Anna Lebedeva is from a small town in the Akmola region. Until the age of 18, she had never been abroad. Since childhood, she dreamed of distant countries. She read a lot and imagined that someday she will travel the whole world.
"I’ve always wanted to communicate with people from different countries, learn about their culture, traditions and way of life. A foreign language makes all this possible. Now I am very glad that I once started to learn the language, because English allows me to travel, helps me in my work and opens up new opportunities for knowing this world! Moreover, it motivates me to learn new foreign languages".
To achieve her goal, Anna decided to take the IELTS test, gaining 8.5 points.
"IELTS is probably the most popular and universally recognized language test. I took the Erasmus Mundus Masters admission exam. The two-year program was in English and the certificate was required. I chose the British Council. I signed up about two months before the test, so I would be motivated to prepare. In the end, I liked everything. Everything was very well organised, the interview took place with a native speaker".
The certificate helped Anna to study for a master's degree at the University of Strasbourg, France within the Erasmus Mundus English-language programme. The 2 year programme includes studies at 2 universities. And this allowed Anna to continue her studies at the University of Göttingen, Germany.
“Moreover, I provided a certificate for the Internship competition at the UN Headquarters in New York in 2016. I was lucky to have a certificate. I also attached a copy of it when applying for a job at the Foreign Ministry. So, today I am the 3rd secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. I am sure that in the future, if I need to confirm English proficiency, I will pass IELTS again. It's a shame that the certificate is valid for only 2 years".
