Working with you as you develop and integrate CELBAN & CLB-based skills.

Did you know that CELBANPrep has One-on-One Coaching?

What is CELBANPrep Coaching? Why is it sold separately?

What is the difference between getting feedback and attending coaching sessions?

What happens when I add CELBANPrep Coaching to the Silver or GOLD bundle?

CELBANPrep Coaching is the human developmental layer of CELBANPrep University.

It is offered separately as part of the Compassionate Pricing Policy.

Coaching accompanies the Silver and GOLD learning pathways.

The courses and modules provide structured instruction and learning materials.

Coaching provides the human interaction through which you, as a learner, can receive:

• clarification. ✅

• verbal feedback. ✅

• encouragement. ✅

• practice. ✅

• application. ✅

• integration. ✅

• mentoring. ✅

• role modelling. ✅

Coaching is not simply correcting assignments.

It is not another set of lessons.

It is not simply giving a learner a score.

Coaching is working with you, the learner, as you develop the skills.

In all reality, you can study a lesson independently.

You can watch the video.

Read the material.

Complete the activities.

Practise.

Complete an assignment.

But sometimes you needs another person to help you understand what is happening in your work.

That is where coaching comes in.

A coach may notice:

“You understand this idea, but you keep making the same communication pattern error.”

Or:

“You know the grammar rule, but you are not yet using it consistently in your writing.”

Or:

“You are asking questions, but you are not yet listening to what the other person is actually saying.”

Or:

“This is the same difficulty we saw before. Let's look at it again.”

Your work actually becomes the STARTING POINT for the coaching.

With coaching, you do not simply receive a correction.

You actually have an opportunity to understand, practise, revise, and apply the skill again until it is no longer a challenge and you are no longer struggling.

Coaching Accompanies Silver and Gold

The Silver Bundle

With the Silver Bundle, learners like you have already taken CELBAN.

They have their results and feedback report.

They generally know more about where they need development.

Their pathway is:

CELBAN → Results + Feedback Identifing Development Needs → Silver → Coaching

The GOLD Bundle

The GOLD Bundle is for IENs, like you, who are developing their skills before taking CELBAN.

Their pathway is:

Skill Development → GOLD → Coaching → Integration → CELBAN

With the GOLD bundle, the learner's starting point is different.

But the skills being developed are still CLB-based communication skills.

The coach is not teaching one set of skills to Silver learners and another set to Gold learners.

The skills are the same.

The start point is different.

The developmental philosophy is the same.

The awareness is different.

3 Characteristics of CELBANPrep Coaching

1. Coaching Works With Your Actual Work

Learning comes from the lessons.

Your work becomes the STARTING POINT of the coaching.

For example, you may submit:

• responses to a lesson

• stories of application

• challenges

• questions about an activity

• writing assignments

  1. sentences

  2. paragraphs

  3. work from Grammar Essentials

CELBANPrep Coached then review what you have actually produced, presented, and shared.

That makes the coaching different from simply giving another lecture.

2. Coaching Is Cumulative

Conversations do not begin again every week.

For example, you may discover a CLB-based skill in Week 1.

In Week 2, you carry that learning forward.

The skill expands: new facets are added.

You share stories of your experience - how you applied those skills - in your coaching session.

In Week 3, the same skill expands, once again, as you add on another layer.

During a coaching session, the coach notices and observes not only when the skill is becoming part of the learner's communication pattern.

The coach shares the observation about when that pattern is a little off from where it needs to be.

The learner is oriented within the skill: within the experience.

Discernment happens.

Now the learner can decide when and how to practice the skill.

They act with greater confidence and assurity.

This creates a cumulative learning process:

Lesson 1

⬇️

CLB-skill

⬇️

Assignment

⬇️

Observe & Practice

⬇️

Share experience during a coaching session

⬇️

Orient & Understand

⬇️

Discern, Decide, & Act with Confidence

⬇️

Lesson 2

⬇️

CLB-skill

⬇️

Assignment

⬇️

Apply the previous learning

Observe & Practice

⬇️

Share experience during a coaching session

⬇️

Identify Patterns

Orient & Understand

⬇️

Discern, Decide, & Act with Confidence

⬇️

Practise again

⬇️

Integrate

⬇️

BUILD

You are not simply collecting corrections.

You are building a skill.

3. Coaching Is Iterative

As you can see from the movement pathway above,

you may not understand or orient within a CLB skill the first time you attend a coaching session, have patterns identified, and receive feedback.

That is normal.

Over time, you may:

1. try a skill

2. observe what happens

3. reflect upon it

4. attend a coaching session

5. receive feedback

6. understand the pattern: identify the problem

7. decide to act

8. try again

9. make the same or different mistake

10. receive more guidance in a following coaching session

11. try again

12. begin to recognize the pattern

13. use the skill more independently

That is development.

That is the intention of the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLBs): independence.

And, that is why the 3 CELBANPrep Gold Bundle Courses are 12 weeks (90 days) long.

CELBANPrep Courses + Coaching allows you to stay with the skill - experiencing it - long enough for it to become integrated within your life and being.

When skills are integrated within your life and being: 

you are not only ready to excel on the CELBAN,

you are also ready and able to ensure patient health and safety.

And that is our ultimate goal. 

It isn't just passing some exam.

It is ensuring patient health and safety.

And that is a noble goal, isn't it?

One all health professionals should have?

Mentoring

CELBANPrep Coaching includes mentoring.

But what is mentoring and why is it important?

Mentoring means that the learner is not only told what to change.

Mentoring helps you, as the learner, see the larger picture.

Mentoring is the first step to observing.

A coach may help you ask reflective questions:

• What do I notice, observe, or perceive?

• What am I actually doing?

• Why am I doing it?

• What happens when I communicate this way?

• What is NOT happening when I communicate in this way?

• What does the other person need?

• Am I filling that need?

• What am I not noticing yet: about my self, and anout the other person?

• How can I try this differently?

• How can I build confidence when trying this differently?

• Where else can I use this skill?

Through mentoring, you, as the learner, are developing as a communicator in moderately demanding to demanding situations: not simply completing another assignment, getting a mark, and continuing without integration or reflection.

Role Modelling

Have you ever noticed how some communication skills are difficult to learn from written instructions alone?

Watching videos doesn't help.

Doing something without knowing what to look for doesn't help.

Sitting in class while other people speak and you listen quietly, doesn't help.

Some times you actually need to observe, and experience, someone else using the skill.

Modelling is the first step to orienting within the skill: experientially.

Demonstrating shows you how to do something.

Modelling actually embodies what it is you seek to learn how to do.

Because some skills need to be seen and experienced: personally.

When you, as the learner, have someone who embodies  a CLB skill,

you can witness, observe and experience - first hand - the impact of that skill being embodying within the being and the personality of another individual.

This can help you, as the learner, see the larger picture.

The value of embodiment, of modelling, should not be underestimated. 

During a CELBANPrep Coaching session, the coach may model:

• being curious. ✅

• listening attentively. ✅

• asking probing questions. ✅

• responding to emotional upset with ease and grace. ✅

• perceiving what is really happening on a deeper level. ✅

• applying compassionate problem solving to every day life situations. ✅

• knowing what to do in moderately demanding to demanding situations. ✅

When coaching integrated modelling:

1. The learner experiences the impact of the CLB-based communication.

2. The learner can discern the intrinsic value of role-modelling.

3. And, the learner can decide to act, to practise, to embody, to emulate the skill.

This is one reason human interaction matters when learning new skills.

You are not only learning about communication.

You are experiencing advanced professional interpersonal communication.

CELBANPrep Coaching and Patient-Centred Care

There is a deeper connection here.

Student-centred learning and patient-centred communication have something important in common.

In both situations, the person is not simply treated as a problem to be corrected.

• The person's experience matters.

• Their difficulties, challenges, and obstacles matter.

• Questions provide insight into what is really happening.

• It is from insight that direction and pace are determined.

• The person is not only invited into the process, the individual determines the path going forward.

When someone experiences student-centred learning, instead of teacher-centred teaching, this creates an opportunity for you, as the learner, to experience the kind of communication you will later provide to patients, families, colleagues, and other healthcare professionals in Canadian contexts.

Some professional skills are learned through explanation.

Others are lived through relationship, experience, observation, practice, and modelling.

Student-centred learning softens the transition into patient-centred care.

CELBANPrep Coaching Sessions Follow the Learner

Adopting a student-centred learning process, instead of teacher-centred teaching, means that 

CELBANPrep Coaching sessions do not have fixed lectures, plans, or processes that every learner - no matter their background or situation - receives.

Our coaching sessions follows where you, as a learner, are.

Our coaches meet you there, and guide you forward, to the next step.

For example:

If you are working on E2Q Lesson 1

The coaching will focus on that lesson:

Identifying Core Emotions

During a coaching session, you share stories about what you observed, in your self, and in others: at home, at work, at school. 

The coach expands on what you share, providing insight into the situation, orienting you in the skill as you discuss examples, discerning what worked and what did not, so that you can decide on how to practise identifying emotions during future conversations. 

By asking questions, probing deeper, and reflecting on your own personal experience, together with the coach, you work through communication situation. 

The convesation ends with you feeling encouraged, enlightened, motivated, and empowered to continue on this learning journey.

If you are working on C3 Lesson 7

The coaching will focus on that lesson:

Compassionate Problem Solving

Beginning the session with a regular check-in, the coach asks you about the challenges and difficulties you are facing in your own life: at home, at school, at work. 

You tell a story about what is happening in your life. 

You do not recognize or realize that your coach is identifying not only what is happening, but how you feel about it. 

Within seconds, you realize that you are feeling calmer about the situation. 

The lightness allows you to see things from a different perspective. 

The coach's curiosity emboldens you when it comes to brainstorming solutions. 

You choose one with ease. And you know the coach will follow up with you, to see how it went, in the next session. 

You are not new to this process. It has been happening all along. 

Only now that you are at lesson 7 in Canadian Communication and Culture, do you see and understand how the previous lessons in E2Q and C3 combine together to create compassionate problem-solving. 

You realize something you did not understand before: 

Your coach has been mentoring you and modelling this skill from the very beginning. 

And now that you have experienced it personally, over and over again, you know the intrinsic value of adopting and applying this skill in your own life: at home, at work, and in the community. 

CELBANPrep GOLD + coaching is no longer about the CELBAN; it is about a way of life. 

It is Canadian Communication and Culture.

If you are working on Grammar Essentials: Advanced Punctuation and Sentence Structure

The coaching will focus on triaging.

You present sentences you have been working on. 

You are able to identify the parts:

• independent clauses, 

• dependent clauses, 

• conjunctions, 

• commas, and 

• triaging.

Your coach reviews your sentences, presenting four patterns, and encouraging you to practise: right there, right then.

You explore each of the four patterns, and suddenly see how one sentence can be rewritten in four different ways. 

Each sentence means the same thing, but the complexity differs.

You are no longer writing simple sentences.

You have been initiated into the domain of a writer.

You smile knowing that one simple lesson can make that much of a difference. 

Your motivation level, within, increases. 

Your determination and dedication increases. 

Not because you have learned something new. 

But because someone actually took the time to show you a pattern you had not seen before.

And once you see it, you can not unsee it. 

That magical moment of seeing what was once unseen,

what others do not see,

transforms your understanding of the CELBAN

and CLB-based skill development. 

It is no longer about an exam.

It is about your life.

Your career.

Your future. 

And that is something that makes you smile when you do your homework assignments. 

You begin to understand the intrinsic value of one-on-one coaching: how it follows you, as the learning, rather than forcing you into some predetermined lecture process, some teacher-determined timing.

If you are working on Medical Collocations

The coach will observe your wording when writing and speaking.

You watch, observing every move, as your CELBANPrep Coach, reviews your writing.

Colours suddenly appear on the screen.

You wonder what they are saying, what they mean.

You observe a pattern.

Phrases are highlighted in purple. 

You smile, pleased that you have not used AI. 

What appeared to be a prepositional error, is actually a collocation. 

What does that mean? 

You begin to understand that some words, in English, are strung together. 

And they have to be memorized. 

When you memorize Medical Collocations, your speech and writing sounds more natural: like a native English speaker. 

Communication flows smoothly. 

So, in your session, and alone, you write sentences.

You experiment with the wording. 

Your coach identifies when the established pattern is followed. 

Your coach encourages you to integrate the pattern in your writing, in your daily life. 

Time passes. 

Lessons advance. 

You are on Lesson 7 in Wonderful Writing.

Finally, you are writing in a medical context. 

You organize your thoughts: 1 minute.

You write: 5 minutes.

You organize the passages: 5 minutes.

You have time to edit. 

You review your work. 

You observe a miracle. 

You have used Medical Collocations correctly: with ease and grace. 

You smile. 

There was something to that coaching process, and all that practice. 

Your coach reviews your work. 

It is practically error free. 

You glow inside, knowing you did it, you achieved something you did not even know was a problem. 

You achieved something many other IENs and IEHPs do not even know is a problem. 

You smile again. 

This time it reaches your eyes. 

You nod your head knowingly. 

Coaching Is More Than Correction

Correction answers:

“What is wrong?”

Coaching can go further:

• “What happened?” ✅

• “Why is this happening?” ✅

• “What is working?" ✅

• "What isn't working?" ✅

• “What pattern is appearing?” ✅

• “Where does the difficulty begin?” ✅

• "How do we ensure it does not happen again?"

• “What can we practice?" ✅

• "How, when, where can we practise it?” ✅

• “Where else could you use this?” ✅

That movement matters.

Correction can identify an error.

Our Coaching helps you, as a learner, develop the skill behind the error.

Coaching and Integration

Our goal is not to create a learner who can perform memorized actions.

Our goal is to mentor and model how to use the skill in ever-changing moderately-demanding to demanding healthcare contexts.

In one situation.

And again in another situation.

Unpredictability is the nature of the healthcare system.

So adapting to the unpredictable nature of life is what you need to do to ensure patient health and safety.

Eventually, you can do that without needing the coach to stand beside you.

Eventually, you can do that independently. 

That is what CELBANPrep Coaching is about:

your independence.

Our learning movement becomes:

LEARN

⬇️

Observe & Practice

⬇️

Share experience

⬇️

Orient & Understand

⬇️

Discern, Decide, & Act with Confidence

⬇️

LEARN

⬇️

Observe & Practice

⬇️

Share experience

⬇️

Apply the previous learning

Orient & Understand

⬇️

Share experience during a coaching session

⬇️

Identify Patterns

Orient & Understand

⬇️

Discern, Decide, & Act with Confidence

⬇️

Practise again

⬇️

Integrate

⬇️

BUILD

⬇️

Use Independently

That final movement matters.

Coaching is not designed to create dependence on the coach.

It is designed to support development toward greater independence.

How Much Coaching Is Included?

There are two options with the Silver and GOLD Bundles:

1. Self-study using one of the bundles (an affordable option through the CELBANPrep Compassionate Pricing Policy).

2. CELBANPrep Bundle + Coaching Add-on

When coaching is selected along with CELBANPrep GOLD's 12 week program, the typical structure for coaching:

12 weeks × ~2 hours per week = ~24 hours of live coaching/support.

This is approximately 24 hours of human interaction over the 12-week pathway

(which includes 3 full-length courses: C3, E2Q, WW.)

The actual amount of time can vary according to the learner's circumstances and needs.

Coaching sessions occur in addition to the course learning.

The learner is not choosing between:

• “36 lessons”

and

• “24 hours of coaching.”

These are different parts of the learning experience.

The courses provide structured instruction.

Coaching provides human developmental support around that instruction.

Coaching Is a Separate Layer

CELBANPrep follows a Compassionate Pricing Policy.

> The people who needed these resources most were not always the people who could afford to pay the most for them.

> The purpose of the Compassionate Pricing Policy is to recognize that ability to pay and desire to learn are not the same thing.

You, as a learner, may be deeply committed to becoming a healthcare professional in Canada and still not be able to afford the full Canadian-market cost of every educational service.

• You may be able to afford the Silver and GOLD Bundles but not the additional expenses that would typically accompany 3 full-term 12 week univesity level courses. 

Compassionate pricing creates this other possibility:

1. You can start with what you can afford. 

2. Then use the resources available to you. 

3. Develop your skills, independently. 

4. Then, invest more when you are able.

This principle has been part of CELBANPrep since its earliest resources. 

Visit www.free-celban.celbanprep.ca to witness and experience this policy in action.

Take the FREE Virtual Tour right here at CELBANPrep University.

Attend FREE Live Events co-hosted with the CELBAN HELP Centre.

Observe. Orient. Discern. Decide. Then Act.

Separating coaching from the courses allows you, as a learner, to choose the degree of investment that fits your circumstances.

The course provides the structured learning.

Coaching adds more: mentoring and role modelling, feedback and instruction, rolled into one; supporting development toward greater independence; identifying patterns and developing the skill towards eliminating errors.

This is similar to the difference between having access to a university course and having additional class time, student support, and individualized guidance.

Coaching, as an add-on, simply acknowledges the value of the human work involved:

• time,

• energy,

• dedication, and

• what it took to obtain this level of expertise.

The question for you remains:

How valuable is human interaction, mentoring, role modelling, individualized feedback, encouragement, and integration?

What does it mean to the future you?

7 Common Misconceptions

1. CELBANPrep Coaching means correcting my assignments.

Not only. Reviewing work can be part of coaching.

But coaching goes beyond identifying errors.

It includes pattern identification, mentoring, modelling, and integration.

2. Coaching is just another course.

No. The 3 CELBANPrep GOLD courses provide the structured instruction.

Coaching accompanies the learning.

It works with what the learner is actually learning and doing.

This is similar to the difference between having access to a university course and having additional class time, student support, and individualized guidance.

3. Coaching means the lessons are not enough.

No. The lessons provide the instructional foundation.

Coaching provides an additional layer of human support.

Some learners prefer self-study.

Others benefit from having a person work alongside them.

4. The coach teaches everything during the coaching session.

No. Lessons instruct: structured instruction is within the courses.

The coaching session are for application: following the learner's process.

Coaching helps the learner understand, practise, apply, revise, and integrate that learning.

The intent of CELBANPrep Coaching sessions is to: observe, orient, discern, decide, and act with confidence.

5. Silver coaching and GOLD coaching teach different skills.

No. The starting point is different.

Silver learners have already taken CELBAN and have results and feedback.

GOLD IEN learners are developing their skills before taking CELBAN.

The underlying goals and skills are the same CLB-based communication skills.

The pathways to that end goal differ: The Silver bundle offers intensive training, while the GOLD bundle offers 3 full-length university-level courses.

6. Coaching is only for learners who are struggling.

No. Coaching supports learners who choose either the Silver or the GOLD Bundle. It is offered separately as part of the Compassionate Pricing Policy. 

Coaching is for learners who want additional human support to develop CLB skills further through mentoring and role-modelling, feedback and instruction.

Coaches identify recurring patterns, foster skill development, and support the integration of these skills into daily life and living.

7. More coaching automatically means more learning.

Not necessarily. Coaching is additional support for the learning journey.

You do not have to do it alone.

You still have to practise, apply, revise, and integrate the skills.

The relationship between coaching and instruction matters, but your participation matters too.

Examples

Example 1: A recurring writing problem

A learner submits several pieces of writing.

The first piece has a sentence-structure problem.

The coach observes it.

The learner receives the correction, but does not understand the pattern: yet.

The next assignment is submitted, the problem re-appears.

Instead of treating the second error as completely new, the coach recognizes the recurring pattern and orients the learner: providing instruction, guiding the learner to the lesson, and encouraging and supporting the adoption of a new pattern.

The learner learns how to observe their own writing.

They discern the problem.

They decide the course of action.

The correct the mistake.

Over time, the individual has learned to recognize the pattern independently.

That is coaching, where coaching = (mentoring + modeling) + (feedback + instruction).

Example 2: Speaking and modelling

You have observed that you have difficulty responding when a patient expresses concern.

The coach orients you into the skill by modelling curiosity, attentiveness, and questioning combined together as one.

You experience the interaction.

You decide to experiment with it.

You try it: one skill at a time:

• becoming curious,

• being attentive, and

• asking probing questions.

The coach discerns where you need more guidance: responding with support and encouragement.

You try again.

You begin to notice and observe how listening attentively, from a place of curiosity, changes the response in the other person.

You orient your self within the lesson, within the learning.

You discern when to use this particular skill in other decisions. 

You act with confidence: knowing experientially the deep impact of being attended to.

That is coaching, 

where coaching = (observing and orienting) + (discerning, deciding, and acting).

Example 3: Medical collocations

You knows the words:

administer / medication

but are unsure how to use the expression naturally in a healthcare context.

The coach works with you: orienting you in creating actual sentences.

You observe the pattern.

You examine the language together.

You decide to practise and create more examples.

With each iteration you discern the subtle differences.

You uses the wording again: this time in speech.

The wording becomes connected to you: internally.

You act with confidence: knowing the pattern and how to correct it.

You are learning how to repair communication ruptures.

You are learning how to prevent miscommunications. 

A sense of warmth grows within. 

You are capable.

You are competent.

And that gives you even more confidence.

That is more than correcting a vocabulary mistake.

That isn't just coaching. 

That is integration.

That is coaching, where coaching = (mentoring + modeling) + (feedback + instruction).

And where coaching = (observing and orienting) + (discerning, deciding, and acting).

FAQ

What is CELBANPrep Coaching?

CELBANPrep Coaching is the human developmental layer that accompanies the Silver and GOLD Bundles as an add-on.

It provides mentoring, modelling, feedback, encouragement, and support with integrating CLB-based communication skills.

Is coaching the same as tutoring?

Not exactly. Tutoring is more instructive and may focus on explaining or teaching a subject.

CELBANPrep Coaching may include a degree of teaching moments, but its purpose is broader in scope, meaning, and reach. The intent of CELBANPrep Coaching is to work with the learner through their developmental journey through an iterative process that may include: review, practice, mentoring, modelling, and integration.

Does coaching include feedback?

Yes. Feedback can be part of coaching.

But coaching is broader than feedback.

Feedback tells the learner something about their work.

CELBANPrep Coaching goes beyond simply providing feedback or identifying what is wrong and how to improve. Coaching is a combination of several elements: 

• mentoring + modeling

• feedback + instruction

• observing and orienting

• discerning, deciding, and acting.

CELBANPrep Coaching helps you not only understand the feedback, but also practise the skill, revise the work, and apply the skill again until you can act with discernment and confidence.

Is writing reviewed?

Yes, when writing coaching is included.

The coach can review submitted documents, provide written feedback, identify recurring patterns, and work with the learner on revision and application. 

Writing coaching is in alignment with the 4 Grammar Essentials modules in the Silver Bundle or the 12 week Wonderful Writing Course in the Gold Bundle.

Is speaking practised?

Yes. Speaking coaching includes live interaction, speaking practice, modelling, clarification, and application. Topics are in alignment with the modules for the Silver bundle or courses in the GOLD bundle.

Does coaching include medical English?

CELBANPrep Coaching specializes in identifying medical collocations errors when they arise in the learner's communication patterns: bith in writing and in speech.

The purpose when identifying medical collocation errors is not simply to memorize medical vocabulary.

The purpose is to become more familiar with the patterns and combinations that occur naturally in the writing and speech of native English communicators. 

How long are coaching sessions?

The normal structure is approximately two hours per week over 12 weeks, for the GOLD bundle, or approximately 24 hours of live coaching/support.

This can vary depending on the learner's circumstances and needs.

Does coaching happen separately from the courses?

When IENs and IEHPs opt in to the coaching add-on, the coaching sessions accompany the 4 modules in the Silver Bundle, and the 3 full-length 12-week courses offered in the GOLD Bundle.

You bring your current learning and work into the coaching relationship, which then direct the interactions and pace.

Is coaching available with Silver?

Yes. Coaching can accompany the Silver Bundle.

Silver learners have already taken CELBAN and generally have results and a feedback report that help identify their development needs. They know what they need, and can quicken their learning with the 4 modules.

Is coaching available with GOLD?

Yes. Coaching can accompany the GOLD Bundle.

Gold learners may be developing the skills before taking CELBAN or may be IEHPs developing CLB-based professional communication. Either way, coaching supports the development and inegration of the CLB-skills presented in the 3 full-term university-level courses that are part of the GOLD Bundle.

Do I have to have coaching?

No. Coaching is a separate support layer.

You can work through the structured learning materials as self-study.

But most people who start on this path eventually opt-into the coaching add-on for mentoring, modelling, and integrative feedback.

Coaching continues to be available for learners who want additional human support.

What is the purpose of coaching?

The purpose is not to create perfect assignments.

The purpose is to help the learner develop and integrate CLB-based communication skills into moderately demanding to demanding real-life circumstances and situations.