PART.01
初到加拿大：语言障碍让我怀疑人生
在我的家乡波哥大，学校里每周仅有两小时的英语课程，只够勉强学点基础知识。后来，我在Agustiniana大学学习旅游与酒店管理，英语对我的职业生涯至关重要。2019年，我搬到多伦多学习ESL（英语作为第二语言课程）。
Back home in Bogotá, my English education in school was limited to just two hours a week—barely enough to cover the basics. Later, I pursued tourism and hospitality at Agustiniana University. English was essential for my career, so I moved to Toronto in 2019 to study ESL (English as a Second Language).
刚到皮尔逊机场时，我和一位本地人——边境官员的第一次对话就以惨败告终。他语速很快，我几乎听不懂，只能依靠Google翻译勉强应对。那段日子很难熬，但ESL老师们帮助我逐步弥补差距，我也坚持用Google翻译新单词。六个月后，我回到波哥大，英语水平足以阅读文章、做演讲，但日常对话仍让我抓狂。
My first conversation with a native speaker—a border officer at Pearson airport—was a disaster. He spoke fast, and I struggled to understand him. I had to use Google Translate just to get by. Those early days were hard, but my ESL teachers helped bridge the gap, and I kept using Google to translate new words. After six months, I returned to Bogotá with enough English to read articles and give presentations, but casual conversations still threw me off.
2021年12月，多伦多的记忆挥之不去，我再次返回加拿大，这次选择在尼亚加拉学院学习旅游管理。入学十天后，我找到了一份快餐厨房的工作，但我的英语仍很有限，只能问些基本问题，比如工作时长和薪资。
In December of 2021, I came back to Canada, drawn by my lingering memories of Toronto. This time, I chose to study tourism management at Niagara College. Ten days in, I found work in a fast-food kitchen, but my English was still so limited that I could only ask basic questions, like how many hours I’d work and what I’d get paid.
一个月后，老板突然告诉我不再需要我了，只支付了一半的工资。我甚至不知道该如何用英语为自己维权。这让我开始怀疑重返加拿大的决定。
After a month, my boss suddenly told me I was no longer needed, then paid me for only half the time I’d worked. I didn’t know how to defend myself in English. I started questioning my decision to return to Canada.
一位教授注意到我们几个人非常渴望提高英语水平，于是主动为我们提供了额外的简历撰写和面试辅导课程。这些帮助，加上在尼亚加拉瀑布的一家酒店前台的实习工作，让我进步很多。在酒店实习期间，我每天都与客人打交道，处理投诉，应对各种口音的挑战。
One of my professors noticed a few of us were determined to improve our English. She offered extra sessions on résumé writing and job interviews. That helped, as did my co-op placement working the front desk at a hotel in Niagara Falls. I spoke with guests every day—handling complaints and dealing with accents from around the world.
有些时候，我会面临危机时刻，比如一位顾客因取消预订对我大发脾气。我的英语磕磕绊绊，不得不请求主管帮忙。但随着时间推移，我慢慢能听懂对话、解决问题，甚至开始约会了。
There were crisis moments, like when a customer yelled at me over a canceled reservation. My English faltered, and I had to call my supervisor for help. But I got better over time. Eventually, I could understand conversations, solve problems, and even date.
毕业后，我在多伦多一家ESL学校找到了一份销售经理的工作，与全球的代理商沟通。我变得更有信心，但有时仍然听不懂一些专业问题。有一次，一位泰国代理询问加拿大缩减学习许可数量的政策会如何影响我们的项目。我勉强拼凑了一些回应，但对方疑惑的表情让我知道，我的表达有问题，这让我非常沮丧。
After graduation, I found work as a sales manager at an ESL school in Toronto, communicating with agents worldwide. I felt more confident, but sometimes I couldn’t understand specialized questions. Once, a Thai agent asked about Canada’s reduction in study permits and how it would affect our programs. I pieced together a response, but his confused expression told me I’d missed the mark. I was mortified.
PART.02
转机：朋友的一句话让我“开挂”
朋友们建议我试试ChatGPT，用来回答问题和翻译。很快，我发现它比Google翻译提供的答案更准确。我开始用它调整语气，学习商业词汇，用更清晰的英语表达我的想法。
Friends suggested I try ChatGPT for questions and translations. I quickly realized it offered more accurate answers than Google. Soon I was using it to adjust my tone, pick up business vocabulary, and express my ideas more clearly in English.
ChatGPT还教会我如何回答棘手的问题，使用正确的行业术语。我的词汇量显著提升，英语表达听起来更加自然。当然，ChatGPT也有缺点，有时它的建议显得过于生硬或不够符合我的习惯。我会对它的建议稍加修改，让表达更贴近自己的风格。
ChatGPT also taught me how to answer tricky questions and use the correct industry terms. My vocabulary expanded, and I sounded more natural. Of course, ChatGPT had its flaws. Sometimes the suggestions were too stiff or didn’t fit my usual way of speaking. I would tweak its responses to make them sound more like me.
如今，随着英语水平的提高，我对ChatGPT的依赖逐渐减少，但它仍是我面对复杂短语或正式语言时的“安全网”。例如，当我需要快速总结一篇技术性很强的文章时，我会把内容粘贴到ChatGPT，让它生成一个清晰的概要。接着，我再结合原文细节和AI生成的内容完成报告。
As my English skills have grown, I rely on ChatGPT less, but it’s still my safety net for complex phrases or formal language. For instance, when I need to quickly summarize a dense, technical article, I paste the content into ChatGPT and get a clear outline. From there, I combine details from the original article with the AI-generated response to craft my report.
PART.03
理解加拿大文化的好工具
ChatGPT还帮助我更好地理解加拿大文化。最近，一位朋友的丈夫去世，我不知道该如何用英语表达慰问。在哥伦比亚，人们通常会说“愿上帝与你同在”并表示祈祷。ChatGPT建议我直接对朋友说“对你的失去深感遗憾”（I’m sorry for your loss），让我明白简单的一句话就足够传达心意。
ChatGPT also helped me better understand Canadian culture. Recently, a friend’s husband passed away, and I wasn’t sure how to offer condolences in English. In Colombia, we usually say, “God is with them,” and offer prayers. ChatGPT suggested saying, “I’m sorry for your loss.” It helped me understand that a simple remark like that would suffice.
我的下一个目标是申请永久居民身份，这一竞争激烈的过程可能需要学习思培来获得足够的CLB分数。这是一项艰巨的任务，需要大量努力，但我有一个秘密武器——ChatGPT。
My next big goal is to apply for permanent residency, a competitive process that may require learning CELPIP to earn enough CLB points. It’s daunting and a lot of hard work—but I have a secret weapon: ChatGPT.
