Search results for 'tag:Vocabulary tag:Universities' matching tags 'Vocabulary' and 'Universities'

Re: Correction need . Help please, Urgent

Mister Micawber — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 06:58:35 GMT

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to apply for the PhD program through your Graduate School at the University of ***, Germany.

I am sorry to inform you that I was not able to submit my TOEFL score along with this application, as I have not yet taken it. My TOEFL exam is scheduled for the end of April, and once I receive the result, I will submit my score to you.

My apologies for this inconvenience.

Yours sincerely,

Samundeeswari.M.B.

The best way to build vocabulary is to read, read, read. The best way to prepare for the TOEIC is to take practice exams, which can be found in bookstores and on the internet. Practice books for the TOEIC vocabulary are also available.

Re: Correction need . Help please, Urgent

samundeeswari.m.b — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:59:45 GMT

Dear Mister Micawber,

I apologize for the inconvenience. Here is my letter saying about myTOEFL exam schedule.

I would request you to correct this.

Thanking you for your kind help.

I wolud like to know how to improve english vocabulary. Actually I have learnt my school in my mother tongue only. In my college though I have studied in English it is mainly oriented in subject wise only. Now I want to go for higher studies. For this I need to improve my English. Daily I am reading newspaper and practing the difficult word which I find in that. I have to prepare for TOEFL exam. I would be happy if you suggest me any way to improve further my English. Now I am attending the English advanced Course.

Looking forward for your reply.

Yours friend,

Samundeeswari

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I would like to apply for the PhD program through your Graduate School at University of ***, Germany.

I am sorry to inform you that I was not able to submit my TOEFL score along with this application.

For your kind information I have scheduled my TOEFL Exam on April end. Once I get the result I am happy to submit my score to you.

Sorry for this inconvenience.

Yours sincerely,

Samundeeswari.M.B.

Re: multilingual Europeans

Cool Breeze — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:57:11 GMT

Koto
Why are European people so fluent in English?
People say it's becasue their languages are all derived from the same root as English but is this the only reason?
Was it easy to master English for you?

Hi Koto

I realise you may never read this but I'll post it just the same. Not all European languages are related. My native language, Finnish, isn't even an Indo-European language. It is related to Estonian and Hungarian but not to such Germanic languages as English, German, Danish, Swedish, Dutch and so on.

One reason many Finns have at least a working knowledge of English probably results from teachers of foreign languages having a very good education in the languages they teach and the teaching methods. The methods are extremely important. All language teachers are university graduates with 4 to 7 years of university studies behind them. As for English, everybody has studied it at school before entering a university, which is also an advantage. Also, the universities select the very best candidates from English-speaking countries to do the teaching. The professors are Finnish, though, and there are some Finnish lecturers as well.

I am mentioning this because I have noticed on my travels that quite a few people who tell me they are teachers of English have a rather fragmentary command of the language themselves. If a teacher doesn't know the language, he can't teach it. In many cases the student isn't at fault at all. There are amazingly incompetent teachers of languages in many countries. Some of the posters who claim to be teachers of English on these forums wouldn't pass the qualifying exams for would-be teachers at Finnish universities.

I have never mastered English. I have a fairly good knowledge of the grammar but my vocabulary could be much larger. Learning languages has always been easy for me; that is, learning the languages I have attempted to learn. I am not so sure how quickly I would learn Japanese or Thai, for instance. English spelling causes me the most problems. And of course any words and idioms I am not familiar with.

Cheers

Re: Poll: British English vs American English

Cool Breeze — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:49:26 GMT

When I attended school in the late Middle Ages, I never wondered whether I was taught British or American English. I suppose I was taught both: differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. I find it strange that anyone would like to confine his knowledge of the language to just one variety. Why on earth? And how could that be possible? I have seen him is both British and American! I don't know how it could be possible to learn just one variety as they are so similar, after all. The dialectal differences in Britain are far greater than the differences between British and American English, as I have said before in some other thread.

Brits understand Americans even if they have never been taught American English, and vice versa. If a Finnish teacher of English has spent a lot of time in England or the US, he may be more familiar with one variety and may thus want to emulate British or American pronunciation in his teaching. The students can't help hearing both because all the texts in the books that are used are recorded on CDs by native speakers, who include Brits, Americans, Canadians, Australians and even the occasional Indian. All these nationalities are employed in nationwide listening comprehension tests as well.

When a Finn is enrolled in a university, few of the books on the syllabus are in Finnish unless he studies Finnish Philology or Finnish History or something similar. If he studies social sciences, biology, medicine etc. the majority of the books are in English. In some cases he may be able to choose a book in another language also, usually Swedish, German or French. As a rule, it is safe to say that university studies are not possible if you are unable to understand scientific books written in English. These books may be written by Britons, Americans, Finns, Germans, Spaniards or people representing other nationalities because English is the leading language of science and no university can function properly without English. Some of the visiting lecturers and professors don't speak a word of Finnish!

It seems utterly trivial and futile to me to try to concentrate on just British or American English when one just can't manage with only one variety and the differences are so small.

Cheers

Could you check my letter?

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:15:22 GMT

Hi! I have writen a cover letter about an internship through a grant program, could you please check if the grammar, use of vocabulary,etc. is correct? I'll welcome any comments.
Thank you !

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in obtaining a practical internship at (company name) through the ARGO grant program.

ARGO is a mobility project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science within the framework of the European program Leonardo da Vinci. Its aim is to promote practical internships in European companies within Spanish University graduates. ARGO grants include financial help for the intern and an insurance policy during the stay which will not suppose any additional cost for your company.

I recently graduated from the -- University with a degree in -- and I have gained some work experience in both a --and a --. As you can see from my enclosed CV, I can communicate appropriately in English. I was awarded grade C in the Certificate in Advanced English and I attended a course in English language in --My reason for applying is that I would like to use and develop the skills and knowledge I have gained to a six month internship at (company name). I feel that it would be a very interesting experience and that I would enjoy the opportunity to broaden my cultural awareness by living at a foreign country. I have found some general information about your company and was impressed by your absolute commitment to training and development. For this reason I consider your company to be the right place for me.

I am sure my interest in learning new skills as well as the benefits that the ARGO program offers to your company could be an excellent opportunity.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Please review my Recommendation Letter

Aquilotto — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:07:40 GMT

Hi All,

I wrote the attached recommendation letter and I need someone to review it, since I am italian and I'm not english mother tongue.

The letter is preatty long, but I hope it is quite well written.

Thank you very much for your help.

Best Regards

Lorenzo
________________________________________________

Question N.1 - How long and in what capacity have you known the candidate?

I met Lorenzo at the University in 1998 and since then we cultivated a strong friendship culminated in 2006 when we structured a mutual agreement in order to manage some business related projects. From that year our professional relation has emerged reinforced by the fact that his knowledge of corporate finance is more advanced and systematic than mine, while I am more used to deal with fiscal matters. I collaborated with Lorenzo in two different projects: during the first project, that lasted for six months, in January 2006 we performed a merger of two companies operating in the field of industrial plant design creating a new company with an asset of 150 million â¬ and 1200 employers; with the second project, that lasted for four months, we created a Trust with an asset of 85 million â¬ in real estate, stocks, bonds and cash.

Question N.2 - If this is a work related reference, in what position is/was the candidate employed and for how long?

While being involved in these projects, we worked closely together for ten months, five days a week, twelve hours a day. In both projects Lorenzo was the manager and I was in charge of optimizing the fiscal impact on the corporate structure in the first project and in the second I was in charge of studying and designing the Trust's fiscal structure.

Question N.3 - Please elaborate below or in a separate letter on the evaluation you have given above and provide any additional clarification about the applicant, which you consider would be helpful to the Admissions Committee.

Intellectual or Academic Ability

Lorenzo has an extreme flexible and vivid intellectual ability. I realized his attitude to study, research and in-depth examination when we were at the University and now, I found the really same approach in the projects we structured, characterized by very specific technical issues where intellectual and academic ability background sits on the first place. His intellectual ability relates to match a rigorous training with managerial skills and ability to adapt to different conditions.

Competence in current position

Lorenzo's competence as project leader and manager clearly demonstrates to be live up in every situation. I had the clear perception that our clients entrusted all the actions proposed by Lorenzo. When our clients asked Lorenzo specific questions related to our work, he always managed to demonstrate confidence and precision thanks to the competencies he has.

Oral Communication Skills

Lorenzo has a very clear and concise way to express his point of view. He is able to do that thanks to an innate ability to enter into dialogue with others. His approach does not change whether he speaks with a colleague or with the CEO of the company. Lorenzo always personalized his style knowing how to put his counterpart in confidence and at ease. Particularly, I remember as during one Board of Directors he was asked too many questions about every single detail of the merger that was planned and he answered all the questions in a flawless and confident way that everybody felt more secure in conducting the operation in the direction Lorenzo prospected.

Written Communication Skills

Lorenzo has excellent writing skills, as he manages to synthesize and explain very difficult concepts simply producing clear and easy-to-read documents. The very technical vocabulary of our work tends to be difficult to understand; therefore, it is very important to make sure that all the documents delivered to our clients are easy to understand. I remember that once, while we were monitoring the merger of companies, Lorenzo was the person that prepared informally the minutes of the Board of Directors that were used later as formal documents presented to the notary.

Analytical Skills

Lorenzoâs analytical skills are very important and effective in our field of work. Particularly, he is very skilful in conducting economic-financial analyses. Having said that, I would like to acknowledge that thanks to his excel file we were able to develop a model, and using this model we simulated the effects of the merger of two companies in terms of accounting, and with this model we also were able to analyze the first yearâs net circulating capital of the new company resulting from the merger. Evidently, such a task requires mastering and modelizing of the different aspects of balance sheets of the two companies.

Leadership Potential

Lorenzo definitely possesses great leadership qualities. He freely shares his skills and experience with the team, making them look to him even more as a leader. Lorenzo exhibits the courage of hard decisions and stand by them, thanks to his solid theoretical and practical preparation. Lorenzo is not intimidated by much, but he has also good judgment. When he has considered the facts of a situation and is certain he is on solid ground, he will not hesitate to take a strong stand. Lorenzo realizes that in any group everything is ultimately about persuasion, negotiation, and compromise. He is such a good leader, looked up by others, because they know he will accept a decision that does not go his way if he feels he has had a fair hearing. Lorenzo leads by listening to others and building consensus.

Teamwork

Lorenzo knows how to lead and orientate a group of people in the day after day life in order to obtain the desired results. At the same time Lorenzo is able to adapt to the different characters of the team members because he has an outstanding attitude of hearing, of motivating, of respecting and of communicating with all the colleagues. It's not easy to develop a project from the design phase till implementation but Lorenzo is able to give the right attention and the right amount of responsibility to all team members in order to drive the team to reach the final result.

Problem Solving

In managing problems Lorenzo always proved to be very proactive and ready to anticipate aspects that could impact on our projects. His ability to manage both complex situations and supply solutions is driven by his attitude to do analogies with similar cases already solved and also by break up a complex problem in a series of multiple small themes more easy to be solved.

Maturity

Lorenzoâs maturity is exceptional in our field. I am sure that his maturity comes from the fact that he graduated very early and, consequently, had an opportunity to get involved in many different kinds of situations from which he learned a lot. His maturity is proven by his communication skills, his motivation and his ability to take a deep and careful approach to everything he does. Particularly, I refer to his ability to put all his interlocutors at ease, as, for instance, once I saw him negotiating with the banks very favourable terms for our clientâs company, which was possible only because during these years of hard work he has distinguished himself as a trustful and professional person.

Management Potential

Based on my experience the most important factor that I can observe in Lorenzo is that he gets things done. He is able to get the most from different situations by controlling all the critical aspects that a good manager must have: organization, charisma, leadership, teamwork, vision, integrity. All these are part of his character and are evident in his personality, given that have always been recognized also by our clients. To deliver concrete results to companies is our mission and the only was to reach this goal is to be good managers serving our clients.

Question N.4 - What do you consider to be the candidateâs principal strengths/talents?

I consider Lorenzo's principal talents his attitude to create a collaborative working environment, his competence in analyzing and solving problems, his extremely oriented to teamwork personality and his willing not to be satisfied by the results achieved and always looking for new ventures and new opportunities.

Question N.5 - What do you consider to be the candidateâs weaknesses or areas that need improvement?

A weakness that Lorenzo might have compared to other team members that I regularly work with is related to his high moral standards. Lorenzo tends to trust the people with whom he works, and this is why he expects to be treated the same way. If a person disappoints him, Lorenzo tends to distance himself and does not treat this person in the same way.

Question N.6 - What is your opinion of the candidateâs motivation towards, and suitability for a career in management?

I think that Lorenzo is the right person for a career in management and I can say that because I saw him in action. Lorenzo already has a very successful future ahead of him. I believe that this is the right time for him to get his dream of doing an MBA in a prestigious university like Manchester. I'm sure that his knowledge and competencies would benefit from the MBA and together with his actual level of management practice he will gain an absolute level of respect in the management field. We spoke a lot about his willing to gain the MBA and even if against my own interest, that is to hold him in Italy to continue to collaborate to new projects, I believe that for his ambitions the right thing is to go in a place where both theory and practical experience can allow him to fully develop his enormous potentialities.

Re: Play Judo

Hoa Thai — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:21:38 GMT

Hi,

Thanks to those programs, my English is getting better. The narrators speak slowly, clearly, and precisely. My vocabulary chest is filling up gradually.

However, I wish I could watch series about relationship and interaction between family members or people in regular daily life. Members of my English club and a majority of students in the universities think they would have better feeling of the language and the culture of the native speakers by watching those shows.

I teach Vietnamese to foreigners here in Saigon. I can see their struggle with the language as I've been struggling with English. The problem is that when our brains are wired to patterns that are natural to us, it is very difficult to absorb what seemingly odd to our ears. Phrases that we don't know, we literally translate. Sometimes, I can feel the resistance from my students in accepting colloquial expressions. Once they understand a bit deeper, they try again searching in their own language for another equivalent, and another, and another ... And the more they try, the slower they acquire the language. Those who do not question early in the learning process often advance quicker. Once they get a hang of the language, they start question the details and become more attuned to its intricacies. Eventually, some even can be very innovative and surpass the majority of native speakers. From my experience, that is the reason why children acquire the language skills faster than adults do.

That said, teachers must work harder in helping learners. Simple Yes or No sometimes leads the students down a wrong road. Important to foreign language learners are examples and more examples. What you've posted about 'single/plural' or 'play Judo' are excellent.

All the best,
Hoa Thai

Re: When I have trouble...

CalifJim — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:23:04 GMT

I know of a case where a woman from Columbia studied at a university in Georgia.
At the end of her years in the U.S. she went back to her native country, and, to the dismay of her relatives, she spoke English with a Southern accent, unlike any of her siblings who had been educated at northern universities in the U.S. (I don't think it was a matter of any effort to pick up any 'micro-pronunciation'. It just happened through imitation.)
_____________

While travelling in Italy, I ran across a shop-keeper who spoke extremely fluent English, with a Cockney accent and vocabulary. (Again, I don't think she tried to pick up a certain 'micro-pronunciation'. It just happened through imitation.)
_____________

I have a male friend who learned French exclusively from women teachers.
Later, travelling in France, when he spoke French to native speakers, they commented that he spoke somewhat like a woman. It was very embarrassing for him. The source of the problem seems obvious to me.
_____________

It's anecdotes like these that led me to give the advice I did.

CJ

Re: this morning

Cool Breeze — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:07:58 GMT

Philip wrote:

I concur with this excellent analysis. [There's nothing to apologize about for your "Helsinki English", CB.]

Thank you for your kind words, Philip. However, I do think I don't really deserve the excellent-grasp-of-English icon that I have because my vocabulary isn't nearly as large as that of a native speaker. Quite honestly, I don't think some of the natives that have this icon deserve it, either, because there are surprising gaps in their knowledge of English grammar.

A good expert is one whose opinions are not based solely on what his high school teachers taught him or what he learned at university. A wider knowledge of English and linguistic experience from various sources combined with a broad and understanding mind are conducive to balanced views on usage and correctness. Some of the members I have a lot of respect for don't visit these forums very often. One of the very best that seem to have forsaken us is J Lewis, who last logged in last July.

Cheers
CB

Re: Teaching pronunciation of regular verbs in past simple

Titithi — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:46:58 GMT

I don't think it's necessary to explain what is a voiceless and voiced sound in past simple ( pronunciation of regular verbs). Imitating is the best way to use for teaching Elementary students. Imagine that a ten-year child should memorize a lot of vocabulary,irregular verbs for distinguishing regular verbs (at least 120 verbs) voiceless sounds and voiced sounds at the same time. It's not wise to stuff a lot into children's brain.If you use flashcards to teach children, they will learn by heart how to pronounce these regular verbs when using them to speak instead of wondering voiced or voiceless sound. After teaching about 20 verbs,you could tell them 3 cases of ending /ed/: 1) verbs finishing with the letters /t/ and /d/pronounce "ed" as /id/.

2)verbs finishing with the letters :k,x,p,s,c,ch,sh,f.pronounce "ed' as /t/.

3) the othersronounce "ed" as /d/

Children are required to memorize only two simple cases of pronunciation instead of three.They can guess the third case: If it is not in the first case and in the second case, it is in the third case. It's not easy to remember the letters that make the verbs finishing on a voiceless sound. You should give them a sentence or a phrase to have words beginning with these letters in order your students could learn by heart.For example: khi xuong phia song coi chung she falls are pronounced /t/; baked, fixed stopped,missed,forced,watched, washed,staffed. Pay attention to" raised "is pronounced /reizd/ and laughed /la:ft/.( tell them a little about sound and letter or teach them The apple song: A for apple /a/ /a/ /a/. /a/ is the sound of A.).Some verbs are not used in Elementary level.(It doesn't need to remember these verbs).In my country, phonetic is taugh only in university.