.

Reply
Nick Wright
11/4/2017 10:19:33 pm

Thanks Cristina. You're welcome. :)

Reply
Roger Engels
11/4/2017 10:20:36 pm

"get busy living or get busy dying...." shawshank redemption

Reply
Nick Wright
11/4/2017 10:21:02 pm

Hi Roger. Say more..?

Reply
Crystal Kumpula
12/4/2017 09:08:44 am

Wow, what an experience for both you & the children! You have a gift for stories. This was vivid & I could see the childrens' wide grins & hear their adorable chatter. I appreciate the share! :-) The pic says it all. :-)

Reply
Nick Wright
12/4/2017 09:09:37 am

Thanks Crystal. It was such a pleasure and privilege to spend time with these children! :)

Reply
Tom Donaldson
12/4/2017 05:24:38 pm

A powerful lesson, from such a compelling experience. Thanks for your critical work to uplift people in the world.

Reply
Nick Wright
12/4/2017 05:25:59 pm

Thanks Tom. I struggle to find words to express how uplifting it was for me to spend time with these precious children!

Reply
Lynne Phylp
13/4/2017 08:48:40 am

A very uplifting story - thanks Nick.

Reply
Nick Wright
13/4/2017 08:49:16 am

You're welcome, Lynne! :)

Reply
Arthur Murphy
13/4/2017 08:50:11 am

Thanks for the insight Nick. It is a good lesson for us all.

Reply
Nick Wright
13/4/2017 08:50:46 am

Thanks Arthur. It was certainly a good lesson for me.

Reply
Erin Wallace
13/4/2017 07:21:06 pm

I like to let my adult learners do the same! I am first to admit I don't know everything. Staff sometimes have experiences they can share that as an instructor I don't have.

Reply
Nick Wright
13/4/2017 07:21:59 pm

Hi Erin. I think that's a good example of co-creative learning.

Reply
Gavin Treacy
13/4/2017 08:59:18 pm

Lovely story. EVERY Trainer should be a learner. We don't know everything and we shouldn't pretend to. If we are not prepared to learn how can we expect our students to? Every day is a school day.

Reply
Nick Wright
13/4/2017 08:59:43 pm

Well said, Gavin!

Reply
Melanie Brechin
14/4/2017 01:42:27 pm

How lovely ☺

Reply
Nick Wright
14/4/2017 01:42:54 pm

Thanks Melanie. :)

Reply
Olaf Scheffers
14/4/2017 01:43:26 pm

Great story! Thanx for sharing!

Reply
Nick Wright
14/4/2017 01:43:52 pm

Thanks Olaf. You're welcome!

Reply
Jan Robertson
15/4/2017 11:55:09 am

Wonderful demonstration of the impact of modeling and priming for learning, thanks for sharing!

Reply
Nick Wright
15/4/2017 11:55:40 am

Thanks Jan. You're welcome! :)

Reply
Melanie Edgal
16/4/2017 02:12:29 pm

You have actually given a label to what I do. Thank you for this article.

Reply
Nick Wright
16/4/2017 02:13:33 pm

Thanks, Melanie. Do you have any examples of what you do that you would be happy to share?

Reply
Diane Dugan
17/4/2017 03:59:12 pm

Beautiful.

Reply
Nick Wright
17/4/2017 03:59:51 pm

Thanks Diane. :)

Reply
Marita Jane Laxa
18/4/2017 12:43:12 pm

That's awesome, Nick!

Reply
Nick Wright
18/4/2017 12:43:45 pm

Thanks for such encouraging feedback, Marita!

Reply
Stella Connor Assoc CIPD
18/4/2017 12:44:27 pm

Great story Nick, really inspiring.

Reply
Nick Wright
18/4/2017 12:44:51 pm

Thanks Stella. :)

Reply
Tony Henson
18/4/2017 04:28:09 pm

Nick, sounds great, if you need another trainer let me know.

Reply
Nick Wright
18/4/2017 04:28:59 pm

Thanks Tony!

Reply
Ann Marie Cilley
18/4/2017 06:58:08 pm

Wonderful article - thank you!

Reply
Nick Wright
18/4/2017 06:58:41 pm

Hi Ann. Thanks for your kind feedback!

Reply
Mumtaz Ahmad
19/4/2017 08:40:41 am

Awesome experiment, keep up such novel practices.

Reply
Nick Wright
19/4/2017 08:42:00 am

Thanks Mumtaz. I'm always interested to try new experiments.

Reply
Maggie Donovan
19/4/2017 11:07:36 am

A lovely story Nick, and something we, as trainers, should all keep in mind.

Reply
Nick Wright
19/4/2017 11:08:15 am

Thanks Maggie. It was a lovely experience to spend time with these children. :)

Reply
Eric Kimori
19/4/2017 12:17:05 pm

Beautiful! His grace is sufficient.

Reply
Nick Wright
19/4/2017 12:17:35 pm

Thanks Eric - and yes, I agree.

Reply
Ferdi Jose
24/4/2017 02:29:24 pm

Hope you had a great time in the Philippines, Nick. Glad to know you've been instrumental for such amazing project here.

Reply
Nick Wright
24/4/2017 02:30:33 pm

Thanks Ferdi. It was a wonderful experience and the children seemed to enjoy and benefit from it too! :)

Reply



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    ​Nick Wright

    ​I'm a psychological coach, trainer and OD consultant. Curious to discover how can I help you? ​Get in touch!

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