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.
