Tech2 English for ICT

So what does ‘Enter’ signify?

• Opportunity to reflect before commitment
• Confirmation
• Transmission of  instruction

It’s like language – with your English you have the opportunity to think and prepare what you are about to say (or to write), then to reflect, change and amend until you are happy with it, then to speak and /or write.

That is what we are going to be addressing in this class: a process with which you are already infinitely familiar in your chosen area of expertise.   Of course, the First Law of Computing still applies: ‘Garbage in –> Garbage out!’ .

However, we will be trying to work together on the English that you do already have (many of you very good levels of English for non-specialists).

My aim will be to help you to improve from whatever level or base you are currently at.  Although, of course, I will help you with your precision and correct you where I can, this course is first and foremost about TWO things:

1. Confidence

2. Clarity

You will hear me speak French and make a mess of a tense, a gender agreement or make some grammatical faux pas, and I am not afraid of that, as long as I can make you understand clearly what I mean.  Usually respect rules the day: the one who is being spoken to in his own language is only too pleased to be sympathetic towards someone working in his second or third language. That respect sees past errors to the core of the matter at hand: ‘Is it clear?  Have I correctly understood?’.   I am going to try to build up your confidence to use the English that you do have in some simple, every-day contexts and we will do this together by:

• building your industry-specific vocabulary,
• helping you with structuring your thoughts and ideas simply and clearly,
• giving you opportunity to try out and enhance your skills in common industry situations
• giving you constructive feedback

Yes, this may mean that you know you are not going to get it all 100% perfect 100% of the time [but then if it needed to be so you would seek out a native English-speaker or secure the services of a translator!].  I am interested in you being good enough: to have the confidence to speak or to write knowing you may be making some mistakes but also being confident that you are being clearly understood.

Our first session together will entail some of the following elements … some we may carry over to future weeks or to assignments or ‘homework’.

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1. ME: About Tony.  [see webpage profile]

• background
• career
• ICT expertise
• Tonyversity
• Contacting me
• Questions

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2. YOU: Exercise A.

Produce a profile of yourself to go on the website of your first post Tech2 employer.

• Your first post-Tech 2 employer asks each new recruit to produce a personal profile of up to 300 words to place on their website / use in their newsletter:
  • On your own: produce a draft of this document  (10 / 15 minutes)
  • Work with a colleague (i.e. in pairs) to improve/correct/develop the content.
  • Produce a written version in English.
  • Consider how you might also present yourself orally based on this information (Present does not mean ‘read’ remember!)
  • Present yourself to the rest of the class based upon the above.

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3. ME: Being In Business. Where does Technology fit in?

4. YOU: Exercise B.

Technological Innovations

In groups of three or four:

• consider past innovations brought about by new technologies:
  • what effects did they have?
  • what changes did they bring about?
  • was it easy for businesses and consumers to adopt the new technologies?
    • if not – why not?
• Consider current ICT research work and its implications:
  • what sort of innovations are set to emerge from these labs?
• • what sort of opportunities and threats might they bring about for existing businesses?
  • how will they affect consumers?
• Be prepared to present and discuss with the group as a whole your findings both in Word / Powerpoint or HTML format and orally (All team members must speak).

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5. ME: Technologies, the Internet and Tourism. Case studies / summary.

• The Tourism industry’s stock in trade is largely data / information which needs to be communicated over distance.  Technology can transform (and even replace) tourism products and services and the way they are designed, developed & delivered.  ICT innovations and applications can create new markets and change the nature of competition and the structure of the industry.  However, the industry is not always that ‘good’ at understanding and adopting new technologies…. it is sometimes easier for ICT corporations to develop Tourism capability than it is for Tourism organisations to adopt new ICT.

• Q FOR YOU.  What ICT developments do you see as likely to have impacts upon and implications for Tourism in the future?  Plenary Discussion.

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6. YOU. Exercise C. 

The impact of Technology upon Recruitment and Selection.

• ICT is having a dramatic effect upon traditional ways of recruiting and selecting (R & S) employees:
  • what sort of technologies are now being employed in R & S (are are set to be used in the near future)?
  • How are the R & S processes and systems actually changing?
  • What does this mean to YOU when it comes to seeking employment and applying for a post? – What will you have to do differently as a result?
  • Some broader contextual material TJ