12. 05.
Venkata Ganti ( Vish )
CA-514
Altman
12th May 2009
The quality of education and resources for research provided by American Universities is higher than the Universities in other countries. International students generally go to high school in their home countries where the language of instruction is their native language. Students communicate in their native language at home and school and rarely in English. This condition creates a barrier for students who intend to pursue higher education at an American University. Western Institute of Technology (WIT) is a well known University for the advanced degrees in technology and management. WIT has a vibrant cosmopolitan student population mostly intending to pursue undergraduate, graduate or post doctorial degrees. Most international students work on campus to earn their living expenses. They are employed in various jobs ranging from cashiers, clerk, computer technicians, website developers, student assistants, tutors, and teaching assistants (TA). Professors hire graduate students to assist them to teach, test and grade students pursuing undergraduate programs. Although the International Graduate Students meet with the University’s English proficiency requirements to study but they are not tested for proficiency to work as a Teaching Assistant. This communication gap misleads students that studying and teaching require same level of competency in English. WIT should make the TA selection process stricter by testing students for their English speaking and writing skills.
Teaching requires TA’s to speak fluently, clearly and without a heavy accent. Students often complain that they cannot understand the pronunciation of certain words by a non native English speaker. A comic situation was quoted in an article titled “Classroom Chronicles, instructors’ accents make lessons hard” published in the San Francisco Chronicle on 27th November 1999. A professor at University of California at Berkeley mispronounced the word “authoritarian” as “auto-Italian”. Students in his class kept wondering what auto-Italian meant and finally when a presentation was displayed in class, they learnt about the word being authoritarian. A situation like this in a well reputed institute like University of California at Berkeley demonstrates the need for teachers and their assistants to go through a training process and testing to meet the basic communication requirements for teachers. University of Minnesota sponsors a program of assessment for prospective international teaching assistants and sets a higher spoken language score than many of our peer institutions. At University of Minnesota a two-credit classroom communication course is offered for students with lower scores to help them improve their English skills. These teaching and communication courses address the practicalities of pronunciation, word stress, clarity, fluency and the rhythm and intonation of U.S. English. The courses engage TAs in practice teaching and discussions of cultural topics. The goal of this program is that international TAs develops the skills required for clearly organized, fluent and comprehensible communication.
English as a Second Language (ESL) training is important for any international student. English is the primary language of the USA and except for specific classes in other languages, academic studies at all levels are carried out in English. It is needed for everything from reading street signs to writing a dissertation, and the faster a student acquires a firm grasp of English, the easier his studies and life in the US will be. Students believe they will very quickly learn the minimum amount of English necessary to enter a school and, after that, things will take care of themselves. The “minimum amount of English” usually means a score or between 450 and 500 on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), a test which does not necessarily measure a student’s actual academic ability. The reality of the situation is that the TOEFL lasts only about two hours, while college will take up to six years of a student’s life. ESL training is offered by many different institutions, including colleges and universities, high schools and private language schools. Most of these will offer some kind of initial exam, such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) and IELTS (International English Language Testing System). These tests help place students according to their needs and skill level. After the ESL level is mastered, students can pursue English for Academic Purposes, or EAP. The EAP program is designed to help students attain the level of English necessary to excel in academic reading and writing.
In 2008 a study conducted by the Center for Teaching and Learning at University of Minnesota which looked at student satisfaction with the overall teaching ability of TAs who had taken required courses on English, teaching and U.S. culture. More than four out of five undergraduates in the study reported they were satisfied or very satisfied with their TA’s overall teaching. Departments hiring TAs must continue to monitor the language proficiency of their international graduate students and refer those who need additional help to the ongoing training and classroom support services available through the teacher training programs. Professional development training can be required by departments for all TA’s.
Some students feel it’s demeaning to take proficiency tests in English to prove that they have the required language skill to teach. They argue that meeting with the University’s English requirement to study is enough for them to teach. The WIT Foreign Student Association stood against the new policy of WIT Student Association to require all TA’s to pass an additional test to be able to work as teaching assistants. This new rule will result in some international students to losing their TA positions. WIT should not compromise the quality of education offered for undergraduate students just because few graduate TA’s will lose their jobs. Before joining WIT, all international students need to establish that they have sufficient funds to complete their education. They can be funded for their education by their parents, other members of the family or student loans. The University admissions department does not take into consideration the funds which are derived from on campus employment for granting admission. The excuse of not being able to pay the tuition fee or living expenses due to loss of employment doesn’t not have substantial validity.
Apart from being useful for finding TA jobs, the additional English speaking and writing training would help students after they graduate and work in a professional environment. Many companies feel that international graduate students lack the skill needed to write professional reports and documentation. Companies would prefer a non- native graduate who has undergone additional training in English to a student without any special training. This emphasizes the need for students for focus on English development as much as on their regular course curriculum.
As an International graduate student at Western Institute of Technology, I would prefer to take an additional test to prove my proficiency in English and establish that I have the necessary skills to be hired as a teaching assistant. Inspite of taking additional training and courses if the University feels that I do not meet their requirements to be a teaching assistant , I will consider looking for other jobs available on campus to finance my living expenses and lower the burden on parents. I would be glad that WIT has given me an opportunity to polish my English communication skills by taking up additional courses. I strongly believe that the skills that I have acquired in the process of preparing for teaching assistant position will help me at a later stage in life. I am confident that WIT will find a student who is more deserving and talented than me to fill in the TA position.
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28. 04.
Venkata Ganti ( Vish )
CA-514
Altman
28th April 2009
Writing this essay made me recall the bed time stories my grand mother told me when I barely knew what the word ‘communication’ means. I loved listening to stories about kings, war and mythology. Back in the ancient times, kings would have specially trained pigeons or other birds, which would carry message notes to the neighboring kingdoms. This was from of message delivery was believed to be more secure than getting it delivered by hand from another person. As if these messenger birds know the geography of the whole kingdom, they would fly far off and deliver the letters to the right person.
Occasionally my grand father would spare some time to play with me and tell some of his childhood stories. He spoke to me about how he would write letters to his friends and other family members living from his hometown. During his time, it would take about two weeks for a letter to be delivered from the day of postage. Having a telephone connection was considered a luxury that was affordable only to a handful of people in his town. This was the scene 75 years back.
Among many inventions of our modern world, the Internet stands out as an amazing development with its effects on almost ever aspect of social life. The Internet has greatly transformed the world in unimaginable ways, bringing different parts of the world into closer touch with one another than ever before.
The primary, and arguably most noble, intent of the Internet is to assist in mankind’s pursuit of knowledge. The rapidly increasing information source, together with the ability to exchange knowledge faster than ever before is opening a whole new environment for learning and researching. Prior to the Internet, people might spend all day long on finding needed knowledge in a library. Today, with the assistance of the Internet, we can find what we need quickly and conveniently. The resources available in school or local libraries once limited students’ knowledge; nowadays, they are able to access a nearly infinite number of resources via the Internet. Students also have chances to discuss what they have learned, share ideas, and exchange knowledge with other people all over the world by means of interaction through email or forums; and distance is no longer a concern.
Furthermore, the Internet provides people the equity that they do not have in real life. In a face-to-face encounter, people tend to judge others’ characteristics based on their first impression of others’ looks. On the contrary, the Internet helps us to understand a person through their ideas, their very own dispositions, but not the outward aspects. In the real world, many people who are shy rarely speak out and thus do not have opportunities for interaction. Via faceless online interaction, they will feel more confident to contribute their ideas to the public. The Internet has created a virtual world where all people, no matter what their genders, ages, races, or statuses, are welcome to express their opinions, share ideas, and interact with each other.
The Internet has triggered many innovations in many aspects of life. With the Internet, trading, communication, finance, and so on, become more convenient than ever. With just a mouse click, customers can stay home and get their shipments delivered direct to them; emails take seconds to arrive; information flows of finance markets are kept updated. However, just as every aspect of life, the Internet does have some unhealthy sides. Today we sometimes hear about the technology’s impacts on relationships and interpersonal communication. But the fault lies not with the technology itself, but rather with human’s intentions to misuse the facilities that the modern technology has provided them with.
When a person says ” I will get in touch with you soon”, it can mean coming in contact in more than one way. It could be through an email, web conference, text message and easiest of all; a call from his cell phone.
Personal conversations and business conversations are intended for people on each end of the phone - not for a room full of people or those walking along the street, relaxing on a park bench, or waiting in a doctor’s office. Nor should these conversations be inflicted on people relieving themselves in a public bathroom, enjoying a cup of tea in a restaurant, or deciding which bottle of juice or which shirt to buy inside a store, or locked in an elevator with no escape.
When did we get so promiscuous with our personal and business information that we spew it about? If there is no problem about privacy for the speaker, how about privacy for the unwitting listeners? How can telephone talkers not feel the publicness of their conversations? Perhaps they invent a bubble around themselves; they are so engrossed in their conversation they aren’t aware of others. Maybe they believe themselves to be invisible to others.
In the past one week, I’ve been working on this essay and it made me more observant about people and the way they communicate. While walking to school I saw a man roller-skating while talking on the phone. Two days later later, I saw a woman spinning her wheel chair with a phone to her ear; later, a man was walking his dog and talking on the phone. I was struck by how extraordinary were the situations in which this new invention - the cell phone - was being used. That gave me a brain storm: to mark the turn of a new century, someone should publish a photography book showing how cell phones were invading our world and shaping a new life style.
Cell phones do make life easier; all calls can be received wherever you are, and no matter how busy you are, you can keep in touch with clients, family, and friends. How can one complain about technology that does that? The benefit of this technology should be to free up time, assured that no call will go unreceived, and all calls can be returned at the most convenient time. But, rather than turn off the phones when occupied, people keep them on at all times. They are never free. In effect, cell phones now burden, not free people.
You can’t stop progress. Cell phones are with us; they are an integral part of our lives. My complaint is not about their existence; they can be helpful. My complaint isn’t even about the danger of talking while driving. My complaint is that in addition to helping people keep in touch, cell phones interfere with personal relationships, pushing people away. It’s wonderful to be able to call your honey from wherever you are (although lovers certainly have found ways to do that long before cell phones). But how often have you seen fiends walking down the street - with one talking on the phone? Or, families at a restaurant or social event, with everyone chatting but the father (or mother) separated by the cell? What is intended as a together activity gets interrupted when one of the people “goes away” via the cell phone.
This technology is now used to undermine relationships. There was a time when this issue would have been related to gender; women generally are more attuned to relationships, so they might have been more sensitive to someone pulling away from them. But women have become as much a victim of the cell phone rudeness and isolation as men. It’s as if there is a status for not just having a cell phone but having it ring while out with others.
A far cry from the novelty of seeing someone on skates or in a wheel chair talking on a phone, there was a movie that again suggests the extraordinary may become ordinary. In Jet Lag,” a woman is in the airport security line talking on her phone. In mid-sentence, she puts the phone on the conveyor belt, walks through the screening, picks up the phone on the other side and resumes her conversation - without missing a beat. The really best part though, is when she’s on the toilet talking. She goes to flush, drops the phone, and watches in horror as it swirls down the drain.
I’m glad she was using her best friend to help with her crisis of the moment, but I applaud the flushing, feeling the relief of women in the other stalls; they could now sit in peace. Maybe I’m wrong, though. Maybe cell phones can bring people together since she then borrowed one from a stranger at the airport that ended up as her husband.
Instead of driving people apart, mobile phones and the net are helping them maintain social ties, says an article from BBC News network called “Hi-tech bring families together”. It was found that traditional so-called “nuclear” families were more likely to have more hi-tech gadgetry in their home than almost any other group it measured. Multiple mobile phones were found in 89% of nuclear families and 66% had a high-speed net connection. The US national average for broadband is 52%. It also found that 58% of these types of families were likely to have more than two computers in the home.
This led to 53% of those questioned saying that new technologies had increased the quality of their contact with distant family members, while 47% said it improved interaction with those they live with. The growing use of cell phones, computers and the net meant that families no longer gathered round the TV for shared experiences but this did not mean, said the report that these communal times had vanished. Instead it found that 52% of net users who live with their spouse and have children go online in the company of someone else several times a week. For many, greater use of the net came at the expense of TV watching, with 25% saying they now spent less time watching television. Only 58% of 18-29 year olds said they watched TV every day.
Going by the saying “ Every coin as two sides; revolution in communication technology has good and bad shades to it. In the case of people living oceans apart, technology brings people closer; and in the case of people who live closer, technology drives people them apart. No matter how quick and efficient modern communication means are becoming; they can never stand as a replacement to in-person meeting.
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4. 03.
Venkata Ganti( Vish )
CA-514
Altman
3rd Mar 2009
It is a tough decision to take sides in a situation like the one in the city of Palo Santo. As a well educated resident of this city, it is my responsibility to protect the environment and also be part of a decision which is for a good cause. Before choosing to oppose or support the decision to impose ban on leaf blowers I feel it’s critical to consider the advantages and disadvantages of using them. Few days back I read an article in a local news paper about the effects caused by leaf blowers to us and to the environment we live in. This article has influenced my decision to go against the banning leaf blowers.
Health and well being of civilians is always one of the top priorities of authorities and governing bodies. The news article sheds light on the ways in which leaf blowers pollute the air. The air that gushes out of the leaf blowers disturbs leaves, dust, pollen and other allergens which usually settle down on the ground. Blowing of these substances will allow mixing with the surrounding air. Since the dust particles are heavier than air; all the disturbed particles which are suspended in the air will settle down slowly but it might take several hours or a day for the whole process. People who breathe the air which composes of allergens and dust are exposed to the risk of severe respiratory illness and allergies. If the leaf blowing work is undertaken at that time of a day when there is least number of people on the street would help prevent a lot of people from being exposed to pollen and dust mixed air.
A researcher claimed that one inefficient engine can cause as much air pollution as 80 cars. The exact data and conditions in which the study has been done should have been published by the researcher to keep things more transparent. Just by general observation one can say that the frequency of usage of cars is far higher than the usage of leaf blowers. In most communities leaf blowing is done twice or thrice a week depending on the street conditions. The number of leaf blowers used would also be far lesser compared to the number of cars that might be in that area. Although this cannot be generalized to all neighborhoods’, but this would be the case in most places. As per the news article, the number of cases of death reported due to respiratory illnesses has gone up by 40%. Leaf blowers might be one of the causes but not the only cause for causing respiratory illness. So it’s not justified to state that the number of cases of respiratory illness have gone up only cause of using the gas-powered leaf blowers.
When a relative comparison is done between hours of usage, number of cars, the frequency of usage of cars and the hours of operation of leaf blowers, number of leaf blowers and the frequency of their usage a fair idea can be established. This would help us in understanding how much air pollution these leaf blowers cause by burning gas or other fossil fuels.
Just as cars and automobiles are issued a fitness certificate after conducting smog test to check the emission levels of the engine; the same has to be implemented in the case of leaf blowers as well. If the engines do not meet the emission standards then the cleaning agencies have to upgrade to models which are more efficient and emit lesser quantities of ozone depleting gases like Carbon Dioxide. Even better would be to spend a little more money and purchase electric powered leaf blowers which are much more “greener” and cause less damage to the atmosphere. Cleaning agencies have raised questions on the cost effectiveness and efficiency of the electric powered leaf blowers but I strongly fee that health of the residents and environmental friendliness should never be traded off for efficiency.
The data provided by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASAHA) about the noise levels at which leaf blowers in Palo Santo are operated shocked me. Waking up to the disturbing loud noise of a leaf blower or a lawn mower is the last thing I would like to start my day with. Especially on a Sunday morning when everyone wants to lazy around and wake up late, these noisy leaf blowers can get very annoying. Unfortunately, I have faced this problem ever since I’ve been a resident of Palo Santo. The electric-powered leaf blowers might be the answer to this issue. Various models are available in the market today which cause almost half the noise pollution as the gas powered models and are 5 times more environmental friendly. Although the cleaning agencies say that these are harder to use than the gas-powered models due to the heavy weight, they are failing to use simple technology of having wheeled carts to avoid carrying heavy loads on the back. This would make the operator’s job much easier and he just needs to push the cart to move the leaf blower engine much like the electric vacuum cleaners used in our houses. Also, I strongly feel more efforts need to be put in finding vacuum cleaner like devices which can suck in leaves and dust particles on the street. This would help in preventing air pollution and thereby reduces the risk of respiratory illnesses.
I strongly feel that Palo Santo’s governing organizations need to be provided with incentive packages to lower the cost of the electric-powered leaf blowers to attract cleaning agencies to upgrade their leaf blower machines. More than the public, it’s these agencies which need to be educated about damages their leaf blowing activities are causing to the people living in the city as well as to the environment. Instead of investing time in formulating new laws to penalize those who violate the terms of usage of gas-powered leaf blowers, I strongly feel that city officials needs to request special grants from State and Federal Governments to implement a new strategy of giving financial incentive to the companies which upgrade their leaf blowers to new hi-tech ones by lowering the cost of devices. This way, the city official will have control on what kind of devices are being purchased and keep a check on device sound and air pollution levels. Finally I feel the problem is more about the leaf blowers than about leaf blowing process itself. Hence banning of leaf blowers is not a wise act, and I stand against banning them.
12. 02.
Venkata Ganti( Vish )
CA-514
Altman
10th Feb 2009
I came to the US in August 2008. In the first few months that I lived here in San Francisco, I met a lot of new people from various countries and cultures. Involving in discussions with so many people gave boost to my confidence as I realized I could communicate without hesitation or fear. I was asked by few people about the reason behind me having such good English. When I told them that English was the primary language of instruction in India and that all through my schooling years, I studied everything in English; people reacted with awe and surprise. That’s when I realized that most people are not aware that English is a primary language of communication and instruction in India. There were so many sources where I learnt spoken and written English.
The word ‘communication’ reminds me of what my mother told me when I was at high school. I lived at home with both my parents while my sister used to live at my grandmother’s house. This made me feel like I was the only child and grew up as a lonely child. I wasn’t getting the right exposure I needed to develop my ability to communicate with others especially in English. When I was about two years old, one of my uncle named Ravi, told my mother that I can never speak good English. For whatever reason he said this, she was very upset and decided to send me to the best school in my city. My mother tutored me for the admission test at The Hyderabad Public School (HPS). I did pretty good on the test was admitted into 1st grade at HPS. This is where my exposure to high society and good English education began.
My uncle’s words and my mother’s decision to put me in a good school makes my belief in the old saying “whatever happens, happens for our own good” stronger. I was being taught by some of the best teachers in the country. At school, we had regular exercise for spellings and grammar. As a kid, I felt spelling bees and dictation tests only led to my embarrassment in class as I was not good with spellings. I was a very confused with the spelling of ‘grammar’. Initially I used to misspell it as ‘grammer’. With a lot of practice and help from teachers, I was able to overcome the problem of spellings.
One thing I loved about school and really miss now is the library classes. We had a separate class for library where we could borrow books and return them the following week. I was too young to choose a book and my librarian suggested that I read books related to Greek Mythology. I enjoyed reading all those small tales from Greece. It helped me learn new words and know about the world outside my country. As I progressed to middle school I was introduced to a special course which involved comprehension reading and composition writing. I had this course and its advanced levels all through middle and high school. This helped me develop my writing skills in a big way. Also computers and internet was gaining popularity. I began reading about science and technology on the internet and on the digital encyclopedia CD. I was told by one of my teachers that if you think that you know much more than the person sitting beside you, it gives you a sense of confidence. If you’re lucky that other person might not really know anything. But if he does, then you might have trouble dealing with his questions.
In the later years of my education I studied Electronics Engineering. This was the time I got exposure to Technical English. I learnt new terminology which is basics for an electronic engineering to know, like drift current and thermal power induction. These words seemed fascinating to me as I was learning a whole new of world engineering in which I was planning to make my career. The course work involved publishing papers, writing journal papers and project reports. There was a standardized writing format defined by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) which had to be followed by all engineering for any official publications. In my sophomore year of Engineering, I began working in a call center. I used to work as a technical support agent for a US based popular Internet service provider. I had to help customers with technical issues which they encounter while connecting to the internet and to troubleshoot the problems accordingly. Since the customers were US based, talking with them in a professional, clear and understandable manner was very important. I was trained by Voice coaches from the US so that we can understand few terms which are commonly used in US and rarely in India. For example Indians says a tire puncture which means a Flat tire in American English. Another phrase which I commonly used was opening a webpage. Americans refer to it as pulling up a webpage. By working in the call center, I had a chance to talk to people from various parts of the US learn most of the commonly used phraseology. Along with talking I had to document the call details. This way my spoken and written skills have improved to a great extent.
In the senior year of Engineering, I had to plan on what I was going to do after graduating. I decided to purse my masters in the United States. Identifying the requirements for admissions in US Universities, I began preparing for Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Both these exams test the ability of a person to read, analyze and write English. Apart from these sections, TOEFL had a special section to test speaking ability and I aced it. I attended training on English at Princeton Review to get help with analytical and essay writing.
All through these years, I realized that to do well in English, it’s important to develop a skill to think in English there by making it a natural language which a mind thinks and analyzes things. The transition of my mind to think in English from my mother tongue was gradual but significant. ¬ Learning English from all these sources have been a wonderful experience yet I feel there is a lot more to learn.
