I am from the Republic Democratic of Congo and the spoken languages in my country are French and Swahili. When I came to Ireland two years ago, I couldn’t speak a word of English. This made life very difficult for me because I couldn’t complete essential tasks such as going to the doctor or making an appointment on my own. I had no friends in Ireland and I couldn’t attend college because my English wasn’t good enough.
I decided to do English classes in the Cavan Adult Learning Centre (CALC). Learning a new language was not easy and I put a lot of effort into it. I had a great tutor who gave me a lot of support and I will not forget him. I started learning English as a beginner (QQI Level 2), then I progressed to a QQI Level 3 course. To further improve my English, I decided to take some other modules such as IT, cookery classes, communications and maths. I am currently doing a QQI Level 4 Major award and I hope to complete this shortly.
“Learning English has given me confidence”
I have benefited a lot from learning English. I no longer need an interpreter to express my feelings and I can now give my own opinion or converse in English with a group of people. Learning English has given me the confidence to talk in front of people without feeling sorry for myself. I can also make my own appointments. I have made new friends and I really enjoy our conversations.
“Now I can go to college and progress my career”
Learning English has meant a lot to me because now I can go to college to progress my career. I have applied for a QQI Level 5 course IT in Cavan Institute and I hope to start the course in September.