25 years old Svetlana Voropaeva (we call her Ana) studied with us for two months, in the Foundation 4 and 5 courses.
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Many tourists start to think about moving to Singapore and study English, which can help them create more opportunities in terms of education and career. Why did you decide to study English overseas? And what are the things you like in Singapore?
I decided to study (English) overseas because it is a good opportunity to make friends from different countries. I like to travel and I do travel a lot. When I visited Singapore for the first time, I was impressed.
First of all, when you come to a foreign country, you will feel uncomfortable. It was not the case with Singapore for me! Everyone was really friendly. Once, I forgot my umbrella at home and as luck would have it, it began to rain. Fortunately, someone shared her umbrella with me. As I said, all Singaporeans are very kind and polite.
Secondly, Singapore has a very good infrastructure. You can go anywhere by bus, subway and catch a taxi as well. By the way, taxis are very cheap here. What I love most about this city is that they have a lot of exhibitions, concerts and various entertainment programmes.
How did you choose the school? Why did you choose British Council in Singapore, but not any other in England or USA? What do you like most about studying in British Council Singapore?
Singapore is an English-speaking country where the majority of the population is Chinese. In my opinion, to be competitive, successful and be in demand in this rapidly growing Asian region, you definitely need to understand their culture. That’s why I chose Singapore. I came to know about the British Council from a friend who is going to study in the National University of Singapore (NUS), and he recommended me to study in British Council as he is also a student here. Most of all, I like the teachers as they are patient and empathetic. The lessons are held in a very friendly atmosphere with lots of games and conversations.
Tell us more about the structure of your language lessons. Do you have any activities that combine different types of language input and output?
The structure of the language lessons is very varied. At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher will teach us the theoretical material and then we’ll do role-playing games or team games in which we have to apply what we have learnt earlier.
Also, before the start of the class, we will meet up with our classmates in the Learning Zone to test what we have learnt previously through online assessments and check our homework together.
Education is a good chance to acquire friends. Students get to learn a new language and make many new friends from around the world. How about you? Do you make a lot of friends in the British Council?
I met a lot of interesting people from all over the world while studying in the British Council. Now I have friends from all over the world! This is another reason why I chose to study overseas. Our teachers will also organise interesting activities after lessons where we will have opportunities to meet students from the other classes.
My favourite activities are mainly the myClub student activities like Conversation Club, where we discuss a topic and get to learn new vocabulary; the Games Club where we can play fun English Word Games; and the Penmanship Club where we get to learn to write quickly and tidily.
How has learning the English language helped you so far?
Now, after several months of studying, I can speak quite fluently in English. Having a higher level of English will help me to pass the IELTS successfully and enter the university. In my opinion, in order for us to remain competitive in the world today, we need to have a good grasp of the English language.