A Cambridge journey – From A1 to C1 within 7 years

"I have never been very good at languages, so I first joined an English tutorial to prepare myself for English classes at school. For that, my parents admitted me in an institute run by Mrs. Tharani Sivasanmukanathasarma. In my year, I was the first student to join her class. Afterwards, one of my best friends joined and several other friends, too. 

We prepared ourselves with training material sponsored by the Cambridge University. First, it was very tough to learn so much vocabulary at once and to get used to the examination style. Sometimes it was very exhausting and I just thought, it is totally needless and I had had enough of all this. When my teacher thought that we had been prepared enough for the first Cambridge exam, she signed us up; I had no idea how it was going to be.
 

For the first exam, which I took in 2011, I did not feel ready at all. It just scared me. I was very much frightened and tensed. It was a weird feeling to do something like that being only 10 years old and experiencing such pressure for the first time. However, the assistants of the examination centre were very friendly. I did not really do as marvellous a job in the first exam as my teacher had expected me to do. Still, I was very satisfied and delighted after the exam, because I had never thought of scoring high, passing the exam had always been enough for me. 
 

In the beginning, I did not really know why I took the Cambridge exams, but there was a time when I was fed up with all these exams and considered it a waste of time and money. At this point, my parents persuaded me to continue writing the exams. With time passing by, I felt more comfortable with the Cambridge exams and my high scores were motivational. Slowly, I started to like English and improved my skills and gained a passion for this language. 
 

In contrast to my very first Cambridge exam, when writing the First Cambridge Exam (FCE), I was relaxed and I got very good marks, too. 

Later on, many friends from the institute quit coming to class and I had to take a one-year break too, because of my high school entrance exam. After this stressful time, my parents did not pressure me to continue with the Cambridge exams, but I wanted to. Still there were some times when it was just too much work and I thought about taking a break again, but I did not. 

Mrs. Sivasanmukanathasarma always had faith in me and always supported me. She saw potential in me and always encouraged me. She is an awesome teacher, who really dedicates herself to students who are willing to study hard and she knows how to motivate the students. With her teaching, I completed all Cambridge exams except the Advanced exam (CAE) and the Proficiency exam (CPE). I have to admit that without her teaching I would not have done such a great job. 
 

For the Advanced exam I got taught by Mr. Andrew Suter at the KSL, our high school. I was again as tensed as for the first Cambridge exam, because I was not prepared enough at all for this exam. Still, Mr. Suter showed more faith in me than I did. He is very kind and brought us sweets to wish us luck for the exam. And indeed, I did pass this exam with the first try, too. 
 

I feel very proud to have passed seven Cambridge exams in seven years and that always on my first attempt. After finishing high school, I am planning to do the Proficiency exam, too, so I will have reached the C2 English level. 
 

I would like to thank my family, my friends and my teachers especially for their huge support. 
 

Until now I could not use my Cambridge certificates for anything, but many of my friends who took up an apprenticeship had the opportunity to use them. I am looking forward to using my certificates in my future career when I might go to foreign countries to study or work.” – Karene Sriramachandran, 17 
 

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