A more confident communicator

Shirisha  and her new baby

I came from India to Australia in February 2014 with my husband.  We started our married life here in Canberra.  At the beginning I was anxious about the accent of Australian people.  I was afraid to go to the shops alone.  I joined AMEP Distance Learning in September 2014 with my teacher, Erika.  She has always been very friendly with lots of patience.  She has helped me correct my mistakes and suggested ways to improve my vocabulary.

Towards the end of last year, I got a job in a childcare centre as an educator.  My confidence level improved as I was communicating with colleagues and children.  A few months later I fell pregnant.  This was the happiest time of my life.  During my pregnancy my DL course helped me a lot.  During the lessons we talked about the stages of pregnancy, the delivery, the different services that mothers can have.  It helped me to communicate with many people like midwives and doctors for all my appointments.  Everything went fine and I felt confident talking to them.  I gave birth to a baby boy 6 weeks ago.

• How has your life changed since you came to Australia?

• Change can be exciting and challenging at the same time.  How do you feel about your change now and how do you think you will feel about it in 5 years time?

If you or your partner is pregnant and need assistance with the language of childbirth ask your teacher for our special programs.