And Introduction to English Nazis in the Education System: ENA101

[Rob_NC]

Originally posted by ALBOB
Not all women are fond of that particular application process.

Mine happens to like it, especially when she's all backed up. Guess it kinda lubricates things so they move better.

 

[ALBOB]

Not to get back on track or anything but, can anyone state the number one complaint in the BUSINESS world that employers have about recent college graduates?














Yep, poor communication skills. You develope these skills not just from reading, but from writing too..............................writing a LOT. Yes, it seems like busy work now, but it will pay off in the long run when you show the ability to write circles around your competitors on resumes, proposals, reports, etc. Don't neglect it Eggs. Keep plugging along and you'll be rewarded later.

 

[Jenny]

Well if you got your degree in Sweden you wouldn't have to take english Over here we're done with stuff like that once we graduate from high school.. after that we read stuff that will matter in our future profession only

 

[Rob_NC]

Originally posted by Jenny
Well if you got your degree in Sweden you wouldn't have to take english Over here we're done with stuff like that once we graduate from high school.. after that we read stuff that will matter in our future profession only

I wish more Swedes would take advanced English. We have a lot of Swedes working here and to read an engineering report written by one of them is sometimes painful. English is the official company language.

I will say Swedes do better than the French.

 

[Eggs]

Rob - There is no such thing as an official company language... if a company hires an employee of from a certain country then they know full well some of the potential problems that can occur because of that. A company might have a specific language that they require to be used in the work place, but its silly to expect perfection from them on that. If your company is having a problem with it then perhaps they should offer English instructors to those that want them

Perhaps if you learned Swedish you could better help them to understand the intricacies of English

 

[Jenny]

Haha, well, you have a point there Lots of swedes working there? That's interesting What company do you work for?

And you're right, swedish people are IMHO a whole lot better than french as far as english skills go..

Oh, and my above post was a bit of a joke since Eggs is my boyfriend

 

[Jenny]

Originally posted by Eggs
Rob - There is no such thing as an official company language... if a company hires an employee of from a certain country then they know full well some of the potential problems that can occur because of that. A company might have a specific language that they require to be used in the work place, but its silly to expect perfection from them on that. If your company is having a problem with it then perhaps they should offer English instructors to those that want them

Perhaps if you learned Swedish you could better help them to understand the intricacies of English

Thanks for backing up my people

 

[kbm8795]

While I agree communication skills need to be emphasized, in my own field the major complaint among professionals is the lack of critical thinking skills.

But you are right about many other fields - practically every management job description includes a qualification statement requiring excellent oral and written communication skills. But I also think Eggs is correct about questioning the methods used for instruction and their level of practical application. Too much busy work sometimes equals too many examples of doing a mediocre job....and too much emphasis on non-pattern grammar errors without remarks about content can be a negative educational experience.

I've had students who complain bitterly that they spend hours working on a paper and get no remarks on it except correction of grammatical errors. No references to their ideas, how they are developed, their understanding of supporting material, etc. And I know in my own classes I've had to learn how to talk with the class about what errors are generated by their use (or misuse) of processing programs and what represents a gap in their education.

At least his reading material isn't too terrible - when I took English 101 back in 1972, we were forced to read "The American Male" and "The Female Eunuch." Every single paper that semester had to be about gender identity and discrimination.

 

[Eggs]

Thanks for backing up my people.

You said you wouldnt give me any luvin if I didnt

 

[Eggs]

 

[Eggs]

Right on kbm, I completely agree

 

[Jenny]

Originally posted by Eggs
You said you wouldnt give me any luvin if I didnt

You know, I think your nazi teacher made you a little grumpy And making you make stuff up Geek

 

[Rob_NC]

Originally posted by Eggs
Rob - There is no such thing as an official company language... if a company hires an employee of from a certain country then they know full well some of the potential problems that can occur because of that. A company might have a specific language that they require to be used in the work place, but its silly to expect perfection from them on that. If your company is having a problem with it then perhaps they should offer English instructors to those that want them

Perhaps if you learned Swedish you could better help them to understand the intricacies of English

On the contrary. I work for Volvo and all official company communication MUST be in English, be it British English or American English. Therefor, our official company language is English. It even states this in our ISO documentation.

 

[irontime]

Originally posted by Jenny
Oh, and my above post was a bit of a joke since Eggs is my boyfriend

Well considering you two have basically the same avatar we kinda figured that

Does make me have to look at the name of the person instead of just the Avy though. Maybe you guys could change it a bit hmmmmmm I've got an idea, Hey Jennie, maybe if you got rid of the ugly guy in your avatar and just had you, that would make it a LOT better

 

[Jenny]

Rob- If you work for Volvo you better expect a lot of swedes

IT- Well the guy was being so serious, I had to say something to break down his walls Didn't work though My avvy is fine the way it is

And it's JennY, dork

 

[Rob_NC]

Originally posted by Jenny
Rob- If you work for Volvo you better expect a lot of swedes

Jenny, I don't mind them a bit. I have to hand to Sweden. Your country produces some remarkably intelligent individuals.

What's really funny is to hear a Swede who's been here awhile. They end up with a Southern Swinglish drawl.

 

[Jenny]

Rob- Thanks, we're proud of our IKEA, H&M and Volvo

Haha, that might be me in a year then I'm going to Virginia in August for an exchange year at a university there I better watch my accent

 

[irontime]

Originally posted by Jenny
And it's JennY, dork

You realize that I am now going to spell it JennY from now on don't you?

....and I still say crop his ass out of the pic

 

[maniclion]

Originally posted by kbm8795
Too much busy work sometimes equals too many examples of doing a mediocre job....and too much emphasis on non-pattern grammar errors without remarks about content can be a negative educational experience.

I've had students who complain bitterly that they spend hours working on a paper and get no remarks on it except correction of grammatical errors. No references to their ideas, how they are developed, their understanding of supporting material, etc. And I know in my own classes I've had to learn how to talk with the class about what errors are generated by their use (or misuse) of processing programs and what represents a gap in their education.

Thank you.

I used to hate those 50 page essay's on the virtues of nonsense. I like to pour my all into my writing, so when I faced something like that it drained me. Then to get my paper back and the only comments were added commas, hyphen's and such would totally burn me.

 

[ALBOB]

Originally posted by Eggs
Rob - There is no such thing as an official company language... if a company hires an employee of from a certain country then they know full well some of the potential problems that can occur because of that. A company might have a specific language that they require to be used in the work place, but its silly to expect perfection from them on that. If your company is having a problem with it then perhaps they should offer English instructors to those that want them

Perhaps if you learned Swedish you could better help them to understand the intricacies of English

I'm REALLY not trying to open another can of worms here, just trying to understand your point of view. Are you saying the COMPANY should adjust it's standards to suit the EMPLOYEES?

 

[Jenny]

IT- Well, a big Y is better than a little i and e
If you want to I can give you a nice cropped pic of Justin's ass, but I think it would be better if we didn't do it in public


Albob- No, he's just trying to suck up to me so he'll get laid

 

[ALBOB]

Originally posted by Jenny
Albob- No, he's just trying to suck up to me so he'll get laid

Oh. Well if you tell me it's working I'll leave him alone. Is it working?

 

[irontime]

Originally posted by Jenny
If you want to I can give you a nice cropped pic of Justin's ass, but I think it would be better if we didn't do it in public

err That's okay JennY, I think you may have to send one to Albob now that he knows the offer is out

 

[Eggs]

How did my ass get involved in this thread?

Oh, I really hope its working so Albob leaves me alone... uh huh, thats it. So, its working right?

 

[Eggs]

Originally posted by Rob_NC
On the contrary. I work for Volvo and all official company communication MUST be in English, be it British English or American English. Therefor, our official company language is English. It even states this in our ISO documentation.

Thats fine... but they are communicating in English right? The problem is that a major part of innovation has to do with diversity and the synergistic atmosphere they can help create. It does good to have minds from different places combined together so that creativity will flow. At least thats the idea behind synergy, doesnt always work. Regardless, when you hire someone from a different country, dont expect them to be able to speak and write English to the same technical degree that you do. While it sounds good in a perfect world, this worlds hardly perfect... so we have to look past some whacky syntax and understand what they are trying to say.

That said, if you cannot understand what they are writing about then by all means go speak to them. If its just a matter of it not being pleasing to the eye then its not a biggie. Regardless, if the company hires somebody and expects someone to be able to perform a certain task, it has to equip them to perform it. In this case it would be with giving them the chance to advance their English skills

I do understand where you are coming from though. I grew up in the Fiji Islands and I had some Indian teachers in school that I wouldnt understand a word that came out of their mouth for the whole school year

 

[Eggs]

Wait a minute... I see what you guys are trying to do... sidetrack me. The real question remains -

am I going to get laid?

I thought I'd done a really good job of defending Sweden baby

 

[Jenny]

Well, actually I kinda agree with Rob English is the universal business language And if people are working abroad or are in a lot of contact with english speaking people, the company should give them some english classes

But you're still getting laid

 

[Mudge]

Originally posted by ALBOB
poor communication skills. You develope these skills not just from reading, but from writing too..............................

Honestly this is a really good point. The broad vocabulary and wise use of words is what helps people either get thoughts through and get crowds to cheer, or leave people lost and questioning what their mission is.

 

[Big Smoothy]

Originally posted by Rob_NC
The American education system got even worse when Bush signed the "No Child Left Behind" law. My mother is a HS English teacher. She says todays teachers are no more than statisticians. The law requires ALL teachers of a particular subject in a given school to teach the EXACT same lesson plan at the EXACT same time with no deviations. School systems are graded and subsequent funding is based on Standardized Test scores. Schools must show yearly improvement in order to receive funding for the next school year. If a school's performance stagnates are drops, funding is withheld as punishment. Tell me what good this will do? The sad thing is, since it's a Federal Law, there's not much that can be done about it. Needless to say, my mother won't be voting for Bush this year.

What's interesting, as well as disheartening, is that....every few years the American educational system will try some new "method." Right now it is Standardized Testing, which threatens teachers, and forces them to "teach students to pass the test."

In a few more years, there will be another bureaucratic snafu that will come along....