Conversational topic: The role of foreign language in my future profession

UNIT III CHOOSING A CAREER

Conversational topic: My future profession

Finishing school is the beginning of an independent life for millions of school-leavers. It is the beginning of a far more serious examination of your knowledge, abilities and character. We usually say that all roads are open before our school-leavers: vocational and technical schools, institutes and universities. But actually it is difficult to make up one’s mind and choose one of the hundreds of jobs. While at school everybody changed his mind a lot of times and couldn’t decide which science or field of industry to specialize in.

At schools there are industrial centers that are supposed to help in choosing a job. Teachers and parents also advise pupils, but still very few of them take a clear-cut view of what they want to do. Generally pupils are not realistic in thinking about jobs. They have dreams of playing football for some big clubs, or becoming pop stars, or heart transplant surgeons or international experts of some kind. Teachers and parents try to channel that enthusiasm into something more realistic, to get the pupils away from their fantasy level without knocking the dream completely. But often it doesn’t work and school-leavers get disappointed in life.

While choosing a job many factors should be taken into consideration: wages and salaries, job-satisfaction, opportunities to travel and to see much, etc. It’s common knowledge that among all professions engineering is one of the most ancient occupations in history. The principal work of the engineer is design. He has to design machines, structures, equipment, products, etc. The engineer must combine many of the characteristics of the scientist, research engineer and technologist; he must preserve and enrich the best traditions of national and foreign engineering. Such work requires creative ability and knowledge of scientific principles. The engineer must also have an understanding of the various properties and available materials. They must keep up with changes in their profession.

After finishing the university everyone becomes an applicant for a particular job. It is necessary to keep in mind that every applicant is very closely inspected, so a good business suit will be the right thing to wear. All the clothes won’t be scruffy or casual, but well pressed and in a good taste. The applicant must not fiddle with his hair or chew his nails as it can be very off-putting and only highlight his nervousness. The applicant should smile pleasantly and shake a hand firmly looking straight into the eyes of his interviewer. Psychologists also say that an applicant’s posture is relevant, so the applicant should lean forward and not slouch back to show interest and willingness.

The applicant must present his Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume, which is expected to be handwritten. A CV is a documentary record of your education, qualifications and employment history. It is like an outline with information about yourself written under particular headings: name; address; e-mail; homepage; phone; nationality; date of birth; marital status; education; work experience; military service; languages; hobbies; areas of knowledge and experience. The information is written in phrases that tell something about what you are interested in, what a kind of job you are looking for, and what a kind of work experience the applicant has. It is also a lot more. When applying for any kind of job any applicant is trying to sell his skills to the employer. Spending a little time getting your CV right is therefore well worth the effort involved.

Words to remember

available [ә'veilәbl] – доступный, имеющийся в распоряжении;

to channel [tә tʃænәl] – направлять;

clear-cut view [kliә kʌt vju:] – четкий, ясный взгляд;

curriculum vitae [kә'rikjulәm vi:tai] – краткая биография;

effort ['efәt] – усилие, попытка, достижение;

to enrich [tә in'ritʃ] – обогащать, улучшать;

to fiddle with [tә fidl wið] – вертеть, накручивать;

to get disappointed [tәget disә'pɔintid] – разочаровываться, расстраиваться;

heading [hediη] – заголовок;

to highlight [tә 'hailait] – подчеркивать;

to involve [tә invɔlv] – вовлекать, включать;

to lean forward [tә li:n fɔ:wәd] – наклоняться вперед;

to make up one’s mind [tә meik wʌnz maind] – решить;

nervousness ['nә:vәsnis] – нервозность;

occupation [ɔkju'peiʃn] – занятие;

off-putting [ɔfputiη] – отталкивающий, вызывающий отвращение;

posture [pɔstʃә] – осанка;

relevant ['relәvәnt] – уместный, относящийся к делу;

resume [ri'zju:m] – резюме;

salary [sælәri] – жалованье, оклад;

scruffy [skә:fi] – покрытый перхотью;

surgeon [sә:dƺәn] – хирург;

vocational school [vәu'keiʃnәl sku:l] – профтехучилище;

be well pressed [bi wel presәt] – быть хорошо отглаженным;

willingness [wiliηnәs] – готовность;

worth [wә:ө] – стоящий, заслуживающий

Exercises

1.Answer the following questions.

1) Is there a great variety of jobs in our country?

2) Can our young people choose any profession they like?

3) Is it easy to choose a profession?

4) What profession can you get at the University?

5) When did you decide to become an engineer?

6) Who helped you to make your choice?

7) Do you know much about your future profession?

8) What quality must a good engineer possess?

9) Why do the employers closely inspect an applicant?

10) How must an applicant look like?

11) Is it necessary to have good Curriculum Vitae?

12) What points should a resume include?

2.Discuss with your friend the following points.

1) What professions he knows; what professions he likes most of all; what his father’s (mother’s, sister’s, etc.) profession is; what he will do if he doesn’t enter the institute or university.

2) Why he has chosen this profession; why he doesn’t want to be a doctor or teacher; why he didn’t enter the university last year.

3) Who influenced the choice of his profession; who his favourite engineer is; who his favourite teachers of speciality are.

4) Whether he knows much of his profession; whether he knows about the difficulties of his future profession; whether his parents are satisfied with his choice.

3.What do you think? Give the reason for your opinion.

1. You should learn much to become a skilled engineer.

2. Every applicant for a good job is closely inspected.

3. Many young people fail to achieve the first impression of an employer.

4. Most people are motivated by wages and work satisfaction.

5. It’s no use to write good Curriculum Vitae.

4.Comment on the following quotations.

«Sweet is the fruit of labour». John Clarke.

«When work is pleasure, life is joy. When work is a duty, life is slavery». Maxim Gorky.

«It’s no work, if you love what you’re doing». Steve Sears.

5.Write your Curriculum Vitae. The following notes will help you to do it.

Start writing Curriculum Vitae with an outline of what makes you a good employee and what the employer in the field of your interests want.

Then write a rough draft of your CV. Keep it brief – but be sensible. 2 to 4 sides are usually best. Write in the first person. Stick to the point. An employer wants to identify your key skills and experiences by glancing at your CV. If it is hard work to get this information you will be passed over. Give maximum coverage to your most recent experience or the relevant skills for the job you’re after. Don’t leave gaps! Employers are suspicious of unexplained gaps in the timeline of a CV. If you took a year off to go traveling or were forced not to work because of the commitments, then say so. Review your CV. Be critical!

Finally, double-check your CV. Ensure that it is spelled and punctuated correctly. This is a serious business document and could make the difference!

Conversational topic: The role of foreign language in my future profession

Language is the means of communication. The most common way of expressing an idea for people is to say out loud. Language enables people to understand each other. At the same moment language can be a major barrier to understanding because there are thousands of different languages on our planet. From the earliest time, with the development of trade and exchange of ideas and techniques people saw the necessity of learning foreign languages.

A language that is used as means of communication by people of different nations is called international. International language helps people of different nations to understand each other. Different epochs had different international languages. As a rule the existence of the language as an international one is determined by political, cultural and economic development of the country which language is spoken as international.

The leadership of English in the modern world can be explained by numerous factors. Over 300 million people who live in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America speak English is as native tongue. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, the South African Republic. It is also the second official language used in the former British and U.S. colonies. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organizations. It is the language of literature, education, modern music, international tourism.

Previously the reason for learning any foreign language was not well defined. Knowledge of foreign languages was regarded as a sign of a well-rounded education, but few had really questioned why it was necessary. The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge. The total knowledge of mankind doubles every seven years. English is needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange. With the acceptance of English as the international language of technology and commerce appears a new generation of people who know why they are learning the language. Many students need English because their course of studies includes textbooks available only in English in order to be able to use Internet, communicate with their partners in other countries, understand films and songs. So, the dominance of English in the contemporary world is explained by the appearance of lots of people who want to learn English not for pleasure or prestige but because English has become the key to the international scientific, technological and commercial innovations of today.

As far as Russia is integrating into the world community, the problem of learning professional and technical English is especially urgent today. Specialists have to know English will help them to solve their professional problems. With the help of foreign language they can also communicate with their colleagues at the conferences, through books and journals or the Internet. Specialists need English for specific purposes. First of all it promotes exchanging experiences with foreign specialists. Knowledge is the power and this power can help us to be familiar with the positive and negative tendencies of engineering technologies, their best using in different conditions in the world of new engineering materials. Secondly, scientists and engineers need knowing a foreign language to keep up with developments in their fields. That is why many young people who begin to think about their future early start learning several languages. For Russian specialists it is good to know not only English, but German and French as well. Undoubtedly, English is number one language that specialists should know.

Words to remember

acceptance [әk'septәns] – принятие, одобрение;

colleague [kɔli:g] – сослуживец, коллега4

contemporary [kәn'tәmpәrәri] – современный;

to enable [i'neibl] – давать возможность;

epoch [i:pɔk] – эпоха, век, эра;

to exchange [iks'tʃeindƺ] – обмениваться, меняться;

explosion [ik'splouƺn] – быстрый рост, вспышка;

to keep up with [tә ki:p ʌp wið] – быть в курсе;

leadership [li:dәʃip] – превосходство;

mean [mi:n] – средство;

prestige [pre'sti:ƺ] – престиж;

previously [pri:viәsli] – ранее;

undoubtedly [ʌn'dautidli] – несомненно, бесспорно;

urgent [ә:dƺәnt] – крайне необходимый

Exercises

1.Find in the text the English equivalents to the following phrases.

1) Средство общения;

2) международный язык;

3) определяться экономическим, политическим и культурным развитием страны;

4) необходимость изучения иностранного языка;

5) преобладание;

6) появление множества людей;

7) ключ к научным и технологическим нововведениям;

8) всеобщее образование;

9) удваивать знания;

10) доступные учебники;

11) интеграция в мировое сообщество;

12) решать профессиональные проблемы.

2.Answer the following questions.

1) When do children start learning foreign languages in Russia?

2) Why do people learn foreign languages in Russia?

3) What language is considered to be the official language of the world?

4) In how many countries is English the official language?

5) Why are foreign languages important for specialists?

6) What kind of foreign language do specialists have to know?

7) Is English an easy language to learn?

8) What do you think is the most difficult about English?

3.What do you think? Give a reason for your opinion.

1. The knowledge of any foreign language opens a set of new horizons and prospects.

2. The English language is one of the most widespread languages in the world.

3. Today people show great interest in learning foreign languages.

4. The English language is the language of international communication in many spheres of our life.

5. The English language plays an important role in my future profession.

4.Imagine that you and your friend are discussing the necessity of learning foreign languages. Ask each other as many questions as possible to underline the importance of this problem and prove your own point of vie. You may use the following phrases to express your emotions.

− Do you really mean it;

− I’m not sure of it;

− it all depends;

− you never can tell;

− no wonder;

− it’s hard to believe;

− good for you;

− right you are;

− far from it;

− I’m afraid you are wrong;

− excuse me, but you are mistaken, etc.