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Brazilian Psychologist discovers birthplace of English

Brazilian Psychologist discovers birthplace of English

We have many ambitious students at Stafford House School of English, but our recent competition winner from Brazil is a particularly impressive example.

Naijara is a psychologist who lives and works in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais in south east. Her work brings her into contact with individuals suffering from the effects of global problems – violence, conflict, crime, addiction.

Meeting these issues face-to-face every day, Naijara developed an interest in global politics and decided to apply for a Master’s in Public Politics. This is a demanding course and Naijara required an IELTS score of 7 in order to apply for a British Council scholarship. Unfortunately, she failed to achieve this score - which is where we came in.

Naijara spotted our competition and decided to enter. Impressed by her ambitions, we awarded her the prize of a place to study English at our Canterbury School.

“I particularly wanted to come to the UK because it is the birthplace of English and a nice place to be.” Naijara explained.

While she knew she could study English in Brazil, she felt that in England she would be able to devote more time to learning the language. “I hadn’t been to Europe before and was looking forward to experiencing the differences between here and South America.”

Once she’d had time to settle in, we interviewed Naijara to find out how she was getting on:

What were you hoping to achieve during your course here?
To improve my vocabulary. Principally, improve my listening, because it’s very different when you stay in the country where the language is spoken.

Have you achieved those things?
Yes, I think so. When I arrived here – my goodness! I couldn’t understand anything! My host family talked to me…What? I beg your pardon? Sorry? Now, I don’t understand everything, but my English has improved.

What did you know about Canterbury?
I knew nothing about Canterbury. I looked on the Internet to see if it is near London and what it has got. It’s a very nice city because it’s old and rich in history.

How did you find living with a host family?
It’s difficult because everything is so different. Sometimes you don’t know what you can do and what you can’t do. It’s more difficult because the communication is difficult. During the stay, this gets better and you can explain and understand. I have a nice relationship with my host family. If I stayed here, it would get better.

What have you enjoyed about your stay here?
I’ve enjoyed going to museums and gardens. I’ve visited the Cathedral and St Dunstan’s Church. And pubs! I’ve made friends. It’s very nice. You can meet people from all over the world. The students are very friendly and nice. I think I’ll stay in touch with some.

What have you not enjoyed?
The weather. Sometimes it’s very cold for me. Food – it’s very expensive. When I buy food in the supermarket, generally I don’t like it. The food made by my host family is nice. She prepares fresh food.

Do you think the competition should be repeated?
Yes. It’s very nice. A very good idea. This competition can help –  can give an opportunity to people who don’t have enough money to study abroad. It’s a chance to meet people from other cultures, to try to understand, not to judge, because people think in different ways and they have reasons for this. It’s nice to open your mind. Maybe it can help you to be better.

Would you recommend Stafford House to your friends?
Of course. I like the school and I think the teachers are good and very friendly. Not only the teachers – for example, Dina (the receptionist) helped me a lot when I asked for information. It’s a good school and a responsible school. There are good buildings and computers.

Naijara plans to stay in London for a few months and then return to Brazil. She has not yet decided whether to do her Master’s here or in Brazil, but we wish her every success in her future studies!