Student Testimonials

Quando procurava um curso de Marketing de 6 meses em Melbourne, me apresentaram o "Graduate Certificate of Marketing" do "Holmesglen Institute of TAFE". Também me explicaram que TAFE é uma escola da Austrália que tem bons cursos com preços mais acessíveis. O valor total do semestre eu poderia pagar na ponta do lápis. Eu tinha que acreditar que ainda dava tempo. Era final de março de 2004, e as aulas começava em início de julho, eu tinha que correr. A primeira agência disse que não dava mais tempo. A segunda falou "vamos que dá!". Era tudo que eu queria ouvir.

Em final de junho eu estava em Melbourne, o sonho tornando-se realidade. A cidade e as pessoas me acolheram. Conheci a São Paulo dos nossos sonhos - limpa, organizada, sem violência, bom transporte público, com a mesma vida cultural e agitada.

O curso começou e percebi que teria que estudar bastante. Bons professores, muitos trabalhos e provas. Os colegas eram todos estudantes internacionais, principalmente da Tailândia. Fiz bons amigos.

O horário do curso não me permitiu trabalhar. Eu tentei, mas não foi possível. Assim, tive que me sustentar com minhas economias e decidi mergulhar nos estudos. Foi muito bom, sinto que tirei o máximo proveito dos estudos, aprendi bastante de Marketing, e consequentemente de Inglês.

No início tive a esperada dificuldade de se adaptar em um outro país, longe da família e amigos. Procurei ajuda e recebi o apoio da escola com atendimento semanal dos chamados "consellours". Me ajuradam demais.

O mais especial foi conhecer o Outback, o deserto australiano. Logo que cheguei na escola vi o cartaz da excursão e não podia acreditar: 12 dias no outback por um preço acessível. Graças a escola pude viajar para o Ayers Rock, meu maior sonho naquele momento.

Sinto-me muito grata e afortunada pela oportunidade, vivendo a intensa experiência e realização pessoal como eu esperava.

Hola, mi nombre es Efrain Carasas Castillo, tengo 17 años y Acabo de llegar a Melbourne hace 3 semanas y me parecio estupendo el lugar.

En estos momentos me encuentro estudiando en el instituto llamado "Holmesglen" mi curso se llama ingles general.

En esta tres semanas que estoy estudiando la estoy pasando muy bien, puedes practicar tu ingles todo el tiempo que sea necesario, aparte aprendes mas con la orientacion que te brinda el instituto. Ademas de conocer gente bien chevere de todas partes del mundo.

Holmesglen cuenta con una biblioteca con acceso a internet todo el tiempo y ademas con una amplia cafeteria.

Holmesglen tambien cuenta con "Student services" para cualquier duda que tengas acerca del instituto.

Holmesglen te bringa todas estas facilidades, espero que te animes y que tengan una buena experiencia.

Mi experiencia en Holmesglen ha sido muy enriquecedora.

El instituto ofrece un ambiente relajado y muy acojedor para estudiar Ingles. Estas rodeao de herramientas para estudiar y por supuesto rodeao de un ambiente muy agradable con gente de todas las nacionalidades. Persolmente ingrese en Holmesglen con un nivel de principiante y en 4 meses consegui el nivel suficiente para estudiar en la Universidad. Recomiendo Holmesglen ya que ofrece una calidad/precio insuperable i ademas con el servicio de 'accomodation' te brindan una muy buena acogida.

La experiencia en Holmesglen ha sido plenamente enriquecedora porque ademas de las clases con profesores nativos, habitualmente se organizan excursiones para conocer, relacionarse e interactuar con la Cultura/Gente de Australia.

After the initial shock of arriving in Melbourne in July, Meilanie Rosalina quickly settled into life in Melbourne with the help of her relatives and friends that she made at her job in a Japanese restaurant.

Her excellent English skills assisted Meilanie to obtain excellent results in the first semester of her Advanced Diploma of Business (Accounting) at Holmesglen and as a result she was awarded a $1,000 bursary by Holmesglen towards her second semester fee.

'I am very glad I chose this course,' says Meilanie. 'Many other Indonesians I have met opted for a foundation year program, but Holmesglen took me straight into the Accounting course after my SMU 3 so I am doing the course that I want to do without wasting a year. I can even get credit for the studies I am doing if I decide to go on to university.'

'With regard to Melbourne, after arriving in the winter time, I was surprised how hot it gets in the summer. The weather has been great and now I am used to the climate changes. I had a bit of culture shock to begin with, but I have found the other students and teachers very helpful and friendly.'

As yet, Meilanie has not decided what she will do after completing the Advanced Diploma course. She has a number of options available ' to transfer to Charles Sturt University's Bachelor of Business Studies offered at Holmesglen after 18 months in the Advanced Diploma course, or to apply for a business or commerce degree at another university in Melbourne and gain some advanced standing. 'For the moment I am enjoying the learning environment in Australia and recommend that anyone who is thinking about studying Australia to come and give it a try.'

'The Charles Sturt University Bachelor of Business Studies is providing me with an excellent background in business not only for the Australian environment but at a global level. The range of subjects at degree level is well-balanced and Holmesglen's teachers are all very professional and well-qualified. I have found that they can explain the difficult concepts to us to make it easy to comprehend. The learning environment at Holmesglen is excellent with its large Information Commons and easy access to the Internet. The surrounding study areas provide a quiet place for students.'

Travelling to Australia and studying abroad were my dream. It was not until two years ago that it came true.

As I enjoyed working in a hotel and providing excellent customer service, on the advice of one of the student agencies, I decided to take a Diploma course on Hospitality Management at Holmesglen. Overall, I enjoyed the course very much, as it not only had lectures and tutorials, but also provided practical training in some of the five star hotels in Melbourne. During the practical training, I had the opportunity to work in several different departments inside the hotel. Learning some technical skills as well as communication skills were part of the training. Besides this, it also allowed me to learn many things which I would not be able to learn in the college. After training in several different departments, if helped me to realise my own competence as well as my interest, and gave me an overview of which department in a hotel I really wanted to work in after finishing my studies. It also gave me a better understanding of what do I really want to do in terms of my career.

The teachers in Holmesglen were nice and friendly. They understood the difficulties faced by international students. I felt no pressure studying here in Melbourne compared to my school life in Hong Kong. As part of my studies, I also had the opportunity to visit other States within Australia. I enjoyed travelling and I often joined trips organised by Holmesglen's Student Services Department. These tourist trips gave me an opportunity to meet more students coming from different countries.

Staying with an Australian family allowed me to practise my English continuously and also to learn more about Australian culture. Having a part-time work here in Melbourne also allowed me to gain more experience as well as improving my English skills.

After graduating from the diploma, I have begun to further my studies at Holmesglen. I have started the Charles Sturt University Bachelor of Hotel Management offered at Holmesglen. Now, I'm looking forward going back to Hong Kong and sharing my life in Melbourne with my friends and family.

'The staff at Holmegslen have been so helpful and supportive to me during my studies.'

'This Business English course has provided me with a real opportunity to practice the office skills I am learning in the workplace. I love studying at HolmesgIen - the teachers and staff are so helpful and friendly. Melbourne is a wonderful city to study.'

'It was a brave decision to go to the other side of the world to take on completely different studies, a different culture with no family or friends around the corner who could help me if and when I needed it.

In 2002 I made such a decision to study something else, but not only that, I wanted to do this in another country. When I arrived in Australia I wasn't as confident anymore. I was confused and suffered unexpected homesickness. But the staff at the Holmesglen International Centre helped me through this period. They convinced me that I had made the right decision in coming to Australia to Holmesglen Institute of TAFE. Arriving at the busiest time of the year, the International Centre staff and my new co-ordinator listened to me, and ensured me that everything would be fine and that although I missed home, I really should give it a fair go.

And how right they were! I am having the best time of my life, learning perfect English, practical Public Relations skills and meeting heaps of new friends from all over the world.

Doing this course at Holmesglen instead of in my home country has given me a lot of benefits. I write and speak English fluently, have a recognised diploma with excellent practical skills, and it has also given me lots more confidence. In my opinion Australia is the best place in the world to study. Australia is safe, clean, very beautiful and the Australians are very kindly and always helpful.

Making new friends at Holmesglen was very easy. Holmesglen organises a variety of activities throughout the year, from free food, sporting competitions to all kinds of entertainment. For me the best things were the trips organised by Student Services at a subsidised price for students like me. I have seen so much of this beautiful country, thanks to Holmesglen. I have slept under the stars in Central Australia, have seen huge whales in NSW, visited Sydney, spent a few nights on a dream Island in Queensland, have spent a week in picturesque Tasmania, and lots more. There were so many local trips to participate in too; The Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island and its penquins, the Ballarat goldmines, and a lot more in Victoria.

I still can't believe that when I go home I have a high-valued and well-recognised Public Relations diploma and I have seen more of Australia than most Australians. If that isn't a dream that has come true for me''''.!

Thank you Holmesglen'

Written by Suzanne Silvest

'I first found out about Holmesglen when I visited an Australian Education Exhibition with one of my friends in 1996. Towards the end of my studies in Vietnam for the Bachelor of Civil Engineering I applied to go to Melbourne to study English for 10 weeks. At the end of the ELICOS program I did the IELTS test and got a good enough score to apply to do the Diploma of Building at Holmesglen which I began in February 1998 and finished in November 1999. I really enjoyed the course at Holmesglen. The content of the course was very interesting ' quite different to what I had studied in Vietnam. There, the teachers gave us notes on everything we needed to learn. In Australia, students are more independent and have to do their own research, using the library to find their learning materials. Another interesting part of the course was the site visits that we made ' so we could actually see the practical side of what we were doing rather than just seeing it on paper. This was quite new for me. I really liked the course ' the teachers were very friendly and helpful.

There were only four international students doing the course with me ' the rest were all Australians and made us feel very welcome. I have played football and golf with them and visited their holiday houses.

I am now studying a Master's Degree in Project Management at RMIT and I have a part-time job with a construction company. I found the job through the Internet and after one interview they offered me part-time work. We specialise in block and brick work in Melbourne and do some civil work in Sydney. With my technical background, my long-term plan is to move into management which is why I am now doing the Project Management course. I hope to return to Vietnam and work in the building construction industry.

I really like Melbourne. It is easy to get around. It took a bit of getting used to but after three years I find it a lovely city. Australians are helpful and friendly. I stayed with about 5 homestay families to start with, even though my uncle offered me accommodation. But I wanted to improve my English. Now I live with a flatmate in an apartment. It is a bit cheaper. I would advise any students who are thinking of coming to Australia to study to just go ahead and do it. The first few weeks here you have to be aware of the culture change but if you make the effort to do things, you will learn a lot. Get out there and do it! '

'I came to Australia two years ago and I have spent my whole my school life in Holmesglen since then.

First I took a 10-week ELICOS course where I learnt Basic English. I still remember that I was so scared to go to class for the first time, because at that time my English was totally not good enough to have proper conversations with teachers and other students. My teachers and classmates were very good to me so I enjoyed every day in school. I spent a lot of time with my friends and this also helped me to improve my English.

After these 10 weeks I did an English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) course, which is also one of the Language Programs but we learnt more specifically about working in offices. I enjoyed learning computer skills and English very much in this course.

After the EOP course, I started the Diploma of Tourism, which I finished in June this year. It was quite different to the ELICOS Program and I had problems with following classes at the beginning. The big difference between ELICOS programs and mainstream courses is that we have to spend much more time studying at home. It was hard but I enjoyed my studies and I really think it was a good decision that I chose Tourism.

Apart from these courses, I also learnt many things in International Centre where I am employed as a casual staff member. I have been working in the office for one and a half years and I learnt many things that I could not learn from classes. I thank the Centre for giving me the opportunity to work and learn there.'

'The 30 week ELICOS program that I did at Holmesglen in 2002 has really prepared me well for the Hospitality course that I commenced in 2003. Holmesglen's English language teachers are well qualified and made the English classes fun but also challenging. By interacting with the students from many different nationalities at Holmesglen I really developed my communication skills and feel very confident now when I am dealing with native English speakers in my Hospitality course.'

'The Engineering course is very interesting and the environment at the Moorabbin campus is very good. There is a great workshop and the facilities are excellent. Australia is a wonderful country and Melbourne is a great city. The people are very friendly and everything is so good. After I finish my diploma I plan to go to a university in Australia. There are a number of excellent universities who will give me credit for the studies I have done at Holmesglen.'

'I love the practical way of teaching at Holmesglen. All of my assignments are relevant to 'real world' situations. The teachers are fantastic and make the classes very interesting.'

'Melbourne is rightly categorized among one of the world's most livable cities. HolmesgIen has provided me with a stepping stone to university. The teachers, their methods of teaching and the facilities at Holmesglen have helped me achieve my full potential.'

'I am really enjoying my course at Holmesglen. With the small class sizes all students can get individual attention and the computer equipment is of a high standard. The study environment at Holmesglen is excellent and of course Melbourne is such a beautiful city with its wonderful parks and gardens and great sporting activities in and around the city.'

'I chose this course because of the guarantee to transfer to Monash University after one year of study. There I will complete the Bachelor of Technology (Computer Studies)in a further two years. Holmesglen's University Transfer programs enable students who are not able to enter directly into university to still complete a Bachelor's degree in three years with considerable cost savings. I enjoy the practical aspect of the course and the assistance that all the staff at Holmesglen provide.'