From seizing career opportunities to traveling the world, our amazing learners are living proof that English can take you wherever you want to go in life. EF English Live learner, Nathalie Chouvet, has been learning with us for six years and shows no sign of slowing down. Here is her inspiring story in her own words...
How learning English changed my life: Nathalie Chouvet
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Making progress is tough without a good teacher
I was born in Alsace, a mining city in northeastern France. My parents enrolled me in a private school, where I started learning English. One of my teachers had lived in London before, and she was the person who gave me my love for English. But it was difficult to make progress because I’d already had seven years of learning without a good teacher.
I moved to Paris for my studies and then had several different jobs – a pediatrician, a children’s teacher, and after that, a photographer. However, I missed out on the jobs I really wanted due to my low level of English, despite taking intensive courses. I then joined the French Ministry of the Interior as a police officer and worked there for seven years, organizing events and exhibits.
"I missed out on the jobs I really wanted due to my low level of English."
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I didn't consider any other language school
I found EF English Live completely by chance when I was booking a language trip for my two daughters. When I realized that they taught English to adults, with classes available 24/7, I said: “Let's go!”
I didn’t consider any other language school. It's like when you fall in love - when you meet someone and you say: “I don't know why, I just know”. It’s the same feeling. It was like a wedding with EF English Life. And I said yes!
At the start of my EF English Live learning journey, I was too shy to take a private class. I told myself I couldn’t say two words without making a mistake and worried that my level of English was too low. It took me a year to build up the courage. But after I found a teacher I liked, I took off and soon forgot my shyness.
"After I found a teacher I liked, I soon forgot my shyness."
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Group classes are like a melting pot
That's when my boss offered me a mission in Abidjan on the Ivory Coast in West Africa. In the blink of an eye, I had to get ready and go! The mission was a success and the company was so appreciative of my work that I got a promotion when I returned to Paris. This gave me even more motivation to continue my English learning.
To keep up with my learning, I took two private classes a week and changed my computer and phone language to English to totally immerse myself in the language. I also loved group classes. I found it funny that everyone was so young and I was the only older student! I heard so many different accents, it was like a melting pot.
"I got a promotion when I returned to Paris."
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English is pivotal in my new career change
During the end of my time at the Ministry of the Interior, I decided to become a life coach. As my beloved husband travels a lot, I said to myself: “It's important to be fluent in English so I can coach in English.” I made that my new goal: to improve my English enough to be able to coach and help anyone who needed it. I took some coaching courses and graduated, leading "How to be happy at work" workshops within the Ministry of the Interior.
I’m retired from the police now, but I still practice English all the time and I take two private classes a week as always. I love being able to express myself in the language of Shakespeare! My husband and I are both big travelers and we often go scuba diving in English-speaking countries.
"I’m retired from the police now, but I still I take two private English classes a week."
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My learning tips and advice
Learning English is like listening to a new type of music. And having a good English accent becomes the melody. My biggest challenge when learning English was getting used to all the different accents, particularly from places like Liverpool or Birmingham. The rhythm can be really difficult to follow.
My favorite tip to help with this is to listen to lots of people with different accents by watching British movies and TV series. In the beginning, you can use subtitles, but after that, you should avoid them. My second tip is to listen to podcasts - my favorite is Luke’s English Podcast.
My third tip is to find the right teacher for you. My EF English Live teacher is the same age as me and has a similar background and interests, which makes me more confident talking to her. When I want to practice specific topics, vocabulary, or grammar, I ask my teacher before class. She's very flexible, which helps me. In fact, 60% of my English proficiency today is due to my teacher.
"60% of my English proficiency is due to my teacher."
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I'm proud that my daughters' English is better than mine!
At first, I didn't want my kids to have better English than me. But I can say that my two girls both have wonderful accents. The younger one even had a boyfriend from London. So, I lost - they are way ahead of me! It's now a funny joke between us. And I'm so proud of them. Perhaps I gave them the opportunity and the strength to do it. And the understanding that today, you can't do anything without English.
I once did a DNA test, which told me that I’m 60% English, 20% Irish, and 10% Italian. When I received the full results, I discovered that my ancestors were English, even though I have no relatives in the UK today! It was my soul that led me to learn English.
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