Frequently Asked Questions
How long will it take to improve my English?
You can expect to notice an improvement after just a handful of lessons but realistically it will take a few months before you really feel you’ve made significant progress.
People learn at different rates for a variety of reasons. Frequency of lessons and size of group have a great influence on the speed and degree of any individual’s progress. Regular attendance of weekly 90-minute classes is the minimum requirement to achieve significant improvement. Completion of regular homework assignments between lessons also contributes to more rapid improvement in language skills, consolidating what you learned and practised in lessons.
Many people experience that language learning comes in waves which at intervals of a few months sweep the learner onto a higher level of competence.
Do you teach other languages besides English?
Yes. Finer English teaches any language you wish to learn. Our teaching team includes experienced, native speaker teachers for Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. In the past, we have also taught Arabic, Czech, Dutch and Norwegian.
How big are the groups? Do you also offer one-to-one lessons?
The smaller the group, the more attention each individual receives. Five participants is the maximum size for optimal learning.
One-to-one lessons offer a cost-effective strategy for someone with urgent learning needs. For example, if you’re due to attend an important meeting in English and don’t yet feel ready.
How often are the lessons? When can I start?
Lessons should be regular and frequent. At least one 90-minute lesson per week is the minimum to achieve improvement within a reasonable time-scale. In some cases, we would recommend lessons twice per week, especially if you’re aiming at very swift improvement.
You can start lessons any time. You don’t have to wait until other people have enrolled for a course.
How long are the lessons?
Lessons are usually 90 minutes in length. This gives you enough time to go deeply into a tricky topic or task like practising a presentation or writing a difficult letter.
If you find this too demanding, 60 minutes is a good alternative.
Who are the teachers? Are they qualified?
All of our international team of native speaker teachers are experienced, qualified professionals.
Read more about the personalities who make up the Finer English team.
Do you offer special courses for special purposes?
Yes. All our language courses are special and are individually designed for a special purpose. That’s because every person is unique. And what each person needs to learn to do their job well in English is also unique.
One needs to answer the phone and write e-mails, another to give a presentation about the advantages of your latest product. So we teach you the specific language skills you need to do your work well in English.
Do you teach business English?
A lot of people ask us this question. But what is business English? An engineer and an insurance specialist need different vocabulary for very different purposes because their areas of business are very different. We at Finer English will teach you what you need for your specific business.
Where do lessons take place?
Lessons are usually held at your company’s premises – because it makes more sense for one teacher to travel to you than for several students to travel to us.
During this corona period, all lessons are taught online using video-conferencing software. It doesn’t match the real thing but comes very close to it and is an effective and satisfying way to improve your English language skills.
Do you teach only in Kassel?
Most of our clients are based in Kassel. But we also teach at a few companies outside the Kassel area if the journey isn’t too long.
What is a language audit?
A language audit consists of a job-related language test and a detailed questionnaire to find out your strengths and weaknesses in English and also the specific work activities for which you need English. With this information we can design lessons according to your individual learning needs.
Read more about the Finer English language audit.
What’s the history of Finer English?
The Finer English language school started in 1998 when Joe Finer devised and first used the language audit to find out the language skills each individual person needs to improve for their work. The audit, coupled with high-quality language lessons, proved very successful. Soon Joe recruited more teachers to meet the demand for lessons. Since then, Finer English has successfully taught hundreds of business professionals.
Who is Joe Finer?
Joe Finer devised the first known language audit in 1998. He has taught English in Kassel, Germany, since 1989. Before that, Joe was a London schoolteacher and a journalist.
What about social distancing in the time of COVID-19?
Here at Finer English, we take social distancing in the time of corona seriously. That’s why we’re currently offering online language training face-to-face via video conferencing software.
For new clients there's a 10% discount until it’s safe to return to the real classroom.
What’s special about Finer English?
Most language schools offer set courses for beginners, advanced, etc. They give you a general language test and say, for example, “You should take the lower intermediate course.”
That’s completely the wrong approach!
Finer English uses a language audit to find out what you need to improve to do your work effectively in English (or your target language) and then designs a course to fit your needs.
That’s what makes Finer English special.
Read more about the language audit.
Who are your clients?
Since 1998 Finer English has taught employees at almost every major company in Kassel and a lot of small businesses too. We’ve trained specialists in every imaginable field of business: from IT experts to salespeople, from engineers to accountants.