Teacher’s viewpoint: my favourite English student

I want to take the time to look back on a truly awesome student that I had the pleasure of meeting during my time teaching with EF English Live. Not only does this student stick out in my mind and make me love what I do, but hopefully he will also serve as inspiration for you and your future endeavors with the English language.

This particular student was from Brazil. I live in Thailand and I am always surprised when I teach Brazilian students, because it’s morning time for me, and very late at night for them. This student would often take classes with me around 11:00 pm or midnight. During the day, he was studying computer engineering and had dreams of studying abroad at an American university. We would talk once or twice a week and he would take classes with two other teachers as well. That meant he was taking three or four Private Classes per week sometimes.

He was preparing for his TOEFL exam because he needed it to get into an American university. He started out as an elementary level student and quickly moved up to an early advanced level student within five to six months of diligently taking classes, listening to music in English, and watching movies in English. He always had questions prepared for the class that he had thought about the day before, and he consistently asked questions as they came to him during the class as well.

He made progress quickly and remained extremely determined through the months. He would complete practice tests and we would discuss common questions and answers that might be on his TOEFL. I really admired him for the active role he took in his studies. He had a goal and he didn’t lose sight of it, not even once. He stayed up late studying, he always showed up to his classes, and he really impressed me with his progress.

So what ended up happening to this student? Well, he passed his TOEFL with flying colors and got accepted to the university he wanted in the US. He still takes English lessons to maintain his level and will be moving to the US to start his university classes for computer engineering soon.

He is just one of the many people who really put their mind to something and make it happen. He was always focused and ready to make his dream come true, and he did it.

So what are your goals with the English language? What motivates you? School? Job opportunities? The option to travel with ease? Whatever it is, you can make it happen!