My name is Xiao Chuan Chen and in English my name is Joanne. I am from Shanghai, China. 

I have been in Christchurch for 4 years. I live with my husband and his name is Paul Bowden. He has retired now.

When I first came to New Zealand, I was troubled by language as I could not speak English with anyone and it made my life difficult. I know New Zealand and China are two completely different countries , having two different languages. My husband told me if I want to have an accounting job, I must work hard to learn English. At first I bought some simple English books and CDs to learn at home. Although I was studying hard but my English did not improve. I was very confused at that time, and I wanted to give up learning English. But my husband has been encouraging me to keep learning. One day when I was at my friend’s party, some people mentioned about Hagley College to me and they also recommended me to go to Hagley College to lean English. I was happy with their suggestion. Right the next day I went to Hagley College to apply to learn English. And I got enrolled!. I started in February 2016. I am now learning English at Hagley College. Our classmates are from different countries. They are all very kind and friendly. They help me improve my English. My teachers are very patient, careful and gentle. They correct my English sentences and show me how to pronounce English words. My English gets better each day. I am so happy. I like going to Hagley college because the school provides a good environment for students to learn and the teachers are great. I like them and I love Hagley college.