Will Heikkinen - Building Your Resume

Will Heikkinen is a young man who has made some intelligent decisions during his relatively short life. If you can communicate well in multiple different languages, you may have a decided edge over many other job applicants when you are ready to enter the work force. This individual is fluent in Spanish, and he has a background that will look very good on his resume. After he got out of high school in Massachusetts, he studied Spanish Language and Culture at Nebrija University in Madrid, Spain. He also taught English there, and this is another curriculum vitae booster.

Many students work summer jobs during their vacations and you may be able to work part-time after school and on weekends. This is a great way to build your resume when you are still quite young. Will Heikkinen has certainly taken this route. His first job was in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, where he worked in a distribution center. He learned to operate a forklift at that time, and this is a valuable skill. During the summer of 2015, he worked at a bustling restaurant called Federal Jacks as a bar back. This was in Kennebunkport, Massachusetts, where there are a lot of tourists in the summer.

Volunteering can also be a great way to get some meaningful work experience that you can add to your resume. The practical knowledge that you acquire is useful, but you also demonstrate the fact that you are a community minded individual. Will Heikkinen expresses an interest in volunteering, and this is another way that he can make his resume look attractive to hiring managers.
​

Will Heikkinen - Language Training

Will Heikkinen occupies an enviable position when it comes to his ability to communicate with others. He went to high school in Andover, Massachusetts, and he made a big step across the drink when he was ready to move on to the next level. This intrepid young student relocated to Madrid, Spain. He enrolled in Nebrija University, and he studied Spanish language and Latin culture in general. The teaching that he received in the classroom was part of the process, but he also got first-hand experience through his ongoing interactions with people in the city. Plus, he earned money while he was there teaching English to local children. In addition to his fluency in Spanish, he also speaks Italian, so Will Heikkinen can communicate effectively in three different languages.

If you are a young person who is looking ahead toward the future, you may want to consider the value of language training. During our current era, we live in a global economy, and Americans routinely conduct business with people from all over the world. Spanish and Italian language skills could be quite useful if you are a business person or a government employee. However, there are many other foreign tongues that you can learn to give yourself a competitive edge. For example, imagine going to a job interview with a company that does business in Asia. If you can tell the hiring manager that you are fluent in Japanese and Chinese, you will be setting yourself apart from the competition. Will Heikkinen has earned this type of advantage, and you may want to consider following his lead.

Will Heikkinen - Mistakes That New Language Learners Make

As somebody who is now proficient in three languages, in addition to having been an English language teacher at various points in his life, Will Heikkinen understands the many difficulties that people face when they start learning new languages. This can lead to a number of common mistakes being made, with all of the below being blunders that new learners should aim to avoid.

Being Inconsistent

One of the keys to learning any new language is constant practice, so if you find that you go long amounts of time without speaking the language that you are trying to learn you will probably end up stunting your development. Try to schedule time to practice the language every day and make sure that you attend regular lessons.

Not Having A Goal

Many people make the mistake of having the vague idea that they want to learn other languages, without really putting much thought into why they want to do so. By defining a goal for yourself, such as being able to communicate with a friend who speaks another language, you will be able to focus your efforts and give yourself the motivation required to keep learning more.

Dwelling On Mistakes

Will Heikkinen points out that all new language learners will make mistakes, especially when they are trying to get to grips with pronunciation and different sentence structures. This is all part of the process, but many allow themselves to be discouraged when they make mistakes. Instead, you should focus on learning what you did wrong, so that you can make improvements to your skills.
​

Will Heikkinen - Tips For Teaching English Language Learners

As a former English language teacher, having spent time working with schoolchildren in Spain in addition to being an ESL tutor for the Frost School of Lawrence while he was in high school, Will Heikkinen knows that teaching English language learners offers an array of challenges, some of which aren’t always going to be present when you are teaching students who are already proficient in the language. To stand the best chance of success, try to keep all of the following pointers in mind to ensure your students get the most out of their lessons.

Learn Their Language

During the early days of your lessons, you are going to find that many of your students struggle with the basics of English and may wish to ask you questions using a language that they are more comfortable with. By learning the language that your students speak, you are not only better placed to answer such questions, but you also demonstrate the real-world applications of learning a second language. This can be a motivating factor for many of your students, pushing them to place more focus into their studies.

Always Practice

You need to make sure that students cover the full gamut of learning the language during your lessons. As such, you must structure your lessons so that students spend time reading, writing, listening and, perhaps most importantly, speaking the language. This offers a comprehensive learning set to your students, ensuring they become well-versed in all aspects of the English language and allowing them to develop competence faster.

Be Encouraging

As an English language teacher, you are going to find that some of your students are very wary about practicing their skills, especially if they feel uncomfortable when speaking amongst their classmates. As such, you need to strive to create a collaborative environment that offers encouragement to all of the students, regardless of their levels of progress. This can be done in a number of ways, such as taking time out to answer questions, encouraging class discussions and pairing students off so that they can talk with their classmates in the language. Furthermore, you should always offer praise to students who are doing well, while also working diligently to offer extra encouragement and help to those who might be struggling.

Speak Slowly

It may seem like a simple tip, but Will Heikkinen points out that many who are new to English language teaching tend to speak at their natural speeds, instead of slowing things down a little bit to ensure that their students get to hear proper pronunciation and can actually take their time when translating what their teachers say. Make sure that you don’t mistake speaking slowly with speaking louder, as the latter can come off as condescending.

Will Heikkinen - Signs That You Are A Good Teacher

Before he started studying for his Bachelor’s degree in Government at The College of William and Mary, Will Heikkinen worked as an English language teacher, first working with ESL Students at the Frost School of Lawrence while he was in high school, before working with Spanish schoolchildren through Canterbury English during his time in Spain. There are a number of ways that you can tell that you are really getting through to your students and that you have what it takes to make a career out of teaching, including all of the following.

You Enjoy The Work

If you bring passion and enthusiasm into your work, that is going to be reflected in the quality of the lessons that you provide to your students. Furthermore, enjoying your work tends to indicate that you have formed good relationships with your students and that your lessons tend to go well, all of which are indicators that you are doing the job correctly. If you find that your students frustrate you to the point of unhappiness, you may need to consider what you can work on to improve.

Students Imitate You

The more your students engage with your lessons and begin to admire you as a teacher, the more you should start to see some of your positive qualities be reflected in them. Higher work ethics, positivity and demonstrations of effective teamwork are all signs that your students respect you and enjoy your lessons. This is extremely beneficial, as many of these skills will also prove vital when they start their careers later on in life.

You Study Your Own Subject

While your formal education will have provided you with the essentials of what you need in order to teach lessons, it is the work that you put into learning more about your chosen subject that will separate you from the pack and ensure that you are capable of providing strong lessons to your students. You should always work towards learning more, as this can then be applied to your lesson plans so that your students get more out of their studies. Many will also be able to see your commitment to the subject, which encourages them to work harder at it.

Students Want Feedback

Will Heikkinen notes that providing good feedback to your students is essential if they are to improve on their existing skillsets, but it is a sign of a really good teacher if your students come to you to find out more about what they can do to improve. This demonstrates that your students trust your opinions and truly believe that you can give them the help that they need to achieve their goals in their studies. Make it a point to be fair when giving feedback, highlighting areas of improvement while also praising your students for doing well.

Will Heikkinen - Tips for Successfully Organizing Events

Will Heikkinen is a leader, even as a student, and he has experience organizing popular events throughout New England. Organizing events is no easy task, and you have to be willing to take care of all the responsibilities that go into planning, managing, and operating all aspects of the event itself. Here are some tips for event organization.

The most important aspect of event planning is communication. Event planners rely on others to help them organize major events; the bigger the event you’re planning, the more people you will need on your side to pull it off. Make sure you talk to the right people to get your event off the ground, and to see your vision come to life.

Another important aspect of event planning is flexibility. Many times, event planners come to the realization some things are simply not doable. Although time and other factors may affect your plan as a whole, don’t let the details discourage you altogether. Be flexible when it comes to the little things so that you can adapt when necessary.

Event planning takes funds in order to organize, and you have to be able to work well with potential funders in order to get your event planned to completion. Without funders, you have no chance of planning your event.

Will Heikkinen has experience organizing an annual football tournament during the summer that involved high schools all over New England, and each tournament he organized was successful. His experiences will serve him well in the future after his education.

Will Heikkinen - Ways to Get Involved in the Community

Will Heikkinen is an active member of his community, and regularly tries to get involved in philanthropic endeavors that aim to improve quality of life. There are several ways a person can get involved in his or her community, and even a little support can go a long way for small, local charities in your area. Here some ways to get involved. 

One way to get involved in your community is through local charities. Every community has at least one or two programs that aim to improve the quality of life in the area. This sort of involvement can come in the form community trash and litter clean up, figuring out ways to improve public areas like parks, or even food donations to the less fortunate in the area.

Another way to get involved is through national and global organizations that have local branches near you. You don’t have to improve your community directly in order to do some good or improve the quality of life for the people around you; look into getting involved in the global community as well as your own through organizations that protect animals or support the impoverished.

You can also get involved through a local church. Many people, religious or not, do philanthropic work through a local church because they always have programs aimed at supporting the people closest to them.

Will Heikkinen regularly gets involved in his community, and is a consistent contributor to Serve the City, and is an active volunteer for the NGO Lazarus House Ministries, Inc. He believes in making his community and the world a better place.

Will Heikkinen - Creating A Good Lesson Plan

Before he began attending the College of William and Mary, Will Heikkinen spent time teaching English to young students in Spain and also worked as a tutor working with ESL students at the Frost School of Lawrence. In doing so, he was often required to create lesson plans to ensure his classes went smoothly. These tips should help any teachers who need to do the same and don’t know where to start.

Have A Goal In Mind

Each of your lessons should have objectives that you aim to achieve by the end of them. The best way to start your lesson planning is to write down this objective and then build backwards from it, making sure that everything you incorporate into your lesson has this goal in mind. This ensures that the information you provide to your students is always relevant.

Build In Assessments

Assessments can take a variety of forms, such as pop quizzes, classroom discussions or a long test that you ask students to sit at the end. Regardless of the type that you choose, it is important for your lesson plans to contain some form of assessment as this will help you to understand what your students have picked up from the class and which areas may need further exploration.

Keep Time In Mind

Will Heikkinen had to ensure that all of his lessons contained plenty of information while also being aware of time constraints. It is rare to be able to teach a class without having to consider the clock, so make sure that your lesson plan doesn’t become too bloated.
​

Will Heikkinen - Reasons To Learn A New Language

Will Heikkinen is a multi-lingual individual who is capable of speaking three languages at a high level of proficiency. He has also tutored other people in English, with his abilities making him well-suited for the role. Learning a new language is something that many people aspire to do but few actually pursue in earnest. The below are all reasons why you should make the effort.

You Develop Confidence

While the process of learning a new language is often difficult, the rewards that you gain once you have reached a high level are enormous. You will enjoy a real sense of achievement, which can be used to boost your confidence. Having confidence is essential if you are going to accomplish your other goals in life and learning a new language can help you in this area.

Transforming Travel Experiences

Many people like to travel, even though few actually speak the primary language of the places that they visit. Even learning a little bit of the dialect before you go travelling can be beneficial for a number of reasons, as it helps you to feel more comfortable in your surroundings while also making it easier to interact with people who speak the native language of the country.

Career Opportunities

Will Heikkinen has already experienced some of the many career opportunities that understanding another language can offer to people. Employers will often give extra consideration to candidates who can speak multiple languages because being dedicated enough to learn another language demonstrates a level of determination that proves useful in the workplace.

Will Heikkinen - Common Mistakes That New College Students Make

As a fairly new college student in his own right, having started studying at the College of William and Mary in 2015, Will Heikkinen knows that students face a number of difficult challenges while transitioning to such a different style of education. This naturally leads to some of them making mistakes that can have an effect on their educations, with all of these blunders being common amongst new students.

Prioritizing Their Social Lives

While the time that you spend with your classmates and friends is a very importance aspect of the college experience, it can become detrimental if you end up prioritizing your social life over your studying. Don’t allow social engagements to distract you from classes or personal study sessions and be wary of anybody that tries to lead you down that path.

Wasting Free Time

College represents an interesting period in the lives of students, as it is something of a gateway between the rigidity of the high school system and a full-blown career. As such, students tend to have more freedom than they have experienced before. Those who do not take advantage of their free time when it arises may find themselves lamenting the fact once they have graduated.

Ignoring Resources

Will Heikkinen makes use of every resource that he can to improve his educational experience. Many new students make the mistake of thinking that attending lectures is all they need to do in order to achieve. This is rarely the case, so take advantage of college libraries and ask for help from your professors whenever it is needed.
​

Will Heikkinen -Three Reasons to Learn Spanish

Will Heikkinen is fluent in Spanish and is close to mastering Italian. He has lived in Madrid, Spain, and has taught non-native speakers English in both Madrid and the area near where he lives in Kennebunk, Maine. He is attending the College of Will and Mary and plans on majoring in Hispanic Studies with a minor in Government when he decides on a major. Here are three reasons why it’s a good idea to learn Spanish like Heikkinen:

• Spanish is no longer foreign. Will Heikkinen grew up in New England, not an area known for its high Hispanic populations, but even there, Latin and Hispanic communities are growing. About 16% of the US population spoke Spanish in 2010. By 2050, the percentage is expected to rise to 30. Some analysts predict that by 2060, there will be 128.8 million Spanish-speaking people in the US, likely making it the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world.
• You’ll get a better career. Learning Spanish can help you expand your career. As more corporations around the world are trying to expand into the Latin American market, they’ll need more people who can speak the language. Foreign investment in Latin America was a record $174 billion in 2012, and that figure is only expected to rise.
• You can travel to more places. The next time you go to Cancun, you’ll be able to leave some of the touristy places behind and get a better feel for the country and the surrounding area. There are 329 million native Spanish speakers in the world, and as Will Heikkinen found out, you’ll be able to connect with these people abroad if you speak their language.

Will Heikkinen is from Portland, Maine.
​