A journey we walk together

Tasmiah & Teacher Lorinda
meet face to face
Navitas City College

My name is Tasmiah and I come from Bangladesh.  After graduating with a Bachelor of Business degree, I had several administrative positions. Life was simple but comfortable then.

In 2014 I got married to a Bengali man who had been living in Australia. I left my beloved family and country for Australia, a totally unknown land to me. I came with hopes and dreams for a better life and a brighter career.

The first three months in Australia were like a honeymoon. My husband took me touring the city every weekend. I came to know the neighbourhood and I started to adapt to life in Sydney. I started my first English classes at Navitas in Sydney city.  After two months I changed to Distance Learning when I decided to look for a job.

Things however did not go as smoothly as I'd expected.  Firstly I couldn't adjust to the unpredictable weather. I often felt cold and miserable and missed the sunshine in my home country. Then there was the challenge of finding a job. I hardly received any replies for my applications. My chances were limited as sometimes there were over a 100 applicants for the same job. I began to feel discouraged and even depressed. With all the golden dreams I had before, I felt I achieved nothing and was disappointed.

But thanks to the two DL teachers I've had. Despite my frustration, they remained patient and sympathetic and they helped me remain optimistic and hopeful. My first DL teacher Cristina suggested I look for volunteer jobs to start off. I took her advice and started looking for volunteer jobs but Cristina left and Lorinda became my new DL teacher.

The transition from one teacher to another wasn't easy. It was another few weeks before Lorinda and I came to understand each other well. Since then, Lorinda has been a great source of encouragement to me. Because of her positive support and inspiration, I have learnt to remain hopeful about the future.

In the past year, I have taken up different volunteer and part-time jobs, but the prospect of getting a stable full-time job remained dismal. I often felt like giving up but Lorinda was always there, boosting my confidence and making sure that I believed in my strengths and abilities.

My wishes came true last month. After working as a volunteer for a business college for just over a month I was offered a full-time job. The job is demanding and there is a lot I need to learn but I feel confident that with determination and hard work I will be able to settle in my job and make a career in this area.

DL has helped me move forward in my life and find a place in society where I actually belong. It is a journey that I will always treasure.

Congratulations Tasmiah on your achievement and our best wishes for a successful career.

• In what ways can you identify with Tasmiah's journey?
• What helps you remain positive and optimistic about the future?
• What are the stages of adjusting to a new culture?

Your comments will help build our DL community.

Kim never gave up!

Kim, Navitas, Sydney City

Kim started his Distance Learning course two years ago.  He chose DL because he works full-time and DL allows him flexibility with his time schedule.

To Kim, he has come a long way as far as his English is concerned.  Kim never did any English courses before starting with AMEP DL. He learned to speak English only through talking to his customers at work.  So when he started the course his speaking was fairly functional but his objective was clear: to learn to read and write in English.

Nearly 6 months ago, Kim completed his Certificate of Spoken and Written English (CSWE) 1 and moved up to level 2.  He is now able to read texts with around 300 words from Your Call level 2. “I am thrilled by what I have achieved with my reading and writing” Kim says.

Kim is dedicated to his learning even though the whole journey has not been easy.  “I could have given up a number of times” Kim comments.

Kim and his wife migrated to Australia in 2013 and they both are working long hours. Kim is working in a restaurant as a chef and, sometimes by the time he gets back home, he is exhausted to do anything.  Incredibly, he always overcomes barriers and gets himself ready 15 minutes before his lessons to do his spelling routine which has continued for the past two years throughout his DL course. Kim agrees that the individualised lessons and the extensive support definitely have pushed his boundary.

As Kim’s course is coming to an end, he acknowledges that where he completes the course is where he starts building his Australian dream with a strong sense of being confident and competent.  His DL teacher, Michelle, cannot be happier to see that this program has helped Kim achieve his goals.

Congratulations to Kim and well done for working hard and staying focussed on your goals.  

• What barriers are there to learning English and how can you overcome them?
• What routines can help you improve your reading and writing?
• What helps you keep going if you feel you want to give up?

Why not leave your comments below!