When I tell people that I have not prepared at all for my IELTS exam until the night before the test, they think I am lying. I do not want to boast about my proficiency in English saying I scored well preparing overnight, but would rather share how the British Council helped me develop my English over the years.
Imagine the British Council does not exist in Bangladesh. Do we see all these O and A level graduates shining brightly across the world? Do we see the man pruning the plants making sure the premises is as beautiful as it is? Do we see the staff sitting on the other side of the desk answering queries? Do we see so many talented students acing IELTS and studying abroad? No we don't. We don't find all these opportunities being created. The British Council has not only been opening doors for students and professionals but also creating job opportunities for a large pool of people. When I was a child I wanted to be a British Council invigilator! I first heard about the British Council when our Principal introduced us to the Young Learners Starters Exam. On the certificate giving ceremony, I performed a traditional dance number in front of all the guests and it remains one of my most cherished childhood memories. Back then, I didn't know what it was; I just knew it was something important. Now I do. When our family moved to Dhaka, I took the Key English Test (KET) and Learn English Kids (PET) exams on my own. I strongly believe that all those movers and flyers exams really helped me improve my English as I prepared for them.
After my AS Level, I got selected to do my senior year of high school in Michigan, USA as a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study (YES) Program Scholar. Before departing for my exchange year, I utilised my couple of months’ break taking an IELTS Preparatory Course at the British Council. In the meantime, I had also attended a workshop on IELTS arranged by them, which helped me identify my stance as an English learner. It is through that preparatory course I discovered that a teacher could be so cool! Mr Hans’ teaching method still remains my favourite; he used to thoroughly check each of our writings predicting what band score we might get and how we can improve our piece. My IELTS score helped me get the International Ambassador Scholarship worth USD 18,000 to study Engineering at Michigan Technological University during the end of my exchange year. I had to communicate in English with people from various backgrounds in order to do community service, make friends, or basic daily life conversations. In the end, I made some unforgettable memories with lifelong friends and was also awarded with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (Gold) from the then President, Barack Obama for doing 460 hours of community service during my stay. Needless to say, the British Council played the most important role in developing my English. For personal reasons, I could not continue my study in the US and came back and commenced my degree in Economics at the North South University. But, the aspiration to study abroad remained concealed in my heart.
Last year I took the IELTS test again since the last one was no longer valid. I did not have to think twice about approaching the British Council since its service has been reliable since my childhood. My test date was right after I came back from the Global Youth Summit in Switzerland. I was not at all worried about my preparation this time around because Mr Hans’ morale was still instilled in me. I passed an eye over the British Council online resources and took the test the next morning. I outscored myself, which spurred me to start applying to colleges again, to transfer my credits and complete the last year of my undergrad abroad.
I was scrolling through the British Council website when I came across the British Council IELTS Scholarships, which pays a significant amount towards the scholar’s tuition fees at a foreign university. I immediately started writing the application essay as the deadline for submission was the very next day. It still seems like yesterday when I got shortlisted and was asked to present the final round. I wholeheartedly appreciate the British Council for taking this initiative, making sure merits do not go wasted due to budget constraints, thereby encouraging students to step out of their homes and chase their dreams of a foreign degree.
I was fortunate enough to meet Sir Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of the British Council on his first visit to Bangladesh during the British Council High Achiever’s event; his devotion towards opening more doors of opportunities is a ray of hope for every student in the country. I am currently studying at University Putra Malaysia, and learnings from my IELTS preparation continue to play a vital role as I embark on this new adventure. I spoke in front of 60,000 global citizens at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, New York last month. The support I have received from the British Council has played a significant role in shaping me into who I am today.