Why expecting less perfection when hiring can be a big plus.

We’ve probably all read this before:
Job advert: Fluent in German and English. Other languages are a plus.

Expecting perfection might mean: You will lose valuable talents!

FINN has realised what a great benefit it is to support their team in learning and improving a foreign language. One of our teachers, JC, supports many learners of English to finetune their language skills. Besides the fact that nobody is perfect, JC is amazed by the fantastic attitude of the people which FINN hires.

In his English classes, JC “create[s] a safe environment for them to learn, practice, and make mistakes without any reprisals or severe consequences, unlike in some real-workplace situations.”

Barlingua had the pleasure to interview him about his teaching experience at FINN. 

Lina: JC, you’ve recently taught quite a few students from FINN. What do they usually struggle with the most, and what goals do they have?

JC: Lina, the students I have had mostly struggled with confidence in their English skills, be it grammar, vocabulary, writing, listening or speaking. Fluency is the most recurring goal.

Lina: How do you foster that in class?

JC: Based on their individual needs analysis, I customize the class to suit their goals. With some students, there is a heavier emphasis on different aspects of the language.

What I stress the most is that students do not put extra undue stress on themselves by judging their English. That is counterproductive.

I create a safe environment for them to learn, practice, and make mistakes without any reprisals or severe consequences, unlike in some real-workplace situations.

We talk a lot, watch and discuss videos, do worksheets, read articles and more recently, augment our lessons with ChatGPT. We have to embrace the new technology available to us, I call ChatGPT my personal assistant.

Lina: Of course, good learning progress comes with work from students as well. Usually, FINN students work full-time. How can they manage to reach their goals?

JC: We actually cover most of their needs in class. If they don’t have the time to study at home, come to class regularly and participate actively. That normally leads to progress. Of course, doing more at home speeds up the learning process.

Lina: One of your FINN students, Kim, passed a C2 English Cambridge exam. What a great achievement! How did you both manage to attain such an amazing result?

JC: Well Lina, I have mentioned it to both you and Graeme, I am amazed at the quality of the people FINN hires. Kim was no exception.

She came into the course with the clear goal/ mindset of getting C1 certification. 

I honestly thought that would be a stretch given the limited amount of lessons we had, but I was up for the challenge. 

Seeing how determined she was and, since we had lessons twice a week, we made a schedule to work on required specific skills for each lesson day. We stuck to the plan and worked hard!

Neither one of us was prepared for the excellent result. C1 was the goal, C2 was overachieving and, a first for both of us! I was very proud and in awe of her. I knew how much time she put in, averaging 3 hours of studying/day after work and/or even more on weekends. She did writing-assignments without my asking. With that kind of sustained effort, good success is very likely. Additionally, there was mutual trust.

Thankfully, we were able to extend the class a few months to get Kim as well-prepared for the CAE test as possible.

Lina: When I talked to you about it, you mentioned that Kim is a model student. What can others do to follow her example?

JC: Be smart, open, humorous, willing and resilient.