Adult education provider, ACL Essex, is offering a range of courses across Essex for beginners through to experts.
Kanjanarawan Lees lives in Chelmsford but is originally from Thailand and moved to the UK six years ago. She struggled with her English at first but found ACL Essex and has taken English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses there. Now, she is studying for her beauty qualifications to support people through massage and beauty therapies.
Here’s Kanjanarawan’s story:
“I came to England from Thailand about six years ago; I got married and came to live here with my husband. In the beginning I was very stuck with speaking English because it’s not my first language. I don’t like to be at home. I like to work. I wanted to work and help my husband and the community. My English wasn’t very good, so I looked up where to learn English and found ACL Essex.
“I came to ACL Essex about five years ago and enrolled on my first English course. My tutor was very good and everyone was friendly. I was very interested in the things I could do at ACL Essex because I wanted to learn more and prove myself.
“I quite enjoyed it and when the course was complete, I wanted to do more because everyone was so nice. I went to another course called ESOL Level 1 and I completed that. Then I moved to Level 2 and when that was finished, I wanted to do something for myself.
“I did beauty and massage in Thailand, but if you want to work in the UK you can’t only have experience, you have to have qualifications as well. I thought about what course to do and I started Beauty Therapy Level 2. I was very excited and I worked hard to do this course. I went to work all day long, then the next day I would work again, then on Monday I would go to college, then come home and do my assignments.
“It was very hard work but my tutor helped. I told her I didn’t think I was going to do it but my tutor said I can do it if I want to, and to think about the future when I can own a salon. So, I concentrated hard and knew I was learning something to help people.
“Everyone at ACL Essex was really friendly. Nobody looked down on me because I was from another country. They gave me an opportunity even though I’m not English and my English isn’t great. They would always try to explain and help me with speaking, not only with English or Beauty but they would teach me what you need to do when you live in the UK.
“I finished the Level 2 course in July and I am now taking a Beauty Therapy Level 3 course at ACL Essex in Chelmsford. When I finish, I would like to learn oncology massage, massage that helps cancer patients. I also want to have my own business or salon for myself.
“If you’re scared or feel nervous about doing a course at ACL Essex, it’s because you care and it means a lot to you, that’s why you feel that way. I felt scared and nervous, I would cry because I didn’t know what to do – it’s very hard learning English – but I would just tell myself to put my mind to it and I could do anything. Everyone’s friendly, they all help and encourage you to go and do your course.
“Just come in and try. You’re coming here for learning, everyone is here for the same thing. If you want to learn, you can do it.”
Kanjanarawan received the ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award at the ACL Essex Awards in 2024. This award recognises standout individuals who have made extraordinary progress throughout their learning journey. They have overcome barriers in life that takes courage and motivation, the desire to improve, and the willingness to strive and make changes.
To find out more about ESOL courses at ACL Essex, visit www.aclessex.com/esol.
