Milly | Silverdale, Waikato

“The biggest thing, I think, is English. I know my English is not very well, so that’s why I’m here, to study English. Because I want to communicate with the local people, and I admire the people who speak English very fluently.

In the future, I think that if I have fluent English, I can get a good job. Now, I’m working in a motel as a cleaner. I’m from China. I have just been here for nearly six years. Before I came here, I had worked in a cleaning company for 20 years in China. I’m studying Level 4 academic, but I had a half-year break. Now, I’ve just come back. 

I speak Mandarin. I started to learn English because I wanted to come here. Because my son likes New Zealand, so I think in 2014, my husband, my son and me came here. When I was in China, I started to learn English, but my old colleagues and my leaders, actually my manager, all thought I’m too old to learn English, but my husband encouraged me to learn English. So, I studied English when I was 43.

The Mandarin is deep-rooted in my mind. I’m not young. That’s why I think the Chinese is still in my mind. English is not easy for me to learn, I think.”