We run ESOL courses (English as a Second Language) for both 16-18 year old and adults over 19. Many of our students have found that taking ESOL classes has changed their lives for the better. Read some of their stories below:
Svitlana Toma, originally from Ukraine, was a university graduate and had worked for 15 years as an engineer. Shed moved to the UK six years ago and enrolled in an ESOL Level 1 course at Merton College.
She says: “I'd studied English at school, but I was growing up in hard times when Ukraine was under the Soviet Union – and our classes were so poor that we didn’t really learn much at all. It was very expensive for ordinary people to study English and there were many restrictions for Soviet people wanting to learn the language. I found lessons at Merton college to be like a special gift given to me, perhaps for my strong desire to improve my English as a second language for a better life. During my course, I met new people from all over the world learning English like me. They are now my friends and we practise our English together. As a result of my news skills, I was able to look for employment and was offered a good job in London. I now work as a CAD Technician within a Mechanical and Electrical team, where I’m in charge of creating AutoCAD drawings and schematics."
Vangeliya Traykova is from Bulgaria and has lived in London for seven years. When she arrived in the country, Vangeliva knew little English. A chance meeting led Vangeliva to enrol in an ESOL course at Merton College.
She says: “On the first day of my new job in a cleaning company, I met the person who changed my life. I was cleaning a client’s flat and she offered me a job in a restaurant. I accepted it and worked there for five years. One of my colleagues told me about the ESOL courses at Merton College. From September 2018 I became a part of this friendly and very welcoming family. I want to say a big thank you to all of my teachers and my colleagues who supported my work and gave me a chance to change my life for the better”.
When Truong Bui came to the UK from Vietnam, he found his first few weeks in London to be challenging as he tried to teach himself English. Truong then decided that a college course would help him, so he enrolled on an ESOL course at Merton College.
He says: “The college has all the facilities that students need to succeed. I was very happy studying at Merton and thought I could also learn some new skills at the same time, as well as English. My first day was really interesting, I made some new friends in my class, they were of different ages and came from various countries. I felt a bit shy at the beginning but everyone was very friendly, so I soon became more confident and the teacher put me at ease. Our teacher helped everyone to read, speak, listen and write good English and my classmates were ready to support me whenever needed. I had such a positive impression of the college and its teaching staff. My English has improved a lot as I’ve worked through my studies my and I’m thinking of enrolling on to the next level because it is a very good college with fantastic teachers.”
