Nearly every Monday through Thursday evening, the hallways of E-QIP are teeming with students from all walks of life, who come together to work on their target languages and share conversation and laughs. Most of these students come to E-QIP straight from their full-time jobs. They're busy, motivated people who don't have the time to fit in a full day of classes, but who make language study a priority anyway.
One such student is English learner Alex, who's been at E-QIP on and off for more than a year. Evening group sessions and private afternoon lessons not only allow Alex to work around his job, but also pave the way to a more satisfying one (and one that's better suited to his past experience and expertise).
You could say that divine intervention brought Alex to E-QIP.
He discovered the school thanks to an opportune meeting with a priest at a public library near his home in the West Island. The pair were sat across from each other and began chatting, and the topic of Alex’s desire to improve his English eventually came up. That conversation prompted the priest to pass along E-QIP’s website and phone number, and now Alex is a mainstay at the school.
Alex has taken evening and private lessons at E-QIP, and like most students who take night classes here, he squeezes in his learning between long days at his full-time job.
“For me, it’s always pleasure to come and learn and to study English and to improve my English,” he said.
Alex came to Montreal from his native Romania in the summer of 2011. He’d had enough of life in Eastern Europe and was eager to try something new.
“Honestly, I wanted a big change in my life… that’s why I decided to [leave] my home.”
Improving his English is a personal goal that Alex plans to see through until the end. He's progressed to a comfortable intermediate level, but doesn't plan to give up on lessons and practice until he's mastered English.
“I have only one goal in front of my eyes,” he said, “which is to continue until I reach the highest level.”
According to Julie, one of Alex’s recent teachers, he’s well on his way to meeting that goal.
“He’s a very friendly guy. He’s very attentive, he takes great notes. If he doesn’t know something, he’ll always ask a question,” she said.
In his spare time, Alex enjoys watching videos and documentaries on topics ranging from history and geography to sports and politics, and his knowledge of English has opened up the amount of media he’s able to engage with.
Alex works long days at his current job, which can be a strain. He’s excited about the possibilities that perfecting his English could provide.
“To continue to study, this is the only way out.”