From telecom engineer to baker and back again!

Tien, DL student

Tien was a telecom engineer in Vietnam for 17 years.  When he first came to Australia it took him 4 months to get a job as a production operator in an electrical company.  He liked his job because he could work in his field and he already had a lot of knowledge about electrical products.

Tien spent 10 months working on a casual basis in this company but the work started to drop off.  So he decided to do something completely different. He and his brother started a bakery business!

Tien said that his brother had been a baker for 8 years but this was the first time he had owned a shop himself. Tien is excited about the new challenge as there are lots of things to learn such as which ingredients to mix, how to bake cakes and different types of bread.  Tien has even learnt how to make donuts!

Tien also has the opportunity in the shop to practise his listening and speaking skills when he talks with customers and is learning a lot of new vocabulary to do with setting up a business. His DL teacher, Meredith, helps Tien with his pronunciation and with the language he needs to communicate with the customers. She says that Tien's English has improved a lot and he can now understand most of what he hears and can keep a conversation going.

Tien is hoping that their business will grow quickly and that he will be able to become a baker by next year.  In the meantime, he has had good news from his old company.  They rang him about a month ago and asked him to start work there again, so now he has two jobs.  He works for his brother in the morning and then does a shift in the factory from 3-11 pm.  Let's hope he gets some sleep sometimes!

Congratulations to Tien for the progress he made both in improving his English and settling into Australia.  We wish him all the best for his business ventures.

• What are the benefits and challenges of having your own business?
• Would you prefer to have your own business or be an employee in a company? Why?
• Have you ever been involved in a family business and what was that like? 
• If you were to start your own business, what would it be and where would you get help?

We'd love to read your comments to any of the above questions or to Tien's story.

From the memoir of an ex-AMEP student

I was in my early twenties when I first came to live in Australia, now many years ago.  But I will never forget the awkwardness I always felt because of my broken English.  Not understanding what people said, wrongly answering questions, asking for repetition and feeling stupid because I still couldn't get it, laughing at jokes I didn't understand ... these were all embarrassing experiences.

I vividly remember many situations where I felt really awkward.  For example when I rang up to apply for a job and they asked me for my "phone number" to call me back.  All I could hear was "file number" which I insisted I didn't have!  Well, that was one job I wasn't meant to get!

On another occasion I was invited by an Australian family for "tea" around 6 pm at their home.  This is usually the time we have a cup of tea after dinner in the country I come from.  So I had dinner before I went to see them to find that they had a dinner meal prepared.  I was too embarrassed to tell them I'd already eaten so I pushed down my second dinner in order to be polite and let my stomach suffer for it.  I knew the hard way that 'tea' meant 'dinner' not a 'cup of tea' and that 6 pm is when people have their big meal in Australia.

Looking back, these were awkward moments at the time but I can laugh at them now.  You will too!

• Have you had an embarrassing situation because of your English?
• What is the hardest thing to understand?
• What do you do when you don't quite understand and how does this make you feel?
• Do you agree that laughing at yourself is a good way to deal with embarrassment?
• Are there any idioms or expressions that you learnt the hard way? 

Please share your thoughts here.

DL students find their wings

DL students have found their wings and taken flight after Adult Learners' Week lessons. Students worked with their teachers to choose a new skill to learn. Some learnt from You Tube videos, some read websites or books and others learnt from a friend. One thing in common is that students learnt informally. In the same way you can learn English too! You can watch a video, do website activities or learn from a friend.

There were so many exciting hobbies and skills learnt. From knitting, to applying make-up and even making a guinea pig hutch. You can see a slideshow of some of the Adult Learners' Week stories. Just click on this link: Find Your Wings Slideshow. Our Adult Learners' Week story was also shared on the Navitas website. Click on this link to read the article: Navitas Website.  This week we feature an interview with Silvia's student, Christiane, on her informal learning experience.

 

Decoupage

Have you learnt anything new lately?

Yes I've learnt how to make decoupage on a bottle. Decoupage means the art of decorating objects with paper cut-outs. It originated in France. You can do decoupage on wooden objects such as coffee tables, chests of drawers or jewelry boxes or glass bottles. All you need is creativity and imagination!

How did you learn to do decoupage?
It started after Adult Learners' Week when I visited my friend's place and I saw her knife block in the kitchen. It looked very pretty with flower decorations on it. So I asked her where she got it from. She said she had made it. So I asked her nicely if she could teach me and she said 'yes!'
How do you feel about learning a new skill?
I really enjoy learning something new. I think it keeps me occupied and most of the time I get carried away doing something new. I believe as humans we will always learn something new. It doesn't matter how old or young we are. Learning something new can be difficult as well, but if you can find an aspect that motivates you then you can never say no.

Well done to all the students who sent in a story of their learning experience. We hope you enjoyed this activity and now have some fresh ideas for learning.

• How do you learn English informally?
• What similarities do you notice between learning a new skill and learning English?
• What is the difference between learning in a classroom and learning informally?

How about writing your comments below.  Remember to sign into your Google account in the top right corner before you comment.

Sara finds a job in her field

Teacher Bernadette with Sara

My name is Sara and I'm from Iran.  I came to Australia with my husband in January 2015.  In Iran I was awarded a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a Master's degree in Commercial Management.  I worked as a Documentation Officer for an import company for 2 years in Iran.

When I arrived in Perth I tried to find a job in a restaurant or a cafe because my English wasn't really good enough to work in my own profession.  I worked full time in a cafe and I decided to improve my English by studying with Distance Learning.

I explained my situation to my DL teacher, Bernadette, so she focused our study on the theme of Work.  I learned how to write a covering letter and I had to rewrite my resume according to Australian standards.  We pracitsed job interviews and we tried to think outside the box and prepare answers to possible tricky questions.

I was very motivated and after each lesson I would practise the interview with my husband.  After a month of very serious preparation, I applied for a Documentation Officer job in an export company and to my surprise I was invited to an interview.  I remembered everything I practised with Bernadette during our DL lessons: the language, the answers, the body language and having a positive attitude.  I was so happy when I was offered the job and very grateful to my DL teacher for her support.

My experience taught me that with hard work and motivation all dreams can come true.  I am here in this great country, doing what I know and what I'm passionate about and contributing my skills to the society.  Thanks to the AMEP DL program and to my DL teacher.

Note: The photo was taken at the Iranian Cultural Show in Perth where Teacher Bernadette had the chance to meet Sara and learn many interesting things about the Iranian culture.

Congratulations to Sara on getting a job in her field.  If you need help with job seeking skills ask your teacher for a referral to one of our specialised DL teachers.

• How is finding a job in Australia different from your country?
• Should job seekers have one resume or more when applying for different jobs?
• What stops people from pursuing a job in the same profession they had before?

Why not add a comment here!

Teacher Ruth celebrates the Aboriginal culture

Teacher Ruth & Artist Sonda

Ruth is one of our DL teachers from Bankstown College in Sydney who has a keen interest in culture and human identity.

Every year Australia dedicates a week in July to celebrate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements. So Ruth travelled to the Northern Territory to join the celebrations. She found it a great opportunity to acknowledge the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our country and our society.

The highlight of her trip was making friends with Sonda who comes from Alice Springs in the central desert area of Australia. She is well known in the territory for her artwork and storytelling.  She uses her artwork to carry on telling her Indigenous traditions and culture. She paints in public at markets or in the mall. You can watch her painting here.

Aboriginal Dance

Ruth watched the interesting dance performed by the dance group called ‘One Mob Different Country’. They had the permission from the elders to perform this ceremony in front of the Parliament House in Darwin.

Ruth feels enriched by connecting with Australia's indigenous community.  She enjoys listening to their stories about family and the importance of their place in the Australian culture.

• What does it mean to be Australian or what defines Australia's identity? 
• How much should the past shape your identity as an individual and Australia's identity?
• Australia has many different cultures.  How can we all get along and live in harmony?
• How important is art in understanding each other's cultures?