Dieu’s Story

“It’s hard coming to a new country not knowing the language,” said Dieu. Attending the LINC program and Conversation Circle and Writing English tutorials at University Settlement is making all the difference…

“It’s hard coming to a new country not knowing the language,” said Dieu. Attending the LINC program and Conversation Circle and Writing English tutorials at University Settlement is making all the difference.

Dieu arrived in Toronto from Vietnam just over one year ago where she was the owner and operator of a custom dress shop.

“When Dieu started coming to Conversation Circle in English on Zoom, she was so shy. She didn’t speak and she didn’t want to be seen on camera,” said Lei Xu, Settlement Counsellor and Coordinator of the English language tutorials. “Her tutors and I encouraged her during the sessions and throughout the week by email.

“Dieu has never missed a session. After a few months she began to speak up and let us see her on camera. In another few months, Dieu was expressing herself in complete sentences and she started smiling. Now, Dieu is one of the more fluent students.”

“The programs on Zoom are designed to help ESL students like me,” Dieu said. “I am enjoying studying and enjoying life much more. I want to continue to improve my English so that I can go to school to study social work. When I was in Vietnam, I volunteered for more than 10 years helping women, like me, who were victims of violence. Now I want to work with women here who have experienced violence.”

“Thank you to everyone for your constant heartfelt support. You have built my confidence in communicating in English. The programs on Zoom allowed me to have faith that I will enjoy life here in Canada.”

Help Us Make A Difference

When you give to University Settlement, you make it possible for newcomers, like Dieu, to improve their english skills and build their confidence in using their new language skills in real-life situations.

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