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<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"><channel><title>Search results for 'tag:Whom tag:Speaking English' matching tags 'Whom' and 'Speaking English'</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aWhom+tag%3aSpeaking+English&amp;tag=Whom,Speaking+English&amp;orTags=0</link><description>Search results for 'tag:Whom tag:Speaking English' matching tags 'Whom' and 'Speaking English'</description><dc:language>en-US</dc:language><generator>CSMOD (Build: 3191.21962)</generator><item><title>Beg for Advertising Emails for My Graduation Paper</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/AdvertisingEmailsGraduationPaper/grgbc/post.htm</link><pubDate>Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:37:45 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:502879</guid><dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator><description>Dear all friends,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#39;m happy to have discovered this forum which is among the most crowed and effective forums of ESL. As I know that there&amp;#39;re a lot of people who are speaking English as the first or official language here whom I love to ask to do me a favour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My graduation paper (thesis) is about the language of English advertising emails. Its topic is &amp;quot;The Language of English Advertising Email from a Perspective of Politeness&amp;quot;. So I&amp;#39;m in need of about 20 English advertising emails to analyze.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You may receive advertising emails everyday in your mail box and sometimes you find an interesting email&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please kindly send me from 1 to 5 advertising emails in English which you like best&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Those emails are only used for analyzing the language and you can request me to hide your email address.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Thank you so much!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc&lt;br /&gt;4th-year student&lt;br /&gt;Department of English and American Cultures&lt;br /&gt;Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies&lt;br /&gt;Vietnam National University, Hanoi&lt;br /&gt;Email: &lt;a href="mailto:nguyenbichngocartena87@yahoo.com"&gt;nguyenbichngocartena87@yahoo.com&lt;/a&gt;/ &lt;a href="mailto:bluejadenguyen@yahoo.com"&gt;bluejadenguyen@yahoo.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;YM: bluejadenguyen </description></item><item><title>Re: Will English be the global language in the future?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/EnglishGlobalLanguageFuture/4/dbkhc/Post.htm#258487</link><pubDate>Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:27:47 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:258487</guid><dc:creator>Clive Woodward</dc:creator><description>&lt;b&gt;A couple of posts had to be removed, unfortunately.&lt;br&gt;Here is the content of those posts. with one of the usernames modified;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Banned &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;Esperanto is a bit like Latin -- no one uses it on a daily basis. A language has to be alive, it has to reflect the mentality of its speakers. Esperanto might be completely logic which is one of the reasons why it never really has taken off. If you want to learn a language that is entirely based on logic then you should study a computer language such as JavaScript or HTML.&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;-------------------------------------------------&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Englishuser &lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Hi [Banned],&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;What is your relationship with the website [edited by mod]? Anyway, as far as Esperanto is concerned, I'd like to emphasize that many people agree with me when I say that Esperanto ought to be used the international lingua franca rather than English. Another person who thinks like me is professor John Wells. You can read more about what he thinks about Esperanto on his website: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I think it's faintly ridiculous to tell me that I should study a language such as JavaScript or HTML. Instead, you should convince me why I should communicate in English when addressing a Spaniard or a Pole. Why wouldn't we communicate in Esperanto instead of in English? What about international organisations and companies? Why do they so often adopt English as their official language? Simply because the world's sole superpower happens to be an English-speaking nation it doesn't mean that it is any more fair to have other people learn English so as to be able to communicate with people from overseas. Another solution of mine would be to make English everyone's native language.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;--------------------------------------------------&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Banned &lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Englishuser wrote:&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Instead, you should convince me why I should communicate in English when addressing a Spaniard or a Pole.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Why exactly do you want me to convince you of anything? It's a matter of facing reality I guess rather than trying to convince anyone. People communicate more in English than in Esperanto simply because English is a natural language while Esperanto is an artificual attempt to fabricate a language. Enlish is alive and grows while Esperanto is an experiment. Just take a look at the world around you and sooner or later you will realize this fact too. Esperanto will never be a global means of communication because nobody speaks it as their native language. How many people think and dream in Esperanto?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Englishuser wrote:&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; What about international organisations and companies? Why do they so often adopt English as their official language?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Because the vast majority of all international organizations and companies are based in the US.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Englishuser wrote:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Simply because the world's sole superpower happens to be an English-speaking nation it doesn't mean that it is any more fair to have other people learn English so as to be able to communicate with people from overseas.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;How do you define fairness? I mean, anybody can choose whom to communicate with and in which language. If you want to speak Esperanto to your friends, who holds you back?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Englishuser wrote:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Another solution of mine would be to make English everyone's native language.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;A solution to what? And how exactly would you make English everyone's native language?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;------------------------------------------------&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Englishuser &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Banned wrote:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Why exactly do you want me to convince you of anything? It's a matter of facing reality I guess rather than trying to convince anyone. People communicate more in English than in Esperanto simply because English is a natural language while Esperanto is an artificual attempt to fabricate a language. Enlish is alive and grows while Esperanto is an experiment. Just take a look at the world around you and sooner or later you will realize this fact too. Esperanto will never be a global means of communication because nobody speaks it as their native language. How many people think and dream in Esperanto? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;English is not any more natural to a vast majority of people than is Esperanto. For a Portuguese or a Saudi Arabian English is just as strange as Esperanto, and in fact these people would probably pick up Esperanto much faster than English.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Banned wrote:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;How do you define fairness? I mean, anybody can choose whom to communicate with and in which language. If you want to speak Esperanto to your friends, who holds you back? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It is unfair that those who're native speakers of English needn't learn an international language as their native tongue is pretty much considered "the global language" these days. Esperanto is the solution. Should Esperanto be more widely used as an international lingua franca non-English-speaking people would be more equal when talking to Americans or Brits, for instance. When a Colombian, for instance, talks to an American, they'll most likely be speaking English. Their interlocutor will usually master the language better than they, which means he or she is a more powerful communicator. This is not always the case, of course, as people can acquire near-native or native-like skills in a foreign language, but this doesn't change the fact that you had to work very hard to acquire such sophisticated skills in a second language whilst others got it all almost automatically, without the need to put so much conscious effort to learn their English.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Banned wrote:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; A solution to what? And how exactly would you make English everyone's native language? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;A solution to a communicational problem. Every single day people all over the world, from all walks of life, find themselves in a tough position as they do not speak English well enough. As it is, it's difficult to lead a life without knowing a word of English. So, how would I make English everyone's native language? Well, how do you make your children native speakers of another language than the one you learnt as an infant?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As I know you're most aware of there is a website called [removed by mod]. What's your relationship with the site mentioned? Which of the moderators am I talking to? &lt;br&gt;</description></item><item><title>Re: How would you define &amp;quot;native speaker of english&amp;quot;?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/WouldDefineNativeSpeakerEnglish/2/bldmn/Post.htm#138648</link><pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2005 22:35:19 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:138648</guid><dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;&lt;BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;table width="85%"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class="txt4"&gt;&lt;img src="/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Seasurfer wrote:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class="quoteTable"&gt;&lt;table width="100%"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4"&gt;How would you define "native speaker of english"? Someone who has been speaking English since the day he was born? Or someone who come from a race which orginally speaks English? &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Please correct my grammar if there is any mistake. Thanks&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;When I read your post, the answer semmed pretty obvious.&amp;nbsp; But something along the same line as Josh2005, I see there are varied perceptions/understandings!&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Native to me is the same as "mother tongue", although the question of age is not necessarily unequivical.&amp;nbsp; The brain forms special neural structures with the advent of learning "language".&amp;nbsp; According to researches done in various countries (the first one I had read on a transantlntic flight from North America to Europe in 1997 or so) was out of Switzerland which spoke specifically about brain development, learning languages, mother tongue and what happens if a child is to have its language situation change during its growing up years&amp;nbsp;and what impact that would have on the child's ability to change, integrate change with success, and the impact depending on the age of the child.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Apparently, a child could sustain a complete change of "monther tongue", and do so without fault, under the age of 6 or so.&amp;nbsp; To the point of losing the "original" mother tongue completely... possibly depending on exposure, of course.&amp;nbsp; Other factors would influence the degree of "intergration", but by and large the brain adapts best till 6.&amp;nbsp; As you may, or may not be aware, some folks have extremely strong language skills (genetically determined-can be observed in children who start speaking "fluently=full sentences" before the age of one/11 months/etc.) while others have extremely poor language skills (never manage to speak in full sentences).&amp;nbsp; This would be an example of a&amp;nbsp;factor that could certainly influence the degree of&amp;nbsp; "full" intergration of a different mother tongue while growing up.&amp;nbsp; Other research that I have read since indicate that 6 years of age is the absolutely best time to learn languages. After that age, the brain's neural system that deals with language becomes progresseively more rigid.&amp;nbsp; Not meaning that learning cannot occur, only that it requires more and more work.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Please note that&amp;nbsp;this is all quite simplified.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;But certainly, "native speaker" would be the langue that is predominantly spoken on "mama's knees" as the child is being "raised".&amp;nbsp; It is not the "quality" of the language spoken that determine's its "nativeness", but rather the speaker's sense of his/her first language. All other considerations become particulars that are circumstancial.&amp;nbsp; Your native language may be English, but you'll never speak it well enough to be understood by all English speaking citizens of the world because you cannot, or have not had the proper teachings to speak it well..&amp;nbsp; It makes it no less your native tongue. Nor does one need to have the ability to do anything other than&amp;nbsp;"understand/communicate"&amp;nbsp;it for it to be a native language. (I think of someone who is deaf or dumb, or has never learnt to read or write)&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;My native tongue is French.&amp;nbsp; But many French speaking citizens of the world would not know that I am a native French speaker.&amp;nbsp; Just&amp;nbsp;listen to&amp;nbsp;Fench speakers from Louisianna, you'll get my drift.&amp;nbsp; When I am speaking English, still many people (let's put it in its Canadian context as this is where I live) never guess that I am a native French speaker.&amp;nbsp; And let's make no bones about this, my English beats... by miles... MANY native English speakers in this country, if for no other reason that I am better educated, come from a family that was quasi-perfectly bilingual, and benefit from a better than average language genetic herritage.&amp;nbsp; Before I became an FSL teacher (early 30s) only two individuals had ever&amp;nbsp;asked me if I was a francophone (French native speaker).&amp;nbsp; Both, I had noted, where unilingual anglophones with very strong language skills.&amp;nbsp; One of them, a canadian, made me become aware of "higher" language skills.&amp;nbsp; I was maybe 18 at the time.&amp;nbsp; The second one was a journalist from Pennsilvania (USA)&amp;nbsp;who was travelling in Europe.&amp;nbsp; I believe we were in the Swiss Alps at the time.&amp;nbsp; By the same token, my French language skills are better than many a native French candaian speaker.&amp;nbsp; In all modesty, please.&amp;nbsp; This is for the benefit of contributing to the reflection.&amp;nbsp; All is relative.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Another anecdote I wish to share, but is not directly related to the topic, and&amp;nbsp;that to this day thoroughly amazes me, is this guy who asked me if I was from *** (my hometown, born and raised that I had left 25 years before without ever going back but occasionnaly for a day or two). It was one of the few times that I was breathless from shock:&amp;nbsp; how in the hell could he guess and pin-point where I was from?&amp;nbsp; I had studied and perfected my French (being raised in a province that retained a VERY strong colonialist mentality and was trying through hell or high water to anglisize anyone that passed through its countryside made the quality of my French needing repairs).&amp;nbsp; I had already been teaching core and Immersion French (where all my throat&amp;nbsp;musculature was being&amp;nbsp;"francisized"! through continually&amp;nbsp;exagerated articulation).&amp;nbsp; And this guy could hear my "nativeness", to the town, in TWO questions; less than 20 words.&amp;nbsp; He was in his second year of linguistic and had a room mate who was from the same hometown as mine! He was also a musician (re: good ear).&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;The last point I would like to contribute is how I relate to both languages I speak fairly fluently.&amp;nbsp; When the time came for me to go to high school (13 years old), I was faced with a decision.&amp;nbsp; I went to my mother to ask what I should do, she told me it was my decision to make.&amp;nbsp; For the first time in the history of this predominantly French speaking town (over 80% of the population was native French speakers -good or bad!) students could chose to&amp;nbsp;go to a high school where the first language would be French.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;There&amp;nbsp;would be&amp;nbsp;just under 1300 students that would attended this school its first year of operation.&amp;nbsp; The English students were getting a new school built for them.&amp;nbsp; They were 650 or so, close to 30% of whom were native French speakers.&amp;nbsp; Assimilation first starts in the attitude.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Throughout my adolescence, speaking both a poor French and a questionable English, I came to the conclusion that: 1) French was the language of my heart, it had emotional content;&amp;nbsp; 2) English was more a social language, it was more formal for me.&amp;nbsp; To say "***" will never measure up in meaning and release as&amp;nbsp;to saying "tabernac".&amp;nbsp; I understand that to many of you, this holds only partial meaning, but understand the first word is English, and the second is French. Both can be used when expressing a negative emotional state: anger, frustration, impatience, etc.&amp;nbsp; For me, the second expression more effectively reflects&amp;nbsp;the state of my heart.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;So a qualifier determining a person's native language would be the one that most effectively reflects a state of heart when spoken.&amp;nbsp; It doesn't necessarily need to be with&amp;nbsp;the greatest fluency or ability.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Thank you for reading through this!&amp;nbsp; Au revoir!&lt;/P&gt;</description></item><item><title>Re: Mountainhiker can you give me a hand?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/MountainhikerGiveHand/plmg/post.htm#77084</link><pubDate>Sun, 27 Feb 2005 19:48:11 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:77084</guid><dc:creator>anon1</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;table width="85%"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class="quoteTable"&gt;&lt;table width="100%"&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4"&gt;Dr. S. I.&lt;br /&gt;Admissions Committee&lt;br /&gt;Boomenweg 2&lt;br /&gt;0123 XXX&lt;br /&gt;(The country)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Dr. S.I,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;having majored in Industrial Microbiology I would like to do my Master on Biotechnology and work whether on bioremediation of contaminated soil and ground water or plant biotechnology.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my last year of high school I was among the top five students in chemistry, biology and calculus. Since then, I became attracted by nature and how we can take advantage of its richness and variety in Colombia so I decided to study Industrial Microbiology.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wanted to take advantage of speaking English so that was the way to open an American place for university practice for students of my career at The XXX State University. Therefore I was the only student in the semester for going to a foreign country to do so. Later on, working in XXX, OH, I interviewed with Dr S. M., whose area is in biological control in legumes, proposed me to be her technician as a replacement since I was working in a bench of her lab, but this was not possible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Being in Ohio, I traveled to XXX to talk with Dr R. S. with whom I extended my boundaries about other areas I could study on. I was fascinated about the idea of improving the production of Cassava, so doing biotechnology research I could improve the production of many other tropical plants, which is why I am so interested in your laboratory of Plant Breeding. I can see myself doing genetic modifications involved in starch biosynthesis. And the second area that I like the most is the bioremediation of heavy metals from different environments. I have always been attracted to this area so I prepared a seminar for the molecular biology class called "Molecular mechanisms of plants for up taking heavy metals". I have seen Dr. Schraa work and I am very enthusiastic on working with him. I would like to focus on these last two areas because are very productive to my country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my work at The XXX State University I learned to work hard. Thanks to the group everything was done by the time I had to come back to XXX what was very beneficial and advantageous since I did my research work at once, therefore I could graduate earlier than most of my classmates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I find these two areas possible to develop at XXX University along with the interesting culture of XXX (that country) and the facility of traveling to many different countries, what is my passion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I arrive to XXX (my country) I expect to work on investigation about plant breeding or improving the plants capabilities to catch heavy metals in order to use them in affected environments. &lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dr. S. I.&lt;br /&gt;Admissions Committee&lt;br /&gt;Boomenweg 2&lt;br /&gt;0123 XXX&lt;br /&gt;(The country)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Dr. S.I: (colon if in North America)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Microbiology from XYZ University in 200X.  To further my education, I want to apply for a Master's in Biotechnology at (university) with specialization in bioremediation of contaminated soil and ground water or plant biotechnology.  [I am not sure I would indicate your specialization at this point.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have always maintained a high academic standard.  In high school, I was among the top five students in chemistry, biology, and calculus.  Biology was of particular interest to me because of the richness of biodiversity of plant life within Colombia. Thus I decided to study Industrial Microbiology.  [The link from biodiversity to industrial microbiology seems a bit weak.  Perhaps, you can think of a closer or better link?]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[I wanted to take advantage of speaking English so that was the way to open an American place for university practice for students of my career at The XXX State University. Therefore I was the only student in the semester for going to a foreign country to do so. Later on, working in XXX, OH, I interviewed with Dr S. M., whose area is in biological control in legumes, proposed me to be her technician as a replacement since I was working in a bench of her lab, but this was not possible.....I am not sure what you main point in this paragraph is?  Is it taking advantage of speaking English?  Or is it dealing with Dr S. M.?  Please clarify.  And please provide more detail so that we can craft a strong paragraph.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I was in Ohio, I traveled to XXX to meet with Dr R.S. which whom I have extensive interests in several areas of research [I don't like vagueness in letters.  See if you can sharpen this opening sentence.] I am fascinated with the potential of improving the production of Cassava.  If we are able to accomplish this task, then using biotechnology we  could improve the production of many other tropical plants.  Being able to improve the production of other tropical plants is of great interest to me and why I am interested in your laboratory of plant breeding.  I would to learn more about and engage in genetic modifications for starch biosynthesis. A second area of research  that I am passionate about is the bioremediation of heavy metals from different environments. I have always been attracted to this area [because why??] so I prepared a seminar for the molecular biology class called "Molecular mechanisms of plants for up taking heavy metals". I have seen Dr. Schraa work and I am very enthusiastic on working with him. I would like to focus on these last two areas because are very productive to my country.  [We need to do more work on this paragraph.  Have a look at it and see what you think.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am a studious and hard worker.  I was able to complete my research ahead of schedule, which allowed me to graduate earlier than most of my classmates.  [I would also talk about your performance here too...you can be quick and sloppy.  But you want to give the impression that you are quick because you are good.  Discuss something about academic achievement here.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[I find these two areas possible to develop at XXX University along with the interesting culture of XXX (that country) and the facility of traveling to many different countries, what is my passion....let's put this paragraphs aside for now.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[When I arrive to XXX (my country) I expect to work on investigation about plant breeding or improving the plants capabilities to catch heavy metals in order to use them in affected environments. ....put aside for now...these paragraphs will be easy to "tune" once we are happy with everything else.]</description></item><item><title>Re: Mountainhiker can you give me a hand?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/MountainhikerGiveHand/pjzg/post.htm#76387</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Feb 2005 00:31:09 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:76387</guid><dc:creator>andrejuli</dc:creator><description>Dear Mountainhiker, thanks for your corrections, I hope now is much better. I deleted some sentences to make the areas of what I want to study, more focused. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dr. S. I.&lt;br /&gt;Admissions Committee&lt;br /&gt;Boomenweg 2&lt;br /&gt;0123 XXX&lt;br /&gt;(The country)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Dr. S.I,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;having majored in Industrial Microbiology I would like to do my Master on Biotechnology and work whether on bioremediation of contaminated soil and ground water or plant biotechnology.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my last year of high school I was among the top five students in chemistry, biology and calculus. Since then, I became attracted by nature and how we can take advantage of its richness and variety in Colombia so I decided to study Industrial Microbiology. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wanted to take advantage of speaking English so that was the way to open an American place for university practice for students of my career at The XXX State University. Therefore I was the only student in the semester for going to a foreign country to do so. Later on, working in XXX, OH, I interviewed with Dr S. M., whose area is in biological control in legumes, proposed me to be her technician as a replacement since I was working in a bench of her lab, but this was not possible. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Being in Ohio, I traveled to XXX to talk with Dr R. S. with whom I extended my boundaries about other areas I could study on. I was fascinated about the idea of improving the production of Cassava, so doing biotechnology research I could improve the production of many other tropical plants, which is why I am so interested in your laboratory of Plant Breeding. I can see myself doing genetic modifications involved in starch biosynthesis. And the second area that I like the most is the bioremediation of heavy metals from different environments. I have always been attracted to this area so I prepared a seminar for the molecular biology class called âMolecular mechanisms of plants for up taking heavy metalsâ. I have seen Dr. Schraa work and I am very enthusiastic on working with him. I would like to focus on these last two areas because are very productive to my country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my work at The XXX State University I learned to work hard. Thanks to the group everything was done by the time I had to come back to XXX what was very beneficial and advantageous since I did my research work at once, therefore I could graduate earlier than most of my classmates. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I find these two areas possible to develop at XXX University along with the interesting culture of XXX (that country) and the facility of traveling to many different countries, what is my passion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I arrive to XXX (my country) I expect to work on investigation about plant breeding or improving the plants capabilities to catch heavy metals in order to use them in affected environments.&lt;br /&gt;</description></item><item><title>Re: Mountainhiker can you give me a hand?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/MountainhikerGiveHand/phwv/post.htm#75858</link><pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2005 20:58:25 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:75858</guid><dc:creator>andrejuli</dc:creator><description>Dear MountainHiker, I did the corrections you told me and restructured some things. Thanks a lot for it. I hope everything is much better now... &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Admissions Committee,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Having majored in Industrial Microbiology I would like to do my Master on Plant Sciences and work whether on bioremediation, biological control or plant biotechnology.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my last year of high school I was among the top five students in chemistry, biology and calculus. Since then, I became attracted by nature and how we can take advantage of its richness and variety in Colombia so I decided to study Industrial Microbiology. When I was taking the Environmental Microbiology course, the new technologies used in biological control caught my attention. So I attended very interesting forums in Corpo-XXX about its advances in Brazil what made me decide that this is a very interesting area and in my country will be very advantageous to have researched on it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wanted to take advantage of speaking English so that was the way to open an American place for university practice for students of my career at The XXX State University. Therefore I was the only student in the semester for going to a foreign country to do so. Later on, working in XXX, OH, I interviewed with Dr S. M., whose area is in biological control in legumes, proposed me to be her technician as a replacement since I was working in a bench of her lab, but in order to avoid visa issues this was not possible. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Being in Ohio, I traveled to XXX to talk with Dr R. S. with whom I extended my boundaries about other areas I could study on. I was fascinated about the idea of improving the production of Cassava, so doing biotechnology research I could improve the production of many other tropical plants, which is why I am so interested in your laboratory of Plant Breeding. I can see myself doing genetic modifications involved in starch biosynthesis. And finally the third area that I like the most is the bioremediation of heavy metals from different environments. I have always been attracted to this area so I prepared a seminar for the molecular biology class called âMolecular mechanisms of plants for up taking heavy metalsâ. I would like to focus on this last two areas because are very productive to my country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my work at The XXX State University I learned to work hard because of the visa deadline. Thanks to the group everything was done by that time what was very beneficial and advantageous since I did my research work at once, then I could graduate earlier than most of my classmates. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I find all these three areas possible to develop at XXX University along with the interesting culture of XXX (that country) and the facility of traveling to many different countries, what is my passion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I arrive to XXX (my country) I expect to start an enterprise or a laboratory with products that attack the principles illness in flowers or whether work on investigation about plant breeding or improving the plants capabilities to catch heavy metals in order to use them in affected environments.&lt;br /&gt;</description></item><item><title>Re: Mountainhiker can you give me a hand?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/MountainhikerGiveHand/pzxx/post.htm#75392</link><pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2005 02:14:43 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:75392</guid><dc:creator>anon1</dc:creator><description>Dear Srs [you need to fix this] of the Admissions Comitee, &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Having majored in Industrial Microbiology I would like to specialize in Plant Sciences and learn more about bioremediation, biological control and plant breeding. [This needs to be stronger.  Are you going for a bachelorâs degree, Ph.D, job, and you just want to have lunch with the director?]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my last year[] of high school I was [among] the top [five] students in chemistry, biology and calculus. Since then, I became attracted by nature and how we can take advantage of its richness and variety in my country [which is what?] so I decided to study Industrial Microbiology. When I was taking the Environmental Microbiology course, the new technologies used in biological control caught my attention. So I attended very interesting forums in Corpo-XXX about its advances in Brazil. [You need to strengthen this paragraph.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wanted to take advantage of speaking English so that was the way to open an American place for university practice for students of my career at The XXX S&lt;img src="/emoticons/emotion-62.gif" alt="Telephone [T]" /&gt;ate University. Therefore I was the only student in the semester for going to a foreign country to do so. Later on, working in XXX, OH, I interviewed with Dr S. M., whose area is in biological control in legumes, proposed me to be her technician as a replacement since I was working in a bench of her lab, but in order to avoid visa issues this was not possible. I traveled to XXX, OH to talk with Dr R. S. with whom I extended my boundaries about other areas I could study on. I was fascinated about the idea of improving the production of Cassava, so doing biotechnology research I could improve the production of many other tropical plants. And finally the third area that I like the most is the bioremediation of heavy metals from different environments. I have always been attracted to this area so I prepared a seminar for the molecular biology class called âMolecular mechanisms of plants for up taking heavy metalsâ [Youâve got good material in here, but your organization leaves a lot to be desired.  What is the main point of this paragraph?  Is it to learn English?  It is your experience, or what is it?]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my work at The XXX State University I learned what it is to work hard because of the visa deadline, so the group and I had to have everything done by that time. It was a very beneficial stay because I did my research work at once, so this was very advantageous since I could graduate earlier than most of my classmates. [needs to be tighter and more focused.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I find all these three areas possible to develop at XXX University along with the interesting culture of XXX (that country) and the facility of traveling to many different countries, what is my passion. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I arrive to XXX (my country) I expect to open an enterprise or a laboratory with products that attack the principles illness in flowers or whether work on investigation about plant breeding or improve the plants capabilities to catch heavy metals in order to use them in affected environments. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[Try rewriting your stuff and making it more focused.  Then weâll look at it again.]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MountainHiker&lt;br /&gt;</description></item><item><title>Mountainhiker can you give me a hand?</title><link>http://www.englishforums.com/English/MountainhikerGiveHand/pvqb/post.htm</link><pubDate>Sat, 19 Feb 2005 22:21:46 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:75124</guid><dc:creator>andrejuli</dc:creator><description>Dear Mountainhiker, &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I want this motivation letter to be the best so IÂ´ve done mine based on what you say in this website and in the examples of other mottivation letters. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can you please check it and tell me what to correct?, thanks a lot!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Srs of the Admissions Comitee,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Having majored in Industrial Microbiology I would like to specialize in Plant Sciences and learn more about bioremediation, biological control and plant breeding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my last years of high school I was in the top 5 students in chemistry, biology and calculus. Since then, I became attracted by nature and how we can take advantage of its richness and variety in my country so I decided to study Industrial Microbiology. When I was taking the Environmental Microbiology course, the new technologies used in biological control caught my attention. So I attended very interesting forums in Corpo-XXX about its advances in Brazil. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wanted to take advantage of speaking English so that was the way to open an American place for university practice for students of my career at The XXX Sate University. Therefore I was the only student in the semester for going to a foreign country to do so. Later on, working in XXX, OH, I interviewed with Dr S. M., whose area is in biological control in legumes, proposed me to be her technician as a replacement since I was working in a bench of her lab, but in order to avoid visa issues this was not possible. I traveled to XXX, OH to talk with Dr R. S. with whom I extended my boundaries about other areas I could study on. I &lt;br /&gt;was fascinated about the idea of improving the production of Cassava, so doing biotechnology research I could improve the production of many other tropical plants. And finally the third area that I like the most is the bioremediation of heavy metals from different environments. I have always been attracted to this area so I prepared a seminar for the molecular biology class called âMolecular mechanisms of plants for up taking heavy metalsâ&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During my work at The XXX State University I learned what it is to work hard because of the visa deadline, so the group and I had to have everything done by that time. It was a very beneficial stay because I did my research work at once, so this was very advantageous since I could graduate earlier than most of my classmates. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I find all these three areas possible to develop at XXX University along with the interesting culture of XXX (that country) and the facility of traveling to many different countries, what is my passion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I arrive to XXX (my country) I expect to open an enterprise or a laboratory with products that attack the principles illness in flowers or whether work on investigation about plant breeding or improve the plants capabilities to catch heavy metals in order to use them in affected environments.&lt;br /&gt;</description></item></channel></rss>