New country, new skills for Sophie

A recent immigrant from China has found a pathway to success through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Sophie Li arrived in New Zealand around 7 years ago and through studying a range of programmes at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa she’s now much more confident in herself and better able to be a part of her local community.

Her journey with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa began with the NZ Certificate in English Language at DynaSpeak, followed by others in money management and small business.

Each programme brought its own benefits, but collectively they’ve helped Sophie enormously.

“Through these courses I significantly improved my English, learned practical job skills, gained a deeper understanding of life in New Zealand, and helped me integrate into the local community,” she says.

“The English course gave me valuable practice in reading, listening and speaking. Money Management taught me financial knowledge that I didn’t know before, and Certificate in Small Business showed me how to start a business.”

Sophie says the Money Management programme had a particularly strong impact.

“It taught me essential personal financial literacy skills and how to make smarter financial decisions. I learned a lot about personal finance that’s relevant in New Zealand and found it incredibly useful.”

Her studies have not been without their challenges, particularly being new to the country and having English as a second language.

“Since I didn’t know much about New Zealand society, the economy, or the culture, I had to spend extra time understanding the course content. Completing all the assignments after class was also a big challenge because of the tight schedule,” she says.

However, she had plenty of support from her whānau and her kaiako to keep her on track.

“My family was very supportive of my studies because they saw it as a great way to integrate into local life and lay a solid foundation for future job opportunities,” she says.

“The kaiako were like friends to us and very patient explaining things we didn’t understand. They often chatted with us after class, sharing interesting stories from their own lives. The classroom was always filled with laughter.”

Having initially been recommended to Te Wānanga o Aotearoa by a friend, Sophie is now that friend to others, encouraging them to enrol.

“For new immigrants looking to integrate quickly, these courses are an amazing opportunity,” she says.

“Many of them are free, which makes it even better, plus you’ll meet lots of new friends, share information, and even have class gatherings that enrich your life.”

Find out more about our range of programmes available with Dynaspeak.