Better late than never - A proud AMEP grandma

Sandra & her grandchildren

My name is Sandra. I'm Italian, from Bologna, a Medieval town with the oldest University in the world.  I'm 70 years old and now (with my husband Luigi) I'm a DL student.  I think we are the only people so aged, but we must study English, having decided to live in Canberra because our only daughter and our only (for now) granddaughter live here.

At the moment however, we're waiting excitedly for the second baby!!

Writing about my experience in Australia is very helpful to calm our excitement.  I think that the many difficulties that I have to face is nothing compared to the happiness of living every day as grandparents, or 'Nonni', so it's worth the effort. 

It's very hard to learn a new language at our age. Someone said that it's a good way to keep your brain active, but I reply that my heart is suffering with the stresssssss!  Yes, everyone is very friendly and patient, but I feel embarrassed or stupid when, very often, I don't understand what they tell me.  Moreover we have to speak Italian with our 6 year old granddaughter, who is already perfectly bilingual. But we don't work, so our practice of English isn't intensive.

Luckily, we have met lots of Italo-Australian people who are very kind. Now our dear friends, who helped us to become integrated into the local community, and some warm neighbours are very curious and interested in the Italian culture (such as food, fashion, movies), so we are proud to add some little pieces to the Australian multicultural life.

Another big stroke of luck was to meet Christine, our DL teacher who is so patient and supportive when we make lots of mistakes.  Now, she's becoming a friend, because she knows our problems and our delights and she encourages us in our little steps to improve our English.

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While I was waiting for my blog post to be published, my second granddaughter was born.  Welcome my dear Audrey Alice!  Thank you for your red hair, like me!  This is another special gift and for that I love you much more!"

Congratulations to Sandra, Luigi and family on the safe arrival of your granddaugher and on being a good example for our more senior AMEP learners.

• Is age a barrier to learning English?  Why or why not?
• What are the challenges and rewards for the more senior migrants in Australia?
• Is it necessary for grandparents to learn English and how can they practise their English?

Why not share your views below!

Celebrating Refugee Week 19-25 June

With courage let us all combine is the theme for Refugee Week.  The theme is taken from our Australian national anthem.

It takes courage to be a refugee.
It takes courage to leave what is familiar and begin a new life.
It takes courage to speak out against injustices.

Refugee Week is an annual event to raise awareness of the issues affecting refugees and celebrate the positive contributions they make to Australian society.  

Did you know Australia was home to 35,582 refugees in 2015! 

Navitas is proudly a major sponsor of Refugee Week.  For more information on what's on and to join an event in your area visit Refugee Week website.

We have a lot of interesting English language activities on Refugee Week this week.  Please visit the Events tab on our blog.

Neesa starts her own business

Neesa, DL student

My name is Neesa and I come from Thailand.  I met my husband in Thailand and we started a relationship after he visited me many times there.  I came to Australia in 2010 and we got married in 2013.

I was very excited but also nervous at the same time because everything was new and I wasn't familiar with the language or the culture.  It took me a long time to understand the Australian accent so my husband always helped me with that and I now can understand English better than before and have become more confident and independent.

I improved English by studying English at Southbank TAFE for a year in 2011.  After school I went to work every day.  I enjoyed my studies and made lots of new friends and I also talked to many people at work.  Learning English is a never ending story for me.  I am now studying English by distance with the DL program at Navitas.

Before I came to Australia I worked as a massage therapist in Thailand for a year.  This helped me improve my English because I had a lot of English speaking customers that I had to talk to.

In Australia, I worked in a Thai Day Spa in Brisbane for 3 years before starting my own business.  As a result I gained enough experience and confidence to be able to work on my own.  I now work from my home doing Thai massage.  I am planning to grow my business in the future, recruit some staff and have my own shop.

My advice to my migrant friends is to relax and enjoy Australia and the new lifestyle.  They shouldn't worry if at first their English is not great as many new arrivals are in the same boat.

Congratulations to Neesa on improving her English and starting her own business.  We wish her all the best for the future.

• Do you find it hard to understand the Australian accent?  
• How long do you think it takes to gain confidence in English?
• What do you think about Neesa's advice to new migrants?
• If you were to start your own business, what kind of business and what steps would you need to take?

Sandra leads a balanced life

Sandra and her handiwork

My name is Sandra and I'm from Manizales, Colombia.  I have been in Australia for 2 years.  I live in Toowoomba in Queensland with my partner. He is Australian and I met him in Colombia in August 2012. We have a baby. He is 16 months old and his name is Ethan.

I'm very happy living in Australia.  I study English at TAFE and also by distance learning with my teacher Erika once a week. I have learned a lot and enjoy my DL lessons.   Distance Learning is convenient and flexible; it allows me to study from home and look after my baby as well.

In my free time I sew, knit and make useful things out of recycled cardboard boxes. I have made many things for my son. I love craft. I learnt how to knit from my grandmother who used to make amazing things.

When I lived in Colombia I didn’t have time to do these things. Now I can be a full time mother, study English and make the things I love.

• What would you like to do in your free time?
• Do you have any handy skills that you learned from other people, a family member or a friend?
• As we increasingly use technology, what is the value of handiwork for adults and children?

Why not share your thoughts below?