Our Wellington centre is fortunate to have Xia Zhen as a bilingual volunteer helping their online Chinese Seniors English Language Group, especially as she now lives in Auckland!

Xia Zhen shares her story with us …

My name is Xia Zhen, you can call me Kathie. I came from Shanghai, China in 2018.

I attended some classes held by English Language Partners Wellington. One was the WorkTalk course and the other was an English Language Group (ELG) in Miramar. I then started the home tutor training programme last year and became a volunteer home tutor.

Because New Zealand is an English-speaking country, we can have a better life here if we can use English well. I worked for some multinational companies in China and we used English as the official language in that business environment, but I needed to improve my living skills in English.

I heard about ELP from a close friend who was a student of ELP as well. She recommended ELP to me.  After I trained as a home tutor I helped Thaithai who is a refugee from Myanmar to learn English in Wellington. We finished seven classes before I moved to Auckland with my family and I tried to keep teaching as a home tutor here but Covid19 stopped the physical connection.

I started to assist ELG teacher Sarka Schumann as an interpreter in the Chinese Seniors ELG in Wellington. Because of the lockdown the class moved online and I could keep contributing some help from a long distance away.

I’d like to be a responsible resident here, so I try my best to immerse myself into the community and do some volunteer jobs or part time jobs when my son goes to school.

I also enjoy reading books which can enrich my scope and understanding of different cultures. I believe that will make me prepared when I face any new challenges here.

Thank you so much for your volunteering Kathie- we’re lucky to have you on board!