Aline, who is our amazing receptionist at the Gold Coast campus, is our guest blogger today. Some of you may not have known this, but she is also a past Langports student. Have a read of her blog about the importance of the Langports ‘English Only’ policy…
Finding a good job in Brazil requires, in most cases, both a strong academic background and the ability to speak two or more languages.
I used to have an “ok” job but in order to find something better I knew that besides my university degree I would have to learn another language.
I then decided to come to Australia.
Close friends of mine strongly recommended Langports because of the UFO program and the high level of education you receive.
When I got here, in the middle of all the excitement of being overseas and meeting a lot of new people, I had to remind myself that even though having a good time was very important, learning English and becoming fluent was my main goal.
The “English Only” policy was a great incentive to help me make friends around the school.
I had no choice but to speak English and that helped me to make new friends from countries other than Brazil. It helped me improve all of my English skills especially speaking and listening. I had Brazilian friends and classmates but they weren’t the ones I spent most of my time with.
As a result of being encouraged to speak only English at school I met amazing people from Japan, France and Colombia. We ended up being close friends and sharing an apartment together. It also helped all of us to practise English at home as well as in the classroom.
“English Only” is a policy at Langports, but it comes down to me and you as a student to CHOOSE to take the opportunity and learn.
Nowadays there is not much at all that I don’t understand. I speak on the phone and take messages in English daily. I communicate in English via email and use English all day every day — unless I get a phonecall from home.
Now I see the improvements in other students English, which is really great.
Make the most of your time in Australia! Langports teachers do a great job inside the classroom, but they cannot watch you 24 hours a day — it’s up to you!
