Learning at work

Getting a job is one thing. Getting it done is another one. At the job interview my Norwegian was judged to be good enough to work with children in a primary school. The recruitment process was a big test, but the work was an even bigger trial of my language skills. I succeeded, but it was not easy at first. Working in a Norwegian-speaking environment thoroughly tested my actual level of the language and pushed me to learn more. It showed that I had learnt a lot, but it also bluntly revealed areas of my incompetence.

Everyday language

When you work in a Norwegian-speaking environment, the language inevitably becomes an integral part of your daily life. I cannot escape Norwegian since I got a job at Aktivitetskole. I can read books or watch films in other languages. I can talk to my Norwegian friends in English. But in the workplace I have to use Norwegian. I am exposed to Norwegian almost all the time, whether I want to or not. My leaders communicate with me in Norwegian. Children talk to me in Norwegian. Parents ask me questions in Norwegian. And most of my work consists of interacting with these people.

At work I am forced not only to understand messages in Norwegian, but also to to use my language skills to solve problems presented by the children - for example, interpersonal conflicts, technical problems, questions about rules or plans. In these situations I have to use the language creatively to provide solutions, and I usually get instant feedback on whether what I said was helpful or not. Solving real-life problems with rapid feedback loops is a challenging but very effective way of developing language skills. I experience such high-level learning moments every day at work, and I do not have to look for them because they come to me from kids, parents or colleagues.

Challenge

Significant learning begins with confronting a serious and meaningful problem. Experiencing difficulty creates a desire to learn or change. The new job presented me with challenges that took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to learn.

In the beginning, working in a Norwegian-speaking environment was difficult because I was not completely fluent. The interview was much easier than many situations I have to face at work, such as communicating with children who cry, behave aggressively, speak with speech disorders, sometimes all of these things at the same time.

When I started at Aktivitetskole, I struggled with almost every conversation. Very often I only understood the gist of what the kids were telling me, sometimes nothing at all, and they could see it on my face and hear it from my stupid answers. Fortunately, they were very patient and liked me despite the communication problems. I think it was my positive attitude towards them, my openness and my initiative in making contact that enabled me to win their hearts. They tolerated my poor Norwegian because they enjoyed spending time and playing with me. Building positive relationships with the children is an essential part of my job, but it also created a good social environment for improving my Norwegian. I reached a higher level of fluency through daily conversations with the children, where I had to overcome some linguistic challenges. Now I feel much more comfortable speaking Norwegian than when I started working at Aktivitetskole. I have reached this point by going through the discomfort associated with communication difficulties.

Genuine feedback

Almost all the comments I have heard from adults about my Norwegian have been positive. I have not received much criticism from them. Adults tend to be polite, especially here in Norway. Children, however, are much more honest. If you sound strange, they will tell you. If you pronounce something wrong, they will point it out without hesitation. They will not pretend to understand if they have no idea what you are talking about. At least this is my experience at Aktivitetskole. The children I work with are my best teachers because they give me sincere feedback and are quick to correct my mistakes.

Honest feedback can be painful. The children showed me that my Norwegian was not as good as I thought it was. On one of my first days at work, a boy asked me to teach him Swedish because he thought I spoke that language instead of Norwegian. To him and other Norwegian children, Swedish sounds like an understandable but strange version of Norwegian. So he understood what I was saying, but it did not sound like real Norwegian. Another time a girl told me: "You don't speak Norwegian at all! ".I cannot count all the corrections I received from the children. Such situations were a bit stressful, but they motivated me to work on my accuracy. I decided to put some effort into studying Norwegian grammar and pronunciation patterns, which enabled me to correct some of the mistakes I had made earlier. My Norwegian is still far from perfect, but it has become much more correct thanks to the kids' brutal honesty.

Learning's cost

The children's critical comments convinced me that I had much more to learn than I thought. The work was enjoyable from the beginning, because a large part of it was playing with children. However, the need to communicate in my poor Norwegian every day caused a lot of stress and discomfort. These difficult and awkward situations have been very valuable for me because they are important learning moments and sources of relevant feedback.

Work took me out of my comfort zone. I got a job in a Norwegian-speaking environment when my language level could be described as roughly communicative. At first, every conversation was a struggle. Now I am much more fluent and confident in Norwegian. I can handle almost all daily conversations at work with ease. It has cost me some stress, but the progress I have made in overcoming these challenges has been worth the price.