When current Miss Universe Ngoc Chau was at school, she didn’t realize how important English would be in her future. Hence, studying the language wasn’t a priority for her. “I found English very hard,” she says, “but I just didn’t care.” 

Even when she started her career being a model she still didn’t realize English was important. What’s more, she started competing in pageants. She realized that she would need to improve her English in order to build connections with people around the world and achieve her dream – of representing Vietnam at the Miss Universe competition in the USA. 

Ngoc Chau’s English learning journey

Being able to communicate with other people in English would be essential for Chau in order to have an international career. “English is very important in allowing me to express myself,” she explains. Chau needed English, she says,  “to have a conversation with other people, to connect with people, and make friends around the world.”

But it wasn’t an easy journey, and there was a lot of work to do. Luckily, ELSA was there to help. The very first time Chau tried out ELSA, she realized it was exactly what she needed. “It helped me to improve my vocabulary and my pronunciation. It’s amazing!” 

When Chau won Miss Universe Vietnam, it meant that she was on the cusp of achieving her biggest ambition and competing at Miss Universe 2022. This global competition was being held in Louisiana, USA, so a good level of English would be crucially important. 

“We were working really hard for a long time towards this goal,” Chau explains. “This was my big dream, coming true.” Recently, ELSA expanded its training to include a spontaneous speech analysis tool called Speech Analyzer.  This new platform powered by ELSA’s technology helped Chau by providing her with actionable and real-time feedback as she prepared for interviews and competitions.

Representing Vietnam at Miss Universe 2022

Participating in Miss Universe wasn’t just about achieving a personal dream – it was about representing Vietnam. So, when the pageant set participants a design challenge for a cape, it was a chance for Chau to include everyone who’d been with her on that journey. “They gave us a chance to design a cape and tell a story about ourselves or our country to the world.” 

Chau wanted her cape to represent the dreams of the Vietnamese people – so she put out a call and included the answers in her design. The result was a joyful design, full of color and life. “I was so motivated, looking at it,” she says. “I knew that I wouldn’t feel lonely, with all of Vietnam with me on stage!” 

Chau’s passion paid off, and she won the swimsuit cape category – a proud moment for her and all her supporters in Vietnam! 

Ngoc Chau’s advice on learning English

Chau is keen to share her English learning journey, as she hopes to inspire other learners with her story. 

“At first it was really hard,” she explains. “Sometimes, it made me feel like giving up.” But she kept going. She practiced English every single day, and after a month, she realized that she had, in fact, improved a little. “That moment of realization gave me the motivation to keep going,” she says. Seeing the progress and momentum that comes from daily language practice helped her to make English a priority in her daily life. “Language learning is long term,” she says. “We have to use it and practice every day.” 

Through this kind of disciplined, daily practice, Chau saw an enormous improvement in her English speaking abilities and confidence. It helped her to realize that she had the capacity to learn English to a high level. 

The ELSA app uses the power of AI to help English learners improve on everyday English speaking skills. Chau used ELSA Speech Analyzer to prepare for long conversations in English. She also used it to improve her grammar and the way she structured sentences in English. The feedback from Speech Analyzer allowed her to see her errors, fix her mistakes, and improve every time. “I was so happy to have ELSA with me on this journey!” she says. 

What the future holds for Ngoc Chau 

Chau will be continuing her journey with Miss Universe Vietnam and doing more charity work for her community and her country. She is an ambassador with the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund, which supports children with congenital malformation and diseases in Vietnam. She also hopes to continue inspiring young Vietnamese women to be confident and empowered to achieve their dreams. 

“I hope that my story can inspire people to learn English and help them realize that they have the unlimited capacity to do what they want,” she says. 

Her final words of advice? “Don’t give up and believe in yourself!” 

Find inspiration in how ELSA Speak has helped other women find their voices here.