A Year Later...

Hi again everyone,


So it has been a year since I’ve moved to Canada, and a whole lot as changed. I’m glad to report that I now have a job working in a construction company, and I’m making enough money that I can probably bring my family over to Canada in a year or two. After taking my courses, I found that I could have conversations with people, read, and write in English much more easily, and I really appreciated the structure of the courses that I took. It was tough being motivated enough to complete my assignments sometimes since there are no deadlines, but thinking about how hard I need to work to make sure I can provide for myself and my family kept me on track. However, there were times when I put things off for longer than I should have. On
the other hand, I could read things at my own pace, use an online translator and dictionary when I wanted to, and it worked well with my terrible work schedule.


Outside of the classroom, my interactions with my coworkers also helped my English skills as well. Not only were they willing to practice with me, they also gave me lots of tips about things such as slang words, and interview skills to make sure that I would have as few bumps in the road as possible when talking to people. One thing I might’ve done differently is that I would’ve appreciated a job where I got to talk to more people. Working as a dishwasher and in a gas station doesn’t allow for very many conversations. But if I had worked in a retail setting or something, I would’ve been forced to speak with more customers, which would probably have helped me learn English a lot faster. Also, since MOOCs are all online, I didn’t get a chance to talk to classmates that were probably in similar situations as me, and I would’ve appreciated both the educational and emotional support I could’ve gotten from them.


But as of right now, my English skills are good enough that I can understand 90% of what people are saying to me, and I can have proper conversations without much difficulty. I’m definitely going to continue doing more MOOCs on my own time, but probably at a slower pace now that my skills are not in desperate need of improving. Luckily, there are also Portuguese speakers in my group of coworkers who help me learn more English when we work together, so I am able to continue my education in a much less formal setting at work. Overall, I feel that my decision to move to Canada has paid off so far, and I think that my first year here has definitely been a success although there were obstacles to overcome, but I am ready to continue growing and learning!


- Antonio

Success and Challenges - One Year Later

I have now been in Vancouver for a year. I have been taking intensive English classes at a private college for the past 6 months. At first, the school put me in an intermediate-level class for business professionals. The other students in the class came from all over the world and were around my age, all of whom worked in professional fields in their home countries. I felt that most of these students came from a similar background as me, so I felt comfortable with this group. Unfortunately, the lessons focused on business related topics, such as negotiations and presentations, and the students in these classes were very focused as their main objective for taking the class was to further their careers, so they didn’t seem too interested in socializing outside of class time. Also, I did not find to be relevant for my day-to-day life, so I moved to a general English class. Many of the other students in this class seem to be very young and are here to prepare for university studies, but I feel this course would be a better option for learning English to use in my daily life. Once I complete the advanced level, I may try the business program again. In case we do stay permanently, I would like to be able to continue with my career in real estate. I am confident that after a complete these programs, I will be able to meet the English-language proficiency requirements, which is one the steps towards becoming a licensed realtor in BC and will be more comfortable completing the required coursework that follows, which is only offered in English at UBC.

My children are in an English-speaking program at school and have been picking up English very quickly. I have been encouraging them to speak English at home, which has also helped me to learn the language. I have been lucky to find Le Centre Culturel Francophone in Vancouver, an association that promotes education in the French language and culture. They hold many events where I have met many people who have been eager to practice their French with me and at the same time, have allowed me to practice my English with them. It has been an adjustment for sure moving to Canada, but this was not unexpected. However, the people who I have met so far have been very nice. While most people in Vancouver don’t speak French fluently, everyone seems to be happy to practice their grade 10 French with me to help when I am stuck in a conversation, which has made the transition has been much better than expected.

One Year Later...

Hi everyone,

It has been a year since I have moved to Canada. The goals that I have placed for myself have yet to happen. I unfortunately still work at the retail store but as a manager, and I have not been able to gain work experience in an architecture firm here. Also, I am still unable to take classes from MOSAIC as my long workday prevents me from being able to fully commit to classes. I tried it for a few weeks, but I found myself falling behind due to stressing about my finances. I feel that I have improved my English a little, as talking to people on a regular basis as made me more confident. However, I would like to have the chance to attend English classes in the near future. I feel that it is not too late to learn and I would love to work with fellow architects, as architecture is my passion, not retail.

Even though I was only able to take a few weeks worth of classes from MOSAIC, they were very intense and fast paced. I liked the speed of the environment, and wish I could have continued. Due to finances and time constraints as I have mentioned before, I was unable to complete classes there. I hope I will be able to pursue another path in terms of ESL classes, and I think I will try online classes, as they are free and perhaps may be less time consuming. I think I will try for this in a few months, after I get settled into my new managerial position.

I do not think I could have done anything differently, except for perhaps saving more money or researching barriers I might face coming to Canada, but I feel that I have grown as a person. Even though my ultimate goal was to create a better life for myself in Canada by pursuing my architecture degree, I feel I have improved my English to some extent. My vocabulary has expanded more and my grammatical errors have reduced. I feel proud for accomplishing something, even though it was not taken in a formal institute.

I am glad that I took the chance to come to Canada, even if I have not reached my initial goals. I have been able to interact with and meet so many people; I feel that I have become more confident in speaking English. I hope to pursue my education and take more classes in the future, perhaps maybe with another year down the road. I look forward to my journey here in Canada and hopefully reaching my goals of establishing myself as an architect!

-Sahar

ESL Experience

Hi everyone again,

Hope all of you are doing well with your English learning. It is already one year since I first came to Vancouver and wrote my very first blog post. I have learned English at Langara for one year and today, I want to share my experience as well as my thought about this ESL program with everyone.

I started LEAP program with the lowest level to the highest level, which is from level 3 to level 6. Each level takes seven weeks to finish. When I first started level 3, I had not get used to the way of learning here, so I felt very stressful. I was so afraid that I would fail the course. All of my LEAP courses are typical formal education. The classes take place in a classroom with a teacher teaches and students listen.

I found the way teachers in Canada teach English is different from Vietnam. In Vietnam, usually learning goes from one direction only, which is students learn from teachers. In Canada, learning occurs not only from teachers to students, but also from students to students. At Langara, teachers always ask students to discuss a topic or a question with their fellows, and then share their ideas with the whole class. However, in Vietnam, the teachers ask question and students raise their hands to answer the question. After all, I prefer the way of learning in Canada than in Vietnam because I can learn not only from the teachers, but also from my friends. Sometimes, they can let me see a problem from another perspective that I would never think of. It is also an opportunity for me to interact with my friends, and practice my communication skills.

Throughout all of my courses, I found out that my reading and writing skills are ok. However, I still need work on my listening and speaking skills. Thus, I want to improve my listening and speaking skills. I tried to speak to my friends and my teachers as much as possible when I was in classes. Outside of classes, I also want to practice my English skills, so I applied for some volunteer positions. I got two volunteer jobs. One is a cashier for a gift shop at St. Paul's hospital, and the other one is a personal shop assistant for elderly. Both volunteer jobs gave me a chance to talk to more people to help enhance my English skills. Now, I feel that I am getting better. I am much more confident in communicating with other people now compared to when I just came to Vancouver.

Overall, I think I made the right decision to study English before applying for university. It has prepared me all the English skills that I need in my future study and career as well. I got accepted into UBC. With an effort that I put into learning English in this one-year period, I am confident to say that I am ready for my next journey.

Cheers,

Winnie