I have been working in an International company for 9 years. Despite of the fact the company is Chinese, we use English language to communicate between us around the world (UK, USA, China,..). Therefore, last year, I decided to improve my English for getting better communication with my fellows.

Though we have some little courses inside the company for learning English, it is not enough because they mix different levels in the same class and, as you can imagine, it is a mess. Not only is this mess the problem, but also, classes are developed in our work hours, so if you have a meeting or an urgent issue, of course, you cannot attend it.

Because of the reasons I have explained in the descriptions above, I decided to register in some university where my work schedule matched with the school schedule. After a little research, I found that UNED had a “Centro Asociado” near to my job and the schedule was compatible. So, I registered and I attended the whole year the course. I was very excited because I was learning and improving my English, in fact, some colleagues congratulated me. But, in spite of the effort, I did not pass my exam and it discouraged me a lot. I wanted to curl up and gave up. Honestly, I spent my summer reflecting if it was worth. I work many hours and I have to use my vacation days and weekends for studying meanwhile my colleagues enjoy the life. However, after spent a short holiday in Portugal and spoke in English without any problem and communicate with my fellows from the other side of the world I decided to give another chance.

As my boyfriend says: “Efforts always bring rewards”