ELTOs practise English with the PM
ELTOs practise English with the PM
My name is Cao Thanh Diep and I work for the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam. I am lucky to be a government official chosen to study English in New Zealand in a programme named English Language Training for Officials (ELTO) with friends from Cambodia, Mongolia and Laos. 
As members of ELTO, we have more advantages than normal students, who come here to study on their own. The well-prepared study programme, interesting site visits, nice apartments and care by the programme managers, teachers and coordinators are outstanding examples. They surround us with warm hospitality, love and enthusiasm, which pulls us out of homesickness and, to some extent, culture shock.
More than all the privileges that we enjoy, our highest honour was to meet and talk with the most important person in New Zealand – Prime Minister John Key. Let me tell you how that incredible moment happened. It was on 10 September 2009, when our General Secretary of Viet Nam’s Communist Party, H.E Mr Nong Duc Manh, made his official visit to New Zealand. As government officials, we were invited to Parliament Buildings to attend the welcome and as a matter of course, wave the two countries’ flags to indicate our solidarity and the desire for a good bilateral relationship. We were eagerly standing in a long row when Mr. Key came out from Parliament to prepare for the welcome. I thought it was good enough to see the Prime Minister in reality but it was actually much more than “good”. Mr. Key came towards our group and started talking with us while we were still in astonishment.
Ms Mai from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that her heart nearly jumped out when she saw the Prime Minister so close and that moment will be one of the most important memories in her life.
Ms. Huong from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared her impressions: “I was the first one to have a conversation with Mr. Key… He asked me something about my study... I made a mistake while answering his question about the total length of time that we are going to spend in New Zealand. Instead of ‘five months’ for a correct response, I answered ‘five years’…He laughed aloud when I was trying to correct my mistake by cracking a joke: ‘five months, but I'd love to spend five years!’”
Mr. Key also asked us about how we felt about staying in New Zealand, the accommodation, our ideas about rugby and even the food that we cook everyday. He looked very satisfied when I answered him that we could cook both Vietnamese and New Zealand food.
Our time with Mr. Key was not long but all of us were impressed by his warmth, friendly way of talking and smart appearance. It was our honour that one of the people, who contributed significant value to our time in this lovely country was the Prime Minister.
For the final words, I would like to quote Ms. Mai: “For me, nothing is more special than practising English with a Prime Minister.”
Yes, English was our purpose when coming here and thanks New Zealand because we did gain much more than English.