Advice from an Asian student
Yang was one of my students who graduated three years ago and now working at Facebook. He shares his experience as a foreign student in the U.S with our current students:
“When I was a college student in China, I knew many students who did not care about learning English. They preferred to read books that have been translated into Chinese rather than reading the original books in English. Many used “localized” software in Chinese language and read technical news from local newspapers. There is nothing wrong with that, if they stay and work in China. However many of them want to go to graduate schools in the U.S. and hope to get a job there. During the last year in college, they all took “special trainings” just to pass the TOEFL and the GRE tests. They knew that to get accepted to a good school, they must have high scores so instead of developing the needed skills, they learned how to pass tests by memorize test answers to get high scores. It is easy to buy “Test answers” for any types of test as most are available in “special” market. The sad fact was after getting accepted to U.S schools, many struggled because of their language deficiency. Several had to repeat classes and had low grades. Because of their low grades, they had difficulty to find job and their future were shattered.”
“The best way to learn a foreign language is to read books in that language. It is not easy at first but if you try, you will see that your language skill improve a lot after just a few months. As a software engineering student, I read all technical books in English. It is easier to read technical books than others because after you master a number of technical terminologies, the rest is easy. The issue with translated books is many translators do not have good understanding of the technical subject in order to do a good translation. A wrong translation could “misguide” you and lead you to confusion and frustration. It usually takes a long time before a translation is complete, by the time you get translated textbooks, something may already changes. For example, when my friends are reading the translation of the “Fundamental of Software Engineering” first edition, I am reading the same book in the second edition where many chapters have been updated. Technology changes fast and what you read maybe obsoleted already. In the second edition, there are three new chapters about Enterprise architecture, Agile development, and Security framework but the first edition does not have.”
“Even today, many students are still learning about industry and technical trends from local newspapers. Newspapers provide news to the general public so they do not have much in depth about technical news; most of them are full of advertising for products such as the latest mobile phone, the new laptops and only general news about certain technologies. To follow technical trends, you must read technical magazines and articles but most of them are published in the U.S. or Europe which means you must know English to read them. That is why most students do not read them and therefore do not know what is happening in the industry or global job market. Without this vital information, they do not know which technologies are needed, which skills are in high demand to plan for their future. My advice is if you want to build a technical career, you must constantly read technical articles to broaden your knowledge; you must follow industry trends and learn as much as you can. The world is full of opportunities if you know how to seize them.”
“Be able to read and write in English is only the basic but be able to express yourself in English is different. If you speak eloquently, you can impress others who judge you about your skills and expertise, especially people who want to hire you. This is very important but few students pay attention. In every U.S. College there are many foreign students who often form “close groups” based on nationality and speak their own languages. Even they stay in the U.S. for many years but few speak good English and that is why many are having difficulty in their job interviews. Have you ever ask what will happen if you cannot find a job after graduate? Even you have a degree and skills but who will hire you if you cannot speak English well?”
“Today people do not work in isolation but always in team. Team members meet every day to discuss works, share information, or support each other on their assignments etc. Without good verbal English, how do you communicating with them? You cannot have teamwork if you cannot talk to each other. You cannot contribute to the team if you cannot express yourself clearly. That is why many foreign workers are treated like “junior developers” who can only work on basic things such as testing, coding but never get promoted to designers, architects, team leaders or become manager. Although they are capable of doing those works but because they cannot communicate well, they cannot move up. As I work in the industry, I see many people like that and that is the fact.”
When Professor Vu asked me to share my experience with his class, I decided to write to people who are foreign students like me. My message is simple: “If you want to go to school in the U.S. you need to improve your English. If you want to gain experience by working in an U.S company, you need to improve your English. If you are planning for your career, you must read technical magazines, technical blogs, and technical websites. You need to have all the information possible to prepare for your career and plan for your future only by being prepared, you will achieve your goals. Since it takes several years to master language, you must start NOW.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
