When we started our marketing process for Maths tuition, we were repeatedly asked a question that we could not ignore. Time and again, alongside enquiries about GCSE Maths, A Level Maths, Statistics and Geometry, we heard “Do you offer English classes for adults?”
The question came from professionals who had moved to the UK, highly skilled in their fields. They had already overcome complex, technical and professional challenges, yet the barrier they had felt holding them back was their own perceived lack of 'perfect' English fluency.
It was through my work with Empower LATAM that I realised just how much of a barrier this was was when searching for jobs. I witnessed how a slight accent or hesitation in phrasing meant the negation of experience, expertise and work ethic. Employers, at times, seemed to privilege a more local dialect over any other quality. At Reclaim Ed, we realised that part of empowering the community means providing services that will meet them where they are at. Immense professional capability yet unearned linguistic insecurity.
We embarked on a TEFL level 5 diploma programme in which both Maya Xian and I qualified to teach English to learners of other languages. This course was insightful to say the least. It was interesting to see the detail that is included in this course; the anatomy of pronunciation, the psychology of different styles of reading texts to the history of the English language itself. It highlighted, with startling clarity, the unequal expectations we place on global talent. The innate bias in expecting someone to “just know” how to speak English flawlessly, while we celebrate ourselves for knowing mere phrases of another language. International candidates are held to ridiculously high standards in a language that isn't their own that they still somehow continue to meet. Yet they are still threatened with the fear of their rights to work being waved in their faces hoping that they do not misstep to retain their skilled-work visa.
Despite being aware of all of these things and having our own opinion of these expectations, we understand that the best way to help the global majority succeed in the British or American job market, is to share the knowledge of the English language, our skillset as educators and our experience of navigating the Anglo-speaking world with all those who seek these things. We are not interested in gate keeping our experiences and if we can share best practice, hacks and strategies to ensure that people have a fighting chance in their professional environment, we will gladly develop a course, which is exactly where we chose to start.
It makes us infinitely pleased to be able to offer English to speakers of other languages, starting off with our private lessons, tailored to any level and with our Business English group sessions which have been carefully designed to ensure that you succeed in the corporate world. There is no more need to feel like you have missed a joke, missed the opportunity to insert a greeting or even failed to handle an interruption in a meeting with grace. Welcome to this new phase as we watch our business grow and continue to be moulded by the community that it serves.