Do you have any ideas on how I can find a nurturer?
Put together a little ad or flyer. (get a friend to help you write it in the local language). Then walk around and pass this around the neighborhood asking if anyone knows someone looking for a job. By handing out a printed flyer along with your verbal “request”, you show people you are serious and also give them time to think/reflect about the opportunity.
Ask your neighborhood or community leader. Often he or she will know who is in financial need, and it shows respect to the community to go through the leader. Ask others such as neighbors, landlords or people who have been helpful to you.
If a group of you are all looking for nurturers, invite an LLA to give a free one-day workshop for nurturers, advertise it, give the one-day workshop to anyone who turns up, and at the end of the day, ask who is interested in listing their name for availability as a nurturer.
Other ideas
• Ask foreigners about their friends and Nurturers.
• Ask locals in your neighborhood or wherever you go, friends of friends . . .
• Ask your students, co-workers, friends.
• Advertise at English language schools, university, grocery stores, in your neighborhood.
• Look for people who already meet you in your growth zone.
• Go through a local provider if flexible.
• Check the internet; but look for locals, not those from other areas or host people groups.
• Start with a trial period to make sure both you and the nurturer are happy with the situation.
Phase specific ideas for finding nurturers
Phase 1: Be willing to pay a little more for an experienced Phase 1 nurturer. Commit to him/her just for phase 1. It helps if a nurturer has already been trained by a Language Learning Advisor (LLA) or coach, or has already worked with others. Ask an LLA to help you find your phase 1 nurturer. If you don’t have anyone to help you, I suggest “advertising” for someone to do “language practice activities and games” with you. Someone who is young and open to new ideas works well. Try looking in the university language teaching department for students who want to try a “language learning experiment.” You may also describe needing someone who is willing to play games with you that help you learn the language.
Phase 2: One growing participator carried around a little wordless picture story book with her along with her ad/flyer. She showed people what she wanted to do by opening the book and starting to talk about a picture and then eliciting their help. This really helped show people that it could be fun and easy to do this “job.”
Phase 3: Tell people you just want to sit around and listen to and tell stories.
Phase 4: Tell people you are interested in learning more about their lives, lifestyle and culture and you want to interview them about their lives and jobs.
Phase 5-6: Hey, who minds getting paid to watch TV shows and movies [in the case of major languages where these resources are available]? You’re on the home stretch here.
Should my nurturer know English?
For Phase 1, it is helpful to have a nurturer who understands English or another shared language. For Phases 2-6, it is not necessary and in some cases could be detrimental. Beyond Phase 1, it is never really absolutely necessary to use English or another language with your nurturer again. In Phase 2, it’s optional. In Phase 2, you can use English or another shared language for brief 5 minute times to discuss thing you tried to say and failed during your monolingual half hour. In Phase 3 and beyond, all your time with your nurturer and shouldn’t include any English or other shared language.
What about when you and your nurturer don’t share a language? For phase 1, it is very helpful to get a Language Learning Advisor (LLA), coach or friend who can translate to help explain the activities to your nurturer and show them how to do them. If this is not possible, do a “reverse” demonstration teaching him some English words using the activities. You can also use the videos here which demonstrate the activities and games. The Phase one guide is also now available in several major languages. We encourage more translations for this purpose.