Graduation Speech July 14th, 2012 1.

Thanks (Rafael Muoz) Symbol: Collage

Good morning dear family and friends, members of the board of directors, administration representatives, teachers and students. We are here today to celebrate the culmination of our English classes, but the starting of our bilingual future. We have made a great effort in investing our time studying the language, but we could not have done it without your help. We would like to thank all of you for being there directly or indirectly for us to fulfill our joy now. Thank you for letting us being here during this very special day, when a part of our lives has accomplished. We wish to thank our parents for all the support, in some cases for giving us the money for paying the courses; and in some other cases, for driving us to the Institute, so that we could be in classes on time. We wish to thank our girlfriends or wives for the patience they have shown, wh en we preferred staying home finishing English homework than going out to the movies. We also wish to thank our teachers because they have worked in preparing their classes for us every day to share their knowledge with us; and for the patience to teach us all topics. Finally, but really imperative, we would like to thank Pro-Lingua for giving us an adequate space and comfortable rooms for receiving our classes. This assistance was essential for concentrating and acquiring the language easier by using the latest technology available in our hands. It is then needless to say: Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 2. Help (Francisco Figueroa) Symbol: Backpack

English has helped us to move in several ways to improve ourselves in our jobs, careers and studies. The road was hard, but we thought: We will graduate someday. Now, it is good to realize we did it! Nevertheless, the real goal was never only this. To say the truth, each one of us had a different purpose for having studied English. I want to try to fly with this! How? Well, within my mind; first, English has helped me improving my spoken English as well as the written one. I also try to make my dreams come true. For instance, I wish to become a backpacker because I want to meet a lot of people worldwide, their cultures, habits, and accents. And, why not? Helping foreigners know how to speak my language, too. Second, English has helped me in my job, university studies, and complementary tasks as for knowledge or just for fun. In the end, we can be proud of us because we finally did it. However, there were several purposes and different goals, no matter what; we have dreamed of, the key was the same: English Language. I can say today with all certainty, learning another language is the best thing we've ever done.

3. Experiences (Oscar Landaverde)

Symbol: Clock

The interest to learn English was so huge that we did not mind waking up early for attending classes. And, as any time we try to do something, we get some good and bad experiences from that activity, our experience of learning English has let us some memories we will never forget. For example, while we were studying English at the Institute, we met new friends from whom we learned lots of things. Another example was when we were in level 18th and we tried to watch a movie, but after a long time of trying, it was worthless. Luckily, we were able to watch it in level 20th. Finally, as we said before, one of the most difficult experiences was waking up early because classes began at 700 am sharp. Weather conditions and the sensation of leaving the bed, while others were still sleeping, was so hard that we sometimes wanted to give up. Fortunately, our motivation was our engine, and today we are happy because it is our graduation day. After all the experiences lived at Prolingua, we can say that it was worth the try. 4. Tips (Alberto Martinez) Symbol: Dictionary

Studying English was easy once we knew the best ways to do it. Time showed us some tips that were infallible for succeeding in English classes; and if we wanted, of course, learning the language effectively. Some of these tips were: First, buy a good and efficient dictionary. Sometimes we found words we did not know but became easier by using a dictionary to look meanings up. Second, chat with friends. By chatting with friends we were not really spending time, but studying hard to get better in the language. If you once saw us many hours on the computer; well, we were simply practicing English. A third way was watching movies and listening to music in English. Of course the movies were with subtitles in English or none, and songs were fully English spoken because the more we practiced skills in English the more we could participate in class and answer the teachers questions. The last one, but not less important was to participate in class. After many times teachers encouraged us to do it, we forgot to be afraid to speak and use the language in real situations. So, if you once plan to study English as we did, just remember these powerful tips we developed and worked for us.

5. Goals (Diego Guzman)

Symbol: Certificate

English made us able to fulfill our goals. Now, we are able to read, analyze and research university material in English. We are also capable of getting a nice job as some of us have already done. I can sum up to this list as I am now working in a call center and developing my English and Spanish. Now, after having studied at Pro-Lingua, we feel that doors open wide, and we are closer to the opportunity to go onto the next level. We can see beyond and look for new possibilities in life to create a decent lifestyle of which all of you may be proud of. Now that we have mastered English, we feel more confident to communicate more in both, English and Spanish because we had to remember the rules in Spanish to apply them in English, which also helped us to increase our general knowledge of some topics, communicative Grammar and Syntax, and the differences and similarities between the two languages, too. We feel we are now prepared for studying a third language by using the basis of English.

6. Encourage (Manuel Nolasco)

Symbol: Notebook

Encouraging ourselves to learn and perform at higher level sometimes could be a real challenge. We all started learning the language with great expectations. Now, we are proud to share the knowledge we acquired and experiences lived in the process that provided us positive results. With the same motivation we studied and the skillfulness we could gain in all this time, we are gifted to deal with the following tasks: first, increase job opportunities, and open some related limited areas where only the proficiency in English can help us reach. Second, the ability to keep fluent conversations with foreigners, who could help us grow professionally and shorten gaps and cracks among cultures just because of a better understanding of each other. The third task is the capacity to express ideas in a more organized way. This last one related with the second one because the knowledge of academic English reinforces our knowledge of Spanish; and therefore, improves our academic development in both languages. We are, from this moment, as qualified as others to do it. We only need to be focused and know our objectives before we start working on any project.

7. Moral (Roberto Iraheta)

Symbol: English book

After having studied English, we may say that this language is important because it is helpful for finding a good job, helping our parents back, and even for working in another country, so that the changes of enjoying a superior future enhance. We conclude that all the time we invested in learning is currently harvesting, and we are certainly living up to our expectations. English gives us many opportunities to be successful in life. Subsequently, if you really want to learn English as we did, you can do it. Nowadays, this language is necessary for lots of purposes as important as any other science or language. Do not be afraid of speaking the language because by practicing it, you improve your knowledge and learn a little more about anything. Today we are reaching that dream of walking the extra mile. We are now getting ready to begin a new life with the awareness of English and your support. Thank you so much for everything. Our effort is yours!