interesting. The project is an essay written by a woman born in China. What I find interesting is that it will be graded by a woman who was born in Korea. It's one of those classes that makes me thank my lucky stars I don't need the lower-level degree... "The culturally sensitive society". Blea. What is interesting though, is the perspective. My friend seems to think she is more likely to be hired as a scientist, and less likely to be hired for anything else. Language is probably a factor in this, but I am talking about her perceptions here. Her professor also has a heavy accent.
> > I am helping a friend with something. I would appreciate hearing > what > > comes to mind when people think of Asians, Asian-Americans and > > specifically Chinese or Korean women. There are no correct answers > > here, nor will I be showing the answers to anyone. I am just > > interested in seeing how she I comes. > > The first thing I think of is a social quietness or reticence, even in > business settings. I see it more with Asian women just coming to the U. > S., but it seems to wear off over time. > > > Part two: You have two applicants for a position that involves > cutting > > edge knowledge of science, let's say, as well as coding ability. > Both > > are female, have a PhD and are otherwise similarly qualified. One is > > > Asian, one is white. Do the latter factors matter and if so how? > > I don't think it matters. > > > Part three: as above but the position is purely clerical. Both women > > > have appropriate and very similar qualifications. Again, does > > ethnicity matter and how? > > Again, doesn't matter. > > > If you answered yes to one of the above questions, would it make a > > difference whether the Asian candidate was an immigrant who had a > good > > grasp of the language, but had a heavy accent, vs being born in the > US > > and having speech patterns very similar to yours? Of course fluency > > > matters, but enough to change your reaction in the above situations, > > > and if so how? > > Language matters because communication matters. Having said that, I > have hired Asian men and women with significant accents and > communications challenges. I try to judge who will be the best at > their job. If verbal communication is a significant part of the job, > then a person's speaking skills become an important criteria in > weighing their potential for success. The thing I advise any > non-native english speaker is the same thing I have done in learning > foreign languages. Get an expert native speaker to teach you cadence, > intonation, speech pattern, local idioms- anything to improve your > abilities. > > I don't necessarily advocate mimicking a local accent completely. A > slightly different accent can come off as worldly and sophisticated, > as long as it sounds polished. For young people just coming to the > country, especially engineers who may not have top-notch communication > skills to begin with, I recommend finding a local college and taking > speech classes through the drama department. It's a big committment, > but for someone who wants to get ahead, it's a great investment in > time and effort. Some Indian firms are doing this with employees who > work help desks. The Chinese by reputation have the toughest time with > this aspect of english. > > Sorry for the long answer but the subject is really interesting and > apropos for my business. > > > thanks for any answers. Dana ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:198221 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
