Online, Class, Work, Home
English For Your Staff
ESOL Home Tutoring
About ELPNZ
Online, Class, Work, Home
English For Your Staff
ESOL Home Tutoring
About ELPNZ
Stories & Learning Materials
When she was a young child Iryna’s mother taught her to knit.
Thirty years ago, Iryna trained in anaesthesiology in Ukraine.
Like all medical professionals, she learnt to sew with care and precision. Iryna says her early exposure to knitting helped with her medical training.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 Iryna was working at Kyiv Hospital. Iryna had never imagined she would be forced to give up her medical career and move to the other side of the world. She wasn’t thinking about merino sheep farming in Aotearoa when she learnt surgical stitching in Ukraine.
It was her sewing and knitting skills that landed her a job at Weft Knitting Company in Christchurch.
Weft makes high quality merino products and Iryna is responsible for hand stitching anything that requires a surgeon’s touch. Knitting is one of Iryna’s favourite hobbies. She misses working in medicine but feels the relief that comes with being away from the intense stress of working in a conflict zone. “In New Zealand no one dies if I make a mistake at work and I am sleeping much better.”
She enjoys her job and says her manager and colleagues have been very supportive by allowing her to work part time so she can study English. Weft Knitting Company has supplied 4000 merino heavyweight thermals to the Ukrainian army for the last four winters. Weft works closely with the New Zealand Ukrainian Association and fundraises to cover the costs associated with supplying the thermals.
Hugh Douglas, Managing Director says that Iryna is very highly skilled as a garment mender. “Her repairs are very very good – so good you cannot see where there was once a hole!”
Iryna arrived in New Zealand in 2022 and started English classes at English Language Partners Christchurch the day after she arrived.
At the time she only had basic English - just enough to get by when travelling around Europe. She learnt English in Kyiv but never spoke it outside the classroom. She remembers finding everything in New Zealand overwhelming including things we all take for granted such as the shopping at the supermarket.
The first class she joined was a programme run by teacher Gabrielle Sato. The “Walk and Talk” class included an online vocabulary and grammar session every second week, with the alternate weeks spent visiting sites and walking around Christchurch to learn about its history and landmarks while putting English into practice.
Iryna loved this programme and made friends with people from all over the world who were new to New Zealand as she was. Iryna feels that the connections she made at English Language Partners helped form a strong support network. They talk about life in New Zealand and enjoy swapping linguistic quirks. “Did you know that the word antenna is the same in English, Spanish and Ukrainian?” Iryna laughs.
There are many difficult things about learning English. Iryna says English classes help her build the correct phrases and use the correct word order and tense. She reflects on some of the differences between English and her first languages.
“I speak Russian and Ukrainian. The word order doesn’t matter. In English, the word order is important. We also have gender in Ukrainian, and we change the ending of the words depending on the type of question you are asking. We also have different words for You (like in French). If someone is more senior or a new acquaintance, then you use one kind of you.”
Christchurch Centre Manager Sheryl Jackson comments on how Iryna’s attendance and commitment really pay off.
“Iryna has been completely committed and motivated to improve her English and since Term 4, 2022, has regularly enrolled in at least two classes per term. The range of classes with a combination of online and face-to-face delivery, have included Speaking and Listening, Reading & Writing, Better Communication – Writing focus and Professional Speaking. Her attendance has always been outstanding with a very impressive 94% rate from a total of 42 different classes with a total of over 1000 hours! It is no surprise that she has deservedly moved up to our Upper Intermediate-Advanced level now and is able to confidently handle herself in English in a wide range of situations.”
The people of Christchurch are very lucky to have Iryna. As well as working and learning English, Iryna has been giving back to her community by volunteering.
Her first volunteer experience was working in an SPCA op shop. Iryna recalls it being a difficult time in her settlement journey. She felt stressed and frustrated with how long it was taking to get established. She found that volunteering helped pass the time and that everyone was friendly.
With that first experience under her belt, she started volunteering at Riding for the Disabled.
“I had never been close to horses. I had only seen the horses on TV. I realised that I had to relate to horses like I relate to dogs. I am a dog person, and I had to be brave.”
For two years, once a week (after her English lessons), she helped children ride horses.
Her third experience with local community organisations has made Iryna feel like she really belongs here.
She started learning to ride with the charity Rad Bikes. It runs a programme called Bike Bridge that helps women learn to ride a bicycle.
“At Bike Bridge I was so happy because I saw so many women from around the world, with different levels of English and all of them happily chatting while learning to ride bikes. We had cups of tea together and I realised I was not alone here in New Zealand.”
Lois Hill from Bike Bridge is happy to have Iryna on the team, especially with her growing confidence in English.
“Iryna was an obvious choice when we were looking to recruit a new staff member from our previous participants, with her calm capability, kindness & enthusiasm for our project. We are happy she said yes and somehow fits this part-time role in amongst a very busy schedule. She is such an asset to our team!”
Iryna cycles around Christchurch giving presentations and promoting the programme. This includes talking to new learners at our Christchurch Centre.
Sheryl Jackson, Centre Manager says.
“Iryna is an inspiration for learners. They can relate to her and are impressed that three years ago she spoke very little English yet now she is very comfortable doing presentations to a class full of learners. She has been our Guest Speaker at volunteer events and worked on the City Council’s stand at the Passport to Ōtautahi/Spring Festival. Seeing her confidence and skills develop over these years, alongside the incredible contribution she’s making in the community, has made us all so proud of her achievements."
Iryna’s advice for other learners of English is to grab every opportunity you can to learn and practice. Her tips include:
Settlement in a new country is a gradual process. Iryna shared some of the small steps that have, little by little, made her feel more settled. For example, she started gardening for the first time when she moved to New Zealand. “I lived on the 17th floor in Ukraine. I could not garden. Now I have a small garden. I have tomatoes. All Ukrainians love tomatoes!”
Reflecting on her settlement progress, Iryna marvels at how far she has come.
“I was very shy when I arrived in New Zealand three years ago. I spoke English very badly. Look at me now! I give power point presentations in English to promote the Bike Bridge cycling programme.”
Gabrielle Sato taught Iryna three years ago when Iryna first started classes with English Language Partners.
“Every time I see Iryna, I am blown away with how much her confidence has grown. I remember the first time I met her at our Mona Vale Talk and Walk class. She approached me with tears in her eyes as the road ahead in New Zealand felt so daunting. In class, Iryna gave everything a go. She participated in every activity and always sought feedback. By not being afraid to make mistakes, she progressed very quickly. I always loved how she engaged the other learners and encouraged them to make the most of their lives in New Zealand. Following her passions for sewing and knitting, as well as enjoying exploring new places on foot, Iryna integrated so well into everyday New Zealand life. I believe this really helped her English language journey and to make the most of her life here.”
Iryna says she is not ready to be an anaesthetist in the New Zealand health system yet. Among other things, she would need a grade of 8.5 in the IELTs test. Iryna is thinking creatively about ways to contribute to New Zealand with her medical experience. She would like to become a first aid trainer and combine her new English presentation skills with her training in emergency medicine.
Wherever she goes next, we are all incredibly lucky to have Iryna in New Zealand and are proud of everything she has achieved.
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