30 April 2019

Shortly after immigrating to Australia from China, Siyuan Luo, enrolled in a Certificate III in Spoken and Written English with TAFE NSW and is currently working at Booleroo Centre District Hospital and Health Services as a kitchen hand.

Rose (Siyuan’s preferred name), a Booleroo resident said, “When I arrived in Australia, I could only speak basic English and knew I had to improve my communication skills quickly, as I wanted to find work and converse with people in the local community.”

After researching which courses would be best for her and asking for advice from local people, Rose decided to study online with TAFE Digital because she lives in the country in South Australia and thrives on setting her own pace. “Not only did studying online save me a lot of time, but I enjoyed connecting with people who had immigrated to various parts of Australia from different countries in the web streamed virtual classrooms,” said Rose.

According to Rose, the Skype lessons with teachers were very efficient and they took the time to develop a suitable progressive curriculum unique to her needs. “I appreciated the focus on my specific requirements and was able to easily build a good relationship with the TAFE NSW teachers, who adapted lessons taking my situation, levels of understanding and end goals into account.”

The units most useful to Rose were developing language skills for job seeking, phone etiquette, role-plays and constructing a good resume. “Shortly after I finished these units I sent my resume to Booleroo Centre District Hospital, had an interview and was offered casual work, which I am very happy about,” she said. “The correct pronunciation of the interviewer’s name was very important and my teacher did extra role-playing with me to ensure I was confident before the interview.”

Rose is very friendly and appreciates the opportunity to develop her communication skills further with the patients and hospital staff.

While she was learning comprehension and conducting presentations, Rose took the initiative to deliver a Chinese New Year presentation to aged people and staff in the community centre. “They enjoyed it so much that they have asked me to do a ‘Tea in China’ presentation in April or May,” said Rose. “I plan to let the people taste different Chinese teas and explain their health benefits, like the anti-oxidants in green tea.”

Rose is very focused, as evidenced by her success in teaching herself to swim via YouTube videos when she realised she lived right next door to the local swimming pool. She now enjoys doing a few laps during the hotter months of the year.

Media contact: Bonny Gunn, TAFE Digital Communications and Media Business Partner. M: 0417 134 048