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