English Centre Graduates

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTRE

Kim Min-Jung (Hannah)

Great friends, wonderful teachers and an IELTS score of 7.0 mean Korean student Kim Min-Jung (Hannah) will have lifelong memories of New Zealand and excellent English skills for the future.

Hannah studied in the English Language Centre for 10 weeks and enjoyed all aspects of her experience in New Zealand. “I love New Zealand and AIS St Helens. The most impressive thing is unspoilt nature. Also, I will remember people who I’ve met here. They are all kind to me and we shared unforgettable memories,” says Hannah.

Hannah believes the high calibre of teaching at AIS St Helens helped her to achieve her goals. “For me, AIS St Helens is the best choice. Thanks to the wonderful teachers, I've learned lots of things, so I could get a good score and my English has improved,” she says.

Her studies were invaluable in preparing Hannah for the IELTS test. “I think the IELTS class is very well-organised according to useful topics. When I sat the exam, I met familiar topics in the writing and speaking test. It was very helpful.”

Her advice to students studying IELTS is simple; listen to your teacher: “I don't know if I can give advice to students, but I can say just believe our teachers and follow their teaching methods. The real exam is not so different from our class.”

Ji Hyoung Mo(29)
Born: Korea
Educated: General English Programme

Ji Hyoung Mo majored in Arabic at Pusan University and taught English in Korea. She found a lot of information from New Zealand education brochures, but was attracted by the interesting courses in the AIS St Helens brochure. "When I studied the Business Foundation course at AIS St Helens, I had a really difficult time with my English. But after I took the General English class up to advanced level, finally I got four A+ grades out of five subjects! I would like to take many different kinds of classes to enhance my knowledge and improve my English level."

Masahiro Sugiura(23)
Born: Japan
Educated: General English Programme

When Masahiro was a child he dreamed about coming to New Zealand. Then last year the outgoing Japanese man fulfilled his dream, living in Auckland, travelling and studying English.

Quite the adventurer, he went travelling alone during holidays, and witnessed his first sunrise of 2001 on the sandy shores of Gisborne. He also went camping with his homestay family in the Coromandel, where they were lucky enough to see lots of dolphins.

Masahiro graduated from university in Japan with a Business Management degree and then worked as a swimming instructor for six months before coming to New Zealand.

From Aichi in Japan, Masahiro chose to live in Auckland because of its warm climate and variety of shops. The city itself, he says, is bigger than he expected, however the outskirts of Auckland are very nice and peaceful. He heard about AIS St Helens from a "Study Abroad Success Book".

Ong Hue San (Mary)(21)
Born: Vietnam
Educated: General English Programme

Vietnamese Ong Hue San (Mary) likes the quiet life. That's a big part of why she chose to study English in New Zealand. "New Zealand is a very peaceful country," she says. "It is a good place to live, it's quiet and has lots of fresh air. The trees and flowers are beautiful, the grass is green and soft and there's such a wealth of fruit. The weather is temperate and everything is wonderful."

Mary studied in the English Language Centre at AIS St Helens, preparing for her future goal of studying to be a doctor.

"I want to become a doctor - that is the career I would really love. I hope in the future I can help the poor people," says Mary.

For students considering moving overseas to study, Mary has some words of wisdom: "First you must prepare carefully. You have to decide what you want to study and chose schools carefully. You really need to get a lot of information about the school and the country you want to go to."

As far as Mary's concerned, New Zealand is a great place to live and study. On top of all the other benefits, she says the people are friendly and the beaches are "amazing".

Pham Thao Thanh (Jenny)(19)
Born: Vietnam
Working: Cashier in an Auckland bakery
Educated: English Language Centre, AIS St Helens

Nineteen-year-old Pham Thao Thanh (Jenny) came to New Zealand to improve her English. "I'd studied it at home for seven years but that was mainly reading and writing. I wanted to work on my speaking and listening which is why I came here," says the Vietnamese teenager.

So she said goodbye to her parents and two younger siblings and came to Auckland to live with her uncle, aunt and three cousins.

"They've lived here for 22 years. All my cousins were born in New Zealand."

She enrolled in the AIS St Helens English Language Centre in November 2001 and spent a year studying there. During that time Jenny says her language skills improved a great deal. Although she always spoke Vietnamese at home with her relatives, she found immersing herself in English at school everyday proved to be hugely beneficial.

Whilst studying, Jenny also worked part-time as a cashier in her aunt's West Auckland bakery. Since leaving AIS St Helens she has taken on the position full-time. She says it gives her constant opportunities to build on the solid English foundation she has already laid.

Although she misses her family and home country dreadfully, Jenny says she'll probably stay in New Zealand. She wants to head back to school to continue improving her English, gain IELTS and eventually study Business.