【Ilac 面试演讲】

我的自我介绍
Let me introduce myself. My name is Lu Wu, and I'm from China. I was born in 1985 ，and I am
almost forty years old. I graduated from university in 2008. After graduation, I moved to
Shenzhen, a large city in southern China. This city is not far from Hong Kong, less than an hour's
drive away. Shenzhen is one of the three biggest economic cities in China, but it is the most
active, open, and diverse /daɪˈvɜːrs/
city in the country because over 90% of its population is made up of immigrants /ˈɪmɪɡrənts/ .

I like this city; it's inclusive and there's no discrimination. Once you arrive, you are a Shenzhen
resident /rˈɛzɪdənt/ . However, the pandemic /pændˈɛmɪk/ has made life very difficult for most
Chinese people over the past three years. Especially the lockdowns in Shanghai last year made
many people realize that not only jobs but even the most basic freedoms can't be guaranteed
/ˌɡærənˈtiː/ . So since that time, many Chinese people have started to emigrate /ˈemɪɡreɪt/ .

我在中国的工作和创业
I have always been involved in the internet industry in China and have held several different
positions. Initially /ɪˈnɪʃəli/, I worked in marketing, such as search engine optimization and writing
marketing articles. Later, with the development of short videos, I spent a long time doing content
planning. Simply speaking, it is about how to create a short video that gains much traffic in a
short time. Although overall, China's internet is not as developed as America's, the internet is
relatively more open compared to all other sectors in China. So in some respects, China's internet
is actually leading the world. For example, the number of internet users in China and the
prevalence /ˈprɛvələns/ of mobile payments are astonishing /ə'stɑnɪʃɪŋ/. Even my parents, who
are over 60 years old, are able to comfortably use mobile payments. I think this is hard to imagine
in North America.

In China, entrepreneurship /ˌɑntrəprə'nɝʃɪp/ or working has a characteristic of being very hard,

with frequent overtime and no time for rest. For instance, I had a history of entrepreneurship for
six years before I came to Canada, and while initially, I could earn a considerable income, the last
two years were extremely tough. The reason is that counterparts /ˈkaʊntərpɑːrt/ in China don't
innovate /ˈɪnəveɪt/ ; they don't look for unique /juˈniːk/ opportunities. They just replicate
/ˈreplɪkeɪt/ what they see is successful. Then they can leverage /'lɛvərɪdʒ/ the advantage of low
labor costs to drive you out of the market by leaving you with no profit. /ˈprɑːfɪt/

我为什么选择 ILAC
I chose Ilac for mainly three reasons. First, it has a clear learning plan. Within this plan, as long as
I study hard and participate in the exams, I can basically pass. The success rate is somewhat
easier than IELTS or TOEFL. Second, everyone has a certain level of laziness; self-studying to pass
the IELTS or TOEFL exams is difficult, but joining Ilac, with its systematic and
standardized /'stændə,daizd/ study plans, makes it easier for us to learn. Third, Ilac has very
professional teachers and classmates from all over the world. From them, I can also find many
resources and opportunities to improve my English skills.
我在 ILAC 得到了什么
First of all, I'm very happy that there's such a conversation. Ilac can let us, students who are
about to graduate or have already graduated, offer some good suggestions. In this respect, I also
have some thoughts to share with you.

Overall, I think Ilac has been quite helpful to me. I have had two teachers, both of whom are very
kind, professional, and patient. As you know, Chinese people and students generally have poor
listening and speaking skills. I'm the same. I came to Canada two months ago, and at the border,
when the staff /stæf/ asked me to take out my passport, I didn't understand even after listening
three times. It could have been because I was nervous, but my listening skills are indeed not
good. However, after studying at Ilac for two months, my listening has improved significantly. This
is all thanks to the teachers. At the same time, the classmates at Ilac come from all over the
world, and I have maintained /meɪnˈteɪn/ very good relationships with two Ilac classmates. We
often chat online, write very long emails, and this has been very helpful for our communication,
writing, and listening skills.

我对 ILAC 的建议
First, the daily three-hour class is indeed a bit long, with only a 15-minute break in the middle,
which I think is not enough. It could be further divided into four parts, interspersed /ˌɪntərˈspɜːrs/
with some interesting interactive activities. My impression is that when we are asked to discuss
interesting topics related to culture and entertainment /ˌentərˈteɪnmənt/ in groups, we are very
happy. This has a big impact on our language skills improvement, and we feel that time passes
very quickly and the whole experience is relatively relaxed and pleasant. We even feel that time
flies too fast, and we would like to continue playing.

Second, I think we can also optimize the content. Human nature is such that we like things that
are light-hearted, entertaining /ˌentərˈteɪnɪŋ/, and artistic /aːrˈtɪstɪk/. So we can add these
elements to our teaching content, allowing /əˈlaʊ/everyone to relax more, and not feel that
learning is a pressure. For example, discussing the past experiences of classmates or teachers,
favorite stars, novels /'na vl/, the cultural customs of different countries or other
interesting topics.
these are all my opinions。

我现在的生活情况
I am currently living in Winnipeg, Canada, which is not a large city. It's quite cold here in
the winter; last year, it reportedly reached 45 degrees below zero Celsius /ˈselsiəs/ at its coldest,
but that's alright with me since I prefer cold over heat. I plan to study at an institution next March
that is a collaboration between Robertson and ACC, specializing in Data Analysis /əˈnæləsɪs/. I
studied Network Technology in university in China, but I've always been sensitive to and
interested in data. I like to study in depth on data-related issues.

Of course, I also think that English, as a language and a tool for communication, is extremely
important. The vast majority /məd‍ʒˈɔrɪtˌi/ of the world's science, culture, and arts are carried
through the medium /mˈiːdi‍əm/ of English. Although my native language is Chinese, and it's said
that several billion people in the world speak Chinese, to be honest, Chinese is still a relatively
closed language.

关于我，以及我的孩子，家人
I'm nearly forty years old,
my mentality /mɛn'tæləti/ is young,
I always feel I just like someone at 25 or 26 years old. I also hope that my child can embrace
/ɛmbrˈe‍ɪs/ a broader horizon /hərˈa‍ɪzən/ in Canada, develop critical thinking,
aspire /əˈspaɪər/ to freedom,
and live out their true self, which are hard to find in China.

I have two children; my older child is a 14 years old girl and she is in grade nine here, while my
son is 9 years old. He wasn’t considered a particularly good student in China, but I've noticed
many qualities in him that far exceed the ordinary. For example, he loves building blocks—not the
simple kind, but those with 5,000 or 6,000 pieces that can be assembled /ə'sembəld/ into a
complete car or robot/ˈroʊbɑːt/. He can spend a whole week concentrating /ˈkɑːnsntreɪt/ on this
task. Moreover, he has a keen sensitivity /ˌsensəˈtɪvəti/ to colors. Give him a piece of paper, and
he can effortlessly sketch a robot or an animal and color it in a way that the overall look is
incredibly artistic. I believe these are abilities beyond the average child. However, my son likes to
talk to his friends at school and always enjoys having something in his hands. These are quite
normal in Canada, but not permitted by teachers in China. I really dislike this educational
approach, this suppression /sə'prɛʃən/ of human nature, which is a significant reason why I
brought my children to Canada.

我的妻子
My wife, who is also the mother of my two children, is very hardworking and kind. To take care of
the kids, she has given up many good job opportunities. Therefore, I have always felt quite guilty
to her. What I can do is to earn as much money as possible to provide them with better living
conditions. Of course, my wife is also very supportive /səˈpɔːrtɪv/ of my career, including bringing
the children to Canada for study; she is very supportive of that as well.

其他一些话题 学习英语的方法
If there's still time, I'd also like to share with you how I've been learning English, especially
listening and speaking skills, aside from Ilac. It wasn't until I came to Canada that I started to truly
study English. In China, because I had to take care of my children and work, I basically had no
opportunity to focus on learning English. After coming here, the apps I use the most are YouTube,
TikTok, and the Podcast app that comes with the Apple phone system. I've followed a few
bloggers that interest me and spend about five hours a day on it. I usually watch the videos and
read along, noting down some good phrases or new words. I don't just write down an unfamiliar
word by itself; I note down the phrase it's used in. This way, the next time I come across the
phrase containing the unfamiliar /ˌʌnfə'mɪlɪɚ/ word, I can quickly guess its meaning. As for
TikTok, I usually scroll through it when I'm taking a break, about 20 to 30 minutes. Since the
videos are very short, they are suitable for short-term use. The content may be entertaining, but
it's all very native English expression. Moreover, time flies by quickly, and I read along and take
note of good phrases. I still remember the first time the apartment manager came to introduce
the place to me, I was almost completely lost, understanding maybe 10%. I could only keep
nodding /ˈna dɪŋ/. A month later, when he came again, I found I could understand about 90% and
I could also express what I wanted to say in English fluently. Overall, I think Unlike has given me a
lot, but at the same time, while learning from Unlike, you also need to actively spend more time
persistently studying English. Only by doing so can one truly integrate /ˈɪntɪgreɪt/ into the local
culture and community of Canada. I also hope that more ilac students can master English and
have a pleasant /ˈpleznt/ learning and working experience in Canada.

我平时的爱好
My greatest hobbies are reading, running, and writing. I used to like buying physical books and
liked to highlight important sentences with a pen while reading. Later, because of work, I had to
travel around China by high-speed train, and carrying physical books became inconvenient
/ˌɪnkən’vi: niənt/, so I bought a Kindle reader. Since then, I've kept up the habit of reading e-
books. The most I read in one year was about 120 books. I started running in 2015 during the
second year of starting a business and needed some exercise to improve my condition and relax. I
remember the first time I ran, I could only go through 800 meters and felt incredibly tired, but I
always believed in the limitless potential of humans. By about the fourth time I went running, I
was able to run three kilometers at a stretch. Even now, in Canada, I maintain the habit of
running, about three times a week, five kilometers each time.

Three years ago, I wrote a book about how short videos can gain a large amount of traffic in a
short period. You've probably heard of TikTok; this app is very popular in the Western market, but
actually, the operating team behind it is a Chinese company.