On the main street of Motueka, there is a popular café called Elevation. It was recently purchased by Huy, a learner at our Nelson Centre.

Immigrating to New Zealand

Huy and his family are from Vietnam and came to New Zealand in early 2019 in search of educational opportunities for their son.

When they first arrived, they lived in a backpackers’ hostel. Huy’s wife Mang already had a good level of English, so she studied Supply Chain and Logistics Management  and looked for work in logistics.

Huy’s English was very basic, so his work opportunities were limited. In Vietnam he trained as a Chemical Engineer. He also owned a small pottery business with 10 employees.

He managed to get work in an apple orchard, then at a hop farm. In 2022 he landed a job as a kitchen hand in a Vietnamese restaurant and did so well that he was promoted to Cook after 3 months and to Chef after 6 months.

Enrolling in our English for Employees Programme

One day Dave Remnant from the Nelson centre popped into the Vietnamese restaurant where Huy was working. He was visiting to promote the English for Employees Programme.

This is a free programme for residents and citizens and focuses on helping employees learn English for a work environment. Huy was keen because he had recently obtained residence in New Zealand and wanted to focus on improving his English. However, Huy was only available on Monday mornings when the restaurant was closed. Our centres often organise classes to fit around the needs of learners. Dave from the Nelson Centre set up a Monday morning class and filled it with other hospitality workers who also had Mondays off work.

Huy’s main motivation for joining the programme was to improve his ability to communicate with his colleagues and make friends with other English speakers.

The E4E classes really helped Huy’s confidence to speak to his colleagues and make friends outside class.

His tips for other learners are:

• Force yourself not to be shy – speak up and take the opportunity to hear your teacher’s corrections.
• Do the optional writing homework each week. Writing a diary was extremely useful. It helped him correct mistakes and practise the vocabulary and grammar he learnt in class.

Huy says he can understand his customers more clearly than before. He can also chat to customers, share news and use Kiwi slang phrases like “Take it easy”.  Huy noticed that a lot of people in New Zealand like to talk about the weather and their personal life. He feels more confident talking about these topics after practising useful phrases in his English class.

Becoming a business owner

Buying the café was not easy – the lawyers and the Hospitality Association were very helpful but there was a lot to learn about the way business works in New Zealand compared to Vietnam.

‍

Huy’s Elevation Café customers love him and Huy says that studying English gave him the confidence to open his own cafe and communicate well with customers.

The team at English Language Partners wish Huy success and look forward to trying the delicious spring rolls and Pho next time we are in Motueka.

‍

‍