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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
English for Information Technology - Essential English Skills for Information Technology
Computer specialists develop and maintain the computer equipment and software programs that form the basis of the Internet. They make up the majority of professional and related occupations, and account for about 34 percent of the industry as a whole. Computer programmers write, test, and customize the detailed instructions, called programs or software, that computers follow to perform various functions such as connecting to the Internet or displaying a Web page. Using programming languages such as C++ or Java, they break down tasks into a logical series of simple commands for the computer to implement.
Computer software engineers analyze user needs to formulate software specifications, and then design, develop, test, and evaluate programs to meet these requirements. While computer software engineers must possess strong programming skills, they generally focus on developing programs, which are then coded by computer programmers.
Computer systems analysts develop customized computer systems and networks for clients. They work with organizations to solve problems by designing or tailoring systems to meet unique requirements and then implementing these systems. By customizing systems to specific tasks, they help their clients maximize the benefit from investment in hardware, software, and other resources.
Computer support specialists provide technical assistance to users who experience computer problems. They may provide support either to customers or to other employees within their own organization. Using automated diagnostic programs and their own technical knowledge, they analyze and solve problems with hardware, software, and systems. In this industry, they connect with users primarily through telephone calls and e-mail messages.
Essential English for Information Technology
List of the Top 200 Information Technology Vocabulary
Speak about development needs using modals
Examples:
Our portal needs an SQL backend.
The landing page should inlude blog posts and an RSS feed.
Users can access use the tag cloud to find content.There must have been a bug in the software.
We can't have used that platform.
They might test our product if we ask.Speak about hypotheses (if / then)
Examples:
If the zipcode textbox is required for registration, users outside the US won't be able to join.
If we used C++ to code this project, we would have to hire some developers.
Our UI would have been much more simple if we had used Ajax.Examples:
There a lot of bugs in this code.
How much time will it take to ramp up this project?
Our client has a few comments about our mockup.Distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns
Examples:
Information (uncountable)
Silicon (uncountable)
Chips (countable)Examples:
Click on 'file' -> 'open' and choose your file.
Insert your user ID and password.
Create your user profile.Write business (letters) e-mails to clients
Examples:
Writing e-mails
Writing memos
Writing reportsExplain past causes for current situations
Examples:
The software had been installed incorrectly, so we reinstalled in order to proceed.
We were developing the code base when we were put on the new project.
The legacy software had been in place for five years before the new solution was designed.Examples:
Which error message do you see?
How often do you need to reboot?
Which software were you using when the computer screen froze?Examples:
What don't you install a new driver?
Let's create a wireframe before we go any further.
How about creating a custom table for that task?Information Technology Related Dialogues and Reading
Hooking Up My Computer
Hardware Deductions
Social Networking SitesInformation technology job description provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Friday, December 9, 2011
Interactive English
Interactive Exercises in English is good for intermediate and advance learners of English. The exercises offer a lot of practice on the use of idioms and expressions.
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Monday, December 5, 2011
The Funny Grammar Guide to Misused Words | Oxbridge Editing Blog
No matter how many spellings you learn, punctuation rules you master and grammar guides you read, it is still easy to make mistakes by using the wrong word, especially in cases where two words look or sound very similar. This is a particularly common problem due to the modern computer spelling and grammar check, which will pick up spelling errors and missing punctuation, but will not be able to detect that you have used the wrong word in a sentence.
Commonly confused words are often homophones (words that are spelled differently but sound the same) or just complex words with similar spellings. Often writers can be concentrating so hard on remembering how to spell a word correctly that they completely fail to notice that it isn’t the right word to use! We’ve chosen some commonly confused word groups and some funny, misspelled signs to help you avoid making the same mistakes in your own writing.
By, buy, bye and bi
This is a typical group of homophones – the words all sound the same but have completely different uses in the English language. They are commonly confused, as you can see from this embarrassing used-car company sign.
Just remember: by means next to, or may be used to describe how something is done.
For example: The cat is sitting by the fire. Or, turn on the television by pressing the green button.
Buy is a verb, meaning to purchase something.
For example: I am going to buy some chicken for dinner.
Bye is an abbreviation of the word ‘goodbye’, used when bidding somebody farewell.
For example: “Bye!” shouted Peter, as he ran down the drive.
Bi is a prefix added to some words to imply the sense of half or of a pair– much in the same way as the prefix ‘semi’.
For example: The festival takes place biannually.
There, their and they’re
This is perhaps the number one most commonly confused group of homophones, because all three words are used extremely frequently in the English language.
There is the trickiest one to remember, as it has two meanings: it might denote place, or can be used in the phrases ‘there is’ and ‘there are’.
For example: The shop is over there. Or, are there any apples left?
Their is used to denote plural ownership.
For example: They are doing their homework, at their house.
They’re is an abbreviation of the phrase ‘they are’, and can only be used in this context.
For example: They’re going swimming because they’re bored.
Other commonly misused word pairs
Look out for these other frequently misused word pairs and take extra care when writing them to make sure you have chosen the right word!
- Your (belonging to you) and you’re (you are).
- Accept (to take) and except (apart from).
- Affect (verb) and effect (noun).
- Cite (to refer to), site (location) and sight (vision).
- Desert (e.g. Sahara) and dessert (e.g. bannoffee pie!).
- Its (belonging to it) and it’s (it is).
- Practise (verb) and practice (noun).
- Stationary (still) and stationery (office supplies).
- Who’s (who is) and whose (belonging to who).
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
English Contractions - How to Use Contractions
Using Contractions
In everyday spoken English forms of the verb 'to be' and other auxiliary verbs are usually contracted:
Example: He's been to London, They aren't our neighbors
Here is a chart of when to use the most common contractions in English.
Auxiliary Form Contractions With Pronouns Contractions With Nouns Contractions With Question Words am I'm working this morning. - What'm I supposed to say? (common only in spoken English) is He's going to come. - She's a teacher. - It's easy! John's at work. - Mary's playing the piano at the moment. Who's on the telephone? - What's he doing? are You're a great friend! - They're playing golf this afternoon. The books're on their way. (common only in spoken English) What're you going to do? has He's been to Paris twice. - It's been such a long time! - She's lived there all her life. Mary's gone to the store. What's she been doing? - Who's been invited? have I've finished my homework. - They've got two cars. The students've finished their homework. (common only in spoken English) Where've you been all day? (common only in spoken English) had He'd been waiting for three hours. - We'd better be going. Jack'd worked there before he left. (common only in spoken English) What'd you done before that? (common only in spoken English) will I'll get you something to eat. - We'll be there soon. Peter'll catch the bus to work. What'll we do? Where'll you take us? would I'd like some fish. They'd love to ask you some questions. Jane'd love to come. Where'd you like to go? (common only in spoken English) Ads
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Rule: Do not use the contracted form of the auxiliary in formal writing
Example: Dear Mr Brown,
I would like to invite you to our company presentation ...
NOT!!: Dear Mr Brown,
I'd like to invite you to our company presentation ...
More Grammar Help
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Friday, November 4, 2011
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