Her childhood dream to learn English comes true in her 50s

From as early as age five, Wendy wanted to learn English and be a doctor. But limited places at English schools saw her settling for a Chinese education instead.

Now working in a family restaurant, Seafood International, she recalled how she and her other Chinese-educated colleagues hid whenever they heard English-speaking customers. Not one to let her fear get the better of her, she plucked up her courage and started speaking as much English as possible.

This year, she fulfilled her childhood dream to learn English when she started attending the WISE English programme. It’s but another leg in her journey of continuous self-improvement. When the restaurant introduced the Point-of-Sales system, she was among the first to volunteer to learn it. At 54, she learnt to type for the first time.

And she has put the skills she picked up to good use at her company where she was progressively promoted from a storekeeper to her current designation as a Senior Projects Manager. Already, she’s translating her restaurant’s Chinese menus into English. She’s also leading a number of the restaurant’s projects like the New Dish Creation for the Singapore Food Festival.