From Mozambique to Brisbane – two journeys of English language learning

15 February 2017

Luisa on graduation day Australia Awards (Africa) scholarship recipients Paulino and Luisa, from Mozambique, recently graduated from The University of Queensland with masters degrees after learning English through an ICTE-UQ English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course in Pretoria, South Africa. The course was run in conjunction with ICTE-UQ's International Development team. Paulino and Luisa share their experience on how learning English has played a significant part in opening up their career opportunities and how it has enabled them to work in international organisations.

1. How was your study experience with ICTE-UQ in Pretoria, South Africa?

Paulino: I had a memorable experience in Pretoria, once in a lifetime perhaps. I was amused by the level of competence and patience presented. It is a case to say that ICTE-UQ in Pretoria presented me with one of the best studying experiences, thus far.

Luisa: I had a great experience with ICTE-UQ in Pretoria, I never thought that I could learn English in 10 months and succeed in the IELTS test and EAP program.

2. What was the biggest challenge you faced studying English?

Paulino: The path towards a successful IELTS score was full of challenges, however, writing in English was, and still is, the biggest. I never thought I would be able to write an essay or even a paragraph in English, and this was stressed by my lack of interest for writing in my first language. Thankfully, I managed, to some extent, to overcome this challenge.

Luisa: The biggest challenge I faced was with academic writing, specifically with subject-verb agreement. In the beginning, I was not aware of my errors, but with time and the help of my English teachers, I could understand my grammar mistakes and how to fix them.

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