Nikola Pluta (22) emigrated to the UK from Poland with her family in 2015. On arrival, Nikola spoke little to no English which made integrating into and navigating daily life challenging.
After receiving some encouragement from a family friend, Nikola decided to apply to study an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) course at London South East Colleges’ Greenwich campus, where her confidence and abilities quickly grew.
Nikola said:
“It was hard at the beginning, but it was a really good experience. Starting on the Entry Level course was great for me because all the other students spoke barely any English like me, so we were all in the same situation.
“It took me about a year and a half to start becoming more confident with having conversations in English. My sentences and writing weren’t perfect, of course, but I understood people and they understood me.”
As well as developing her language and communication skills and making new friends, Nikola was also able to gain skills in Maths and ICT, as well as real work experience in the College’s onsite café.
Nikola said:
“Working at the café here was a great and I gained lots of practice interacting with customers at speed. This experience helped me to secure a part-time job at Tesco and made it so much easier to communicate with members of the public.”
After successfully completing the ESOL Entry Level course, Nikola went on to complete both the Level 1 and 2 ESOL courses with flying colours, before progressing onto a vocational course in health and social care.
Nikola said:
“I had the best teachers I could imagine. They would sit with me and correct my grammar, which I didn’t fully appreciate at the time, but I can see now that it was so helpful. I'm so grateful to have those kinds of teachers because without them, I wouldn't have been able to achieve what I have.
“If someone who doesn’t speak any English wants to start an ESOL course, I would say go for it! It’s important. I can speak two languages now.
“I have passed all my exams now and I’ve just been offered a place at the University of East London in September to study forensic psychology.”
We congratulate Nikola on her hard-earned place at university and wish her all the luck and success in her future studies.
Feel inspired to develop your English language skills? Apply today to start one of our ESOL courses.
GA