The Lexical Approach And Collocations

The Lexical Approach And Collocations Collocations are words which if combined together, sound right to native English speakers. Eg: Fast food. Any other combination may sound wrong and unnatural. Eg: quick food. Collocations are not words which we put together. They co-occur naturally. Collocation is the way in which words co-occur in natural text in statistically significant ways. (Lewis, Teaching Collocation 2000:132). For Thornbury, collocation is a continuum that moves from compound words (second-hand), through lexical chunks (bits and pieces), including idioms (out of the blue) and phrasal verbs (do up), to collocations of more or less fixedness (set a new world record) (Thornbury S. 2002, How to teach vocabulary, Longman). Collocations have different strengths: Weak and Strong collocations. Weak collocations involve words which can co-occur with many other words. E.g: Red shirt. They can apply the colour red to many other words eg: red car, red door. Strong collocations have words which almost never occur separately such as the collocation: spick and span and rancid butter. There are also Unique collocations e.g, shrug shoulders. These are unique because the verb (shrug) is not used with any other noun. Medium-strength collocations: Hold a conversation, a minor operation. Hill argued that medium-strength collocations are most important for the ESL classroom. (Lewis, M., 2000: 63) Thornbury widens the definition of collocation, saying that collocation is not a frozen relationship and two collocates may even be separated from each other, eg: lay off: The company is laying more workers off. Lewis and other writers divide collocations into two types: grammatical collocation and lexical collocation. (Lewis2000) Grammatical Collocation: Eg: step into In the example above, a verb collocates with a preposition. Therefore grammatical collocations are lexical words such as an adjective, verb or noun (in our case step), which are combined with a grammatical word (preposition into). Lexical Collocation: Eg: black coffee Lexical collocations are items where two lexical words regularly and naturally occur together. Bahns (ELTJ 47/1 1993) stated that although some lexical collocations are quite direct and obvious in their meaning, others are not. In our example, black coffee clearly indicates that there is no milk in the coffee but Bahns states that collocations which are not direct eg: lay off are the ones which cause the most problems to non-native speakers since their meaning are hidden. The importance of collocations in L2 learning: Many agree that collocations are important in language learning. James Carl (1998) stated that using collocations correctly contributes greatly to ones idiomaticity and nativelikeness. 6 Lewis stated that fluency is based on the acquisition of a large store of fixed or semi-fixed prefabricated items. 7 Sonaiya (1988) went even further, saying that lexical errors are more serious because effective communication depends on the choice of words. 8 Collocations, are found in most of what we say, hear, read or write. All of these fixed expressions are stored and memorised; ready to be used when needed. If we want to retrieve these ready-to-use phrases, lexical items must be aqcuired first by being exposed to, hearing and reading them for a number of times. In theory, good quality input might lead to good quality retrieval. This in return will help learners to be more fluent because they can recognise multi-word units rather than word by word. A lexical item, which is any item that functions as a single meaning unit, regardless of its different derived forms, or of the number of words that make it, has an important role in learning a language. (Thornbury, An A-Z of ELT (Oxford: Macmillan, 2006), pg120). The importance of collocations in L2 learning was a concept that the Lexical Approach had proposed. The Lexical Approach and collocations: The lexical approach encourages learners to identify and learn collocations as lexical items rather than individual words. For example: catch a cold, is seen as a single unit of meaning (or multi-word unit) and not as three individual words with three individual meanings. According to Schmidt (CUP,2000), having words in lexical phrases rather than individually, reflects the way the mind stores and chunks language to make it easier to process. The lexical approach influenced the way we perceive lexis, the way we teach it and how we encourage learners to learn it . Vocabulary choice in language, is not haphazard but predictable. Lewis gives an example of drinking, telling us that the speaker may use the verb have. The listener can predict several words which collocate with it: tea, coffee,orange juice etc. But on the other hand, the listener does not predict words like shampoo. 9 One of the beliefs behind the Lexical Approach is that language is not made up of only traditional vocabulary and grammar but prefabricated multi-word chunks. In other words, language consists of grammaticalized lexis and not lexicalized grammar. Rather than having a syllabus which is only grammar based, the lexical approach emphasises that lexis should be at the centre of language learning. The lexical approach posits that an essential part of acquiring language is to comprehend and produce lexical chunks. These chunks help learners to make patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar (Lewis,The Lexical Approach 1993, p. 95). _____________________________________________________________________________________ 6James, Carl. (1998). Errors in language learning and use. London: Longman. 7 Lewis, M. (1997). Implementing the lexical approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications. 8 Sonaiya, C. (1988). The lexicon in second language acquisition: A lexical approach to error analysis. PhD Thesis. Cornell University. 9, 10 Lewis, Michael, Teaching Collocation (Hove: Language Teaching Publications, 2000) pg5 Different types of Collocation: Taken from Howert (1996), Carter(1987) and Mc.Carthy ODell(2005), here are types of collocations: Free Combination The verbs can collocate with many words to form different meanings. Example: make: I will make it clear from the beginning (make something clear) I will make him happy (make happy) In this case, they may consist of modal verbs such as make,do, have, get,take + any type of word. Restricted Combination These collocations are typically nouns, adjectives or verbs which go to together with particular words. Using other words with them make them sound incorrect to the native speaker. (i) Adjective + noun: E.g: Her condition was a major problem. (ii) Adverb + verb: E.g: He cheekily replied: I dont care! (iii) Verb + noun: E.g: Weve decided to move house. (iv) Noun + verb: E.g: The brakes screeched as he tried to stop the car. (v) Noun + noun: Usually these collocations have the pattern a.of E.g: She was holding a #basket of eggs. Delexicalised Verbs: Every language has basic verbs which are frequently used. The English language is no exception and we can find various frequent verbs (Svartvik and Ekedahl 1995) (The Verb in Contemporary English: Theory and Description, CUP 1995): Do Make Have Take Go Get E.g: It is interesting to note that these high frequency verbs in the examples are often used as Delexicalised Verbs. These delexicalised verbs have meaning when combined with other words. In other words de-lexicalised verbs have little meaning alone but if joined together with other words, they can generate a wider variety of new meanings: Eg: do your best make room have lunch take a shower go for a walk get dressed Delexicalised verbs make do What is interesting about these two verbs is that, Mc.Carthy ODell (2005:6) describe these two verbs as everyday verbs and dedicate a whole page on make and do. This clearly shows that they are very high frequency verbs in English and they probably cause a lot of confusion to learners as well! In their books index, both verbs have more than 60 different collocates each. The verbs make and do in fact like many high frequency verbs, enters into numerous collocations and idioms. Language Chunking: Make your bed! is a chunking of two words: Verb+Noun (Make + bed). This delexicalised verb is a language chunk which is a pre-fabricated language item in a formulaic way, which is then stored as a single lexical unit (and not two individual units). By storing as a single lexical unit, it is believed to quicken the mental processing of the speaker when speaking, reading and when acquiring language. The reason why it quickens this mental processing when producing language is because rather than having to connect individual word units together one by one (do and bed), the speaker can retrieve the chunk needed at one go and reduce mental processing time. Language chunking therefore is believed to help language fluency by combining other chunks to create longer ready-to-use phrases. I tend to agree with this core belief of the Lexical Approach because when I give a phrase to learners such as: Make a list of things or Remember to do your homework learners seem to retrieve and use these given ready-to-use phrases correctly to create their own sentences and meanings. Once learners understand the meaning behind the phrase, they store it in their mental lexicon. If used regularly, there is a high possibility it will help fluencycy and reduce mental processing time when speaking. Problems learners have with delexicalised verbs: Although they come naturally to native speakers, collocations formed with delexicalised verbs can be rather tricky. Some of the main problems that low level learners experience are as follows: (go to 11. Coll pg4) (12.Coll pg4) They have never been exposed to or made aware of collocations in their learning experiences. Learners often have problems with these verbs because they try to find a general meaning. They often struggle to find the right collocation, often translating possible equivalents from their own language. E.g: make a photo. Learners find it difficult to memorize collocations because they are arbitrary. Teachers are partly to blame because as Carter and McCarthy point out, vocabulary study has been neglected by linguists, applied linguists and language teachers'(1988: 1). Therefore teachers need to present collocations such as delexicalised verbs to learners to help them become more and more familiar with the different uses of make and do for example. In fact, McCarthy tells us that in vocabulary teaching there is a high importance of collocation (1990:12). The way collocation teaching is neglected in ESL classroom and the insufficient input of the target language may be a reason why learners lack a knowledge of collocation. One reason why teachers do not give such importance to collocation is because they feel safer when they teach grammar because they feel they know the rules and can explain them. Collocations are arbitrary and this leads us to the second problem: Collocations are arbitrary and are decided by convention instead of rules. Many learners have been exposed to learning languages in a systematic way i.e there is an explanation, rules and reasoning behind each grammar point eg: the first conditional: [ if + present simple], [will + infinitive]. Because they are used to learning languages in a grammatical way, learners find it difficult to accept that some words collocate while others do not and that there is no reason for this other than it is what native speakers say. Many learners ask me Why cant I say make a photo instead of take a photo? I used to feel rather unprofessional having to say because thats the way it is. Now I say: because take goes together with a photo make does not. That is the way language is naturally and natively spoken as I have already commented in section A. In fact, McCarthy said that knowledge of collocational appropriacy is part of native speakers competence. (McCarthy, M.1990Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.1990:13). Therefore, being aware of collocations and accepting them as a window to the natural way of speaking the language is essential in learning a language. One has to admit that some are not so easy to learn. In fact, Benson (1985) clearly stated that collocations are arbitrary and non-predictable, so much so that even native speakers sometimes have to double check before deciding if a word collocates with a particular word or not. When learners are confronted with collocations like to make a mistake, learners resort to translation from L1 to understand why we use make and not do as in many other languages. However this leads to misuse of the collocation or creation of word combinations which are non-existant in English. Eg: My Italian learners sometimes say do a mistake because in their language they only have one verb, fare, which resembles make or do. Literally translated, fare una torta is do a cake from Italian to English. Lexical verbs such as make or do require memorising whole lists of words that can collocate with them. I sympathise with learners, who have to face many complicated and difficult lexicalised verbs, which have meaning differences in various contexts. Furthermore, combinations of delexicalised words are less likely to explain clearly what they mean in translation and thus are more error-prone in learner language (Lewis 1993, Nesselhauf 2005). When my learners tell me: its impossible to learn all of these phrases by heart!, I have to admit that I understand them. Collocation books like McCarthy ODells English Collocations In Use (CUP:2005), present the delexicalised verbs make and do in a way that makes a learner feel that he/she has to learn the phrases by heart. A similiar example of such a list is one below: To make an apology To do your homework To make a cake To do the dishes To make breakfast To do the laundry To make your bed To do your best To make a list To do your nails and hair To make a mistake To do the ironing, washing, cooking, etc. To make plans To do a job Learners need ways to remember the meanings of the lexicalised verbs as the ones above. It is difficult enough trying to think of grammar needed, word syntax, vocabulary and so on when trying to construct a sentence in L2 learning, let alone trying to remember and above all retrieve the right collocation needed. Problems learners have with delexicalised verbs: Making learners aware of delexicalised verbs: By helping learners to notice collocation, they can acquire vocabulary building skills eg: ability to list and categorize lexis. It also encourages them to become autonomous learners. One way of helping learners develop the habit of paying attention to chunks, rather than just individual words, when reading is by helping them make informed guesses about what word goes with do or make. Inside Out Elementary (Macmillan:16) presents a day in the life ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a man and a woman. Having guessed who does what, learners read the text to check if they guessed correctly. The text includes a lot of collocations with make or do. Learners then are asked to form common expressions with make or do from the text: The most homework the beds The shopping dinner The washing up the most noise Learners have a speaking practice with make or do by saying who does or makes what in the house, using the same prompts given in the above exercise. Eg: My mother does the shopping and we make our beds etc Trying to make sense of make and do: Although it is not easy to learn collocations of make and do, McCarthy ODell in English Collocations in Use (CUP2005: 18) present us with some of the most common phrases with these two delexicalised verbs. In fact they call them Everyday verbs. It includes a list of collocations of make and do and an example on the side. Eg: Collocation Example Make an excuse Im too tired to go out tonight. Lets make an excuse and stay home! Do your hair Im not ready! I havent done my hair yet! To practice them, I would cut out the collocations and examples into separate strips. In pairs, learners would then have to try to put the example and collocation together, by trying to make sense of them. Once they have been corrected in class, I would give them a questionnaire from Collocations in Use (pg19). Having been exposed to the collocations needed in the previous activity, they have to fill in the question with either do or make, answer it and then go round and ask the questions to their classmates. Trying to find the right collocation to use: To help learners practice and be a bit more confident in their use of collocations, I like to use an activity which Lewis proposed in Teaching Collocation (Hove:112). Basically learners have to put in the missing verb in the collocations. This will help them to minimize their mistakes as our Italians made: I do a mistake. ..a mistake 2. .your homework a statement your hair an observation what you have to do Alternatively, I can give the activity some context by giving learners the activity found on page 100 in Language to go Intermediate. Here learners have to complete the text using make or do. This will help them to see how the collocation is used in a context. Helping them to remember the collocations: To recall what theyve learnt, learners need remember what theyve learnt. Thornbury 3 states that learning is remembering, which clearly shows how important memory is in learning a language. The same principle applies to collocations. One way of helping learners to remember the collocations is by revising them as much as possible . one particular activity that I like to use to recycle collocations that were met in class is Run n Grab. I divide learners into teams and I read out the end of the collocation eg: an apology. I write down Do and Make on the board. Learners have to run to the board to circle which one they think goes with the ending of my collocation. Whoever gets most points wins. Conclusion: Personally, I feel that the lexical approach has taught me a lot about vocabulary. Rather than seeing vocabulary as individual items, I can now help my learners with vocabulary by using chunks. In this case, collocations which are in themselves chunks, are essential in language learning. By frequently exposing, raising -consciousness and helping them to memorize collocations, I feel that I am appreciating more the importance of lexis in language learning.

The Cathedral

â€Å"Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace†, (Dalai Lama XIV). This quote relates to the narrator in Raymond Carver’s short story, â€Å"The Cathedral†. In this story Bub’s ignorance is shown in various parts throughout the story. Towards the end of the story, Bub has an epiphany. This makes him realize how ignorant he’s been towards his wife as well as Robert, her childhood sweetheart and present day best friend. He enters from a world of insecurities to a world of peace. The narrator’s jealousy and ignorance, is seen in many parts throughout the story. An example of Bub’s jealousy is when he says, â€Å"I waited in vain to hear my name on my wife’s sweet lips†¦ but I heard nothing of the sort. More talk of Robert†, (Carver, Pg. 98). Not only does he show jealousy, Bub also shows ignorance when he stereotypes against Robert. As if stereotyping against Robert wasn’t enough, Bub goes on to stereotype against Robert’s late wife Beulah, as he sarcastically said, â€Å"Beulah! That’s a name for colored woman†, (Carver, Pg. 5). Beulah passed away in her lost battle to gland cancer. He also showed his ignorance when he quoted, â€Å"I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me†, (Carver, Pg. 94). Overall, the way he expressed himself about Robert, â€Å"the blind man†, in the story simply said a lot about him. Bub comes out from a world of insecurities to a world of peace, the moment he lets himself be guided by Robert. They drew a cathedral; a symbol of faith, conversion, creativity, and strength. It was like nothing else in my life up to now†, (Carver, Pg. 103). The narrator faced his insecurities with Robert as well as his ability to interact with others. At first Bub could find no significance to it and found it hard to explain to Robert. It wasn’t until Robert told him to close his eyes and continue drawing, that made a light bulb in his head go on, â€Å"It’s really something†, (Carver, Pg. 103). Bub was blinded before he realized how ignorant he was in regards to his marriage as well as with Robert. In conclusion we face ignorance on an everyday basis. It shows our lack of knowledge and sometimes reaches extreme measures. Ignorance occurs when people believe they know everything and act upon it, when this isn’t reality. This is a quality that the narrator possessed. Without knowing, his inability to see the positive in people almost caused him his marriage. He was so caught up with his insecurities that he almost oversaw his wife’s attempted suicide. It’s important to admit and overcome ignorance in order to find the inner peace within oneself.

Soft Skills

What is softskills? Soft skill is the ability required and expected from persons for finding a suitable job, its maintenance and promotion. Softskills is an important facet of life. It is essential in all spheres of life. Be it an interview or dealing with the project leader or working out a solution with a team or writing a report, getting across the point effectively is what matters. The success of an endeavour hinges on the ability to communicate effectively in today's fast paced life, everyone is asked to do more with less.In such a scenario effective communication holds the key. Effectively communication centers round the usage of words, speed of delivery of words, pitch modulation and body language. Using the right tools to communicate the right messages at the right time can salvage a crises and motivate people to work towards success. Truly said, communication works but for those who work at it. In the existing globalization scenario, most of the Information Technology, I.T E nabled Services, management institutes, public and private sector, multi-national Companies, Union Public Service Commission, and State Public Service Commission are search for a right and suitable fresher for executive posts. Whatever be the recruiting criteria that I. T, ITES, industry giants had in their agenda, once this was clear a first class degree would not serve the purpose, the candidate have to satisfy the skill sets that the companies were looking for. And unanimously, the skills set that they were looking for Softskills.The immediate results of developing good communication skills are: 1. Ability to Listen effectively 2. Ability to send Clear Messages 3. To win confidence and respect of peers, employers 4. Impressive non-verbal behaviour Scope of softskills development It is very important to develop softskills because it enables you to: * To handle interpersonal relations * To take appropriate decisions * To communicate effectively * To have good impression and impact to gain professional development Types of Softskills 1. Verbal Communication skills * Softskills form the corner stone of soft skills Every human being has to essentially ; effectively communicate with others * Effective communication is the hallmark of one's education * The ability to speak fluently using the right word in the right order is an good communication * Message using appropriate vocabulary and syntax form effective communication 2. Body language Non verbal language * Face is the index of the mind and it clearly displays the persons   interest * Body language presents to the audience what we feel & think about the particular matter * Body language (e. , arms crossed, standing, sitting, relaxed) * Emotion of the sender & receiver (e. g, speaking clearly, enthusiastic) 3. Written communication Skills * Writing evaluates a person's proficiency indications, spelling grammar etc†¦ * Errors committed while writing circulars, reports ; agenda considerably spoil the image of the writer * Good visual presentation using graphics, color, balanced design layout- adds so much to written communication. * Keep handouts and other written materials for your presentation 4. Presentation Skills Presentation skills include planning, preparation ; delivery of the message.Making a formal speech is also one form of presentation. Presentation skills can be broadly categorized into physical oral, ; electronics. * Success in life depends on presenting ideas in an appropriate manners * Look at the eyes of audience ; speak in a natural, conversational voice * Appropriate voice will make the presentation effective and interesting * Ask for feed back from your audience about your presentation ; change accordingly * In presentation especially, stop occasionally to ask the audience understand what you have said . Team Work * People of either gender, different age groups, qualification, status ; skills work as a team with a common objective of accomplishing the task * The s uccess of any organization largely depends on in the coordinated efforts of its employees * It mainly refers to the agreeableness ; co-operation among the team members 6. Professional ethics * Professional ethics is the need of the hour in India * When a person is at the work spot, he must think of his work only * He must put his heart ; soul into the work Each employee is a organic part of the organization ; must strive to contribute his mite to the successful functioning of the organization 7. Interpersonal Skills Man is a social animal ; his success in life largely depends on his relationship ; interaction with others We must respect the views ; sentiments of others. When we want to differ their views, we must very politely give hints to them without wondering their feelings 8. Time ; Stress Management Prioritize the work ; schedule your time accordingly * Impotent work should be allotted more time ; taken up first * Listening to classical music ; practicing Yoga will considerabl y reduce the physical,emotional ; mental stress of an individual 9. Leadership Softskills Leaders, executives ; managers need to be very clear about what they expect from others * Trust your self * Keep smiling * Share ; stay together * Always learn new things * Accept responsibility for your self ; your actions * Look at problems ; challenges * Be grateful always * Love your selfSo if you want to improve upon your softskills, this is the best time to go ahead. Start now, Start well Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person's â€Å"EQ† (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. [1] Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person's IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities. Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job perfor mance and career prospects.Unlike hard skills, which are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills relate to a person's ability to interact effectively with coworkers and customers and are broadly applicable both in and outside the workplace. A person's soft skill EQ is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of an organization. Particularly those organizations dealing with customers face-to-face are generally more successful, if they train their staff to use these skills.Screening or training for personal habits or traits such as dependability and conscientiousness can yield significant return on investment for an organization. [2] For this reason, soft skills are increasingly sought out by employers in addition to standard qualifications. It has been suggested that in a number of professions soft skills may be more important over the long term than occupational skills. The legal profession is one exa mple where the ability to deal with people effectively and politely, more than their mere occupational skills, can determine the professional success of a lawyer. 3] Soft Skills are behavioral competencies. Also known as Interpersonal Skills, or people skills, they include proficiencies such as communication skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, personal effectiveness, creative problem solving, strategic thinking, team building, influencing skills and selling skills, to name a few Meaning Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions, and assesses conclusions. â€Å"Critical† as used in the expression â€Å"critical thinking† connotes involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc. Critical† in this context does not mean â€Å"disapproval† or â€Å"negative. † There are many positive uses of critical thinking, for example formulating a workable solution to a comp lex personal problem, deliberating as a group about what course of action to take, or analyzing the assumptions and the quality of the methods used in scientifically arriving at a reasonable level of confidence about a given hypothesis. To add further clarification on what is meant by thinking critically, Richard Paul (1995) articulated critical thinking as either weak or strong.The weak-sense critical thinker is a highly skilled but selfishly motivated pseudo-intellectual who works to advance one's personal agenda without seriously considering the ethical consequences and implications. Conceived as such, the weak-sense critical thinker is often highly skilled but uses those skills selectively so as to pursue unjust and selfish ends (Paul, 1995). Conversely, the strong-sense critical thinker skillfully enters into the logic of problems and issues to see the problem for what it is without egocentric and/or socio-centric bias.Thus conceived, the strong-sense mind seeks to actively, sy stematically, reflectively, and fair-mindedly construct insight with sensitivity to expose and address the many obstacles that compromise high quality thought and learning. Using strong critical thinking we might evaluate an argument, for example, as worthy of acceptance because it is valid and based on true premises. Upon reflection, a speaker may be evaluated as a credible source of knowledge on a given topic.Critical thinking can occur whenever one judges, decides, or solves a problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening can all be done critically or uncritically. Critical thinking is crucial to becoming a close reader and a substantive writer. Expressed in most general terms, critical thinking is â€Å"a way of taking up the problems of life. â€Å"[10] Skills The list of core critical thinking skills includes observation, interpretation, analysis, infere nce, evaluation, explanation, and meta-cognition.There is a reasonable level of consensus among experts that an individual or group engaged in strong critical thinking gives due consideration to establish: * Evidence through observation * Context * Relevant criteria for making the judgment well * Applicable methods or techniques for forming the judgment * Applicable theoretical constructs for understanding the problem and the question at hand In addition to possessing strong critical-thinking skills, one must be disposed to engage problems and decisions using those skills.Critical thinking employs not only logic but broad intellectual criteria such as clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, significance, and fairness. Habits or traits of mind The habits of mind that characterize a person strongly disposed toward critical thinking include a desire to follow reason and evidence wherever they may lead, a systematic approach to problem solving, inquisitiven ess, even-handedness, and confidence in reasoning. [16] When individuals possess intellectual skills alone, without the intellectual traits of mind, weak sense critical thinking results.Fair-minded or strong sense critical thinking requires intellectual humility, empathy, integrity, perseverance, courage, autonomy, confidence in reason, and other intellectual traits. Thus, critical thinking without essential intellectual traits often results in clever, but manipulative and often unethical or subjective thought. The clients have indicated that, after  inspecting the progress of the project they have outsourced, they would like to meet  the team members working on it. Why? To select one team member for a stint onsite — something  almost every software engineer  aspires for.Ravi has been one of the most active members in the project and has done a wonderful job. He is technically brilliant, but has some concerns: * Will he able to communicate his performance to the clien t in an impressive manner so that he is chosen? * Why do his team mates not prefer to come to him for solutions and go to less capable people instead? * His project manager doesn't seem to be very warm towards him either, although he does drop in those occasional mails appreciating his work.Here is a  typical scenario in an IT company; or for that matter, any organisation where interpersonal communication is involved. Or, like in Ravi's case, where an employee suffers from  a lack of interpersonal skills. Are technical/ job-related skills enough? Technical and job-related skills are a  must, but they are NOT sufficient when it comes to progressing up the ladder. With the traditional paternalistic style of leadership becoming passe, professional managers expect their teams to be proactive and communicate openly. â€Å"Soft skills are very important in business.It is essential to be technically sound, but one should also have the ability to convey the idea to the masses in the simplest possible manner,† says  Mayurkumar Gadewar, an ERP consultant with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. With the  boom in outsourcing taking root across industries, many  professionals and subject matter experts directly deal with their clients on a regular basis. Their approachability and people skills are what ultimately sustain the contract their employers have bagged. â€Å"Planning is necessary but execution is also equally important.And it takes soft skills to execute any idea because it involves dealing with people directly,†Ã‚  says Gadewar. 6 soft skills for every hard-nosed professional Behavioural training experts say there are several soft skills are required in these circumstances. Some of them  include: i. Interpersonal skills ii. Team spirit iii. Social grace iv. Business etiquette v. Negotiation skills vi. Behavioural traits such as attitude, motivation and time management Do you have these? If your answer is yes, good for you. But if your answer is no, then you know it is time to approach either a  training organisation or a training  consultant.Will formal training enhance your soft skills? There is a lot of argument in the industry as to whether it is possible to enhance soft skills in a few hours of training, especially when one considers the fact that  a person has lived with those traits all his life. To this, the answer is harsh but real — a professional who wants to do well in his/ her career does not really have a choice. In the initial years of your career, your  technical abilities are important to get good assignments. However, when it comes to growing in an organisation, it is your  personality that matters, more so in large organisations where several people with imilar technical expertise will compete for a promotion. Training on soft skills becomes all the more relevant in a country like India where the education system does not delve into personality development. â€Å"Soft skills training is essential because we do not have it in our academic curricula. Therefore, corporate houses have to take up the task of grooming employees who are the link between the company and the external world, so that they are able to present themselves better, † says Sumeet Mehta, an equity research analyst with Fortis Securities Ltd.Be your own trainer! While organisations are definitely investing in augmenting their staff's people skills, here are some inputs for professionals and students who would like to initiate the process themselves: i. Be a part of team activities It could be  either as a part of your church choir, or an NGO, or your local youth circle. Observe your own behaviour in the group and how you relate to others. ii. Ask  family members or close friends to write down your best and worst traits. Ideally, have at least four to five people do this for you.Evaluate the common traits all of them have mentioned. Thus, you can be aware of your strengths and work improvin g your weaknesses. iii. How well do you manage your time? Think. Can you do more in life? Or is your day too crammed with activities? Effective time management is very essential in the corporate world. iv. Introspect on how you react to feedback. In organisations, people skills mostly come into the picture when there is feedback given — be it for an idea, an executed project or a presentation. You are judged by the way you respond to feedback.Do you get defensive? Do you insist you were right? Do you meekly accept criticism? Remember, people tend to be judged and stereotyped according to their responses. You will, too. v. How good are you at critiquing? While responding to feedback is one side of the coin, giving feedback is the other side. Are you aggressive? Pessimistic? Do you believe in constructive criticism? Or prefer to be the yes-man? vi. Live consciously Any organisation is manned by people, therefore soft skills are all about how you deal with people and present you rself.Though it may be easier said than done, soft skills can be enhanced simply by being aware of oneself and living consciously. Rukmini Iyer is a corporate trainer and instructional designer. She  writes regularly on business etiquette, communication, language enhancement  and grooming. Definition soft skills Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career prospects. Unlike hard skills, which are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills are interpersonal and broadly applicable.Soft skills are often described by using terms often associated with personality traits, such as: * optimism * common sense * responsibility * a sense of humor * integrity and abilities that can be practiced (but require the individual to genuinely like other people) such as: * empathy * teamwork * leadership * communication * good manners * negotiation * sociability * the ability to teach. It's often said that hard skills will get you an interview but you need soft skills to get (and keep) the job. Definition Emotional intelligence (EI) is the area of cognitive ability involving traits nd social skills that facilitate interpersonal behavior. Intelligence can be broadly defined as the capacity for goal-oriented adaptive behavior; emotional intelligence focuses on the aspects of intelligence that govern self-knowledge and social adaptation. The term first appeared in 1985, in Wayne Payne's doctoral thesis, A study of emotion: Developing emotional intelligence. Payne's thesis centered on the idea that society's historical repression of emotion is the source of wide-scale problems such as addiction, depression, illness, religious conflict, violence and war.Daniel Goleman, a psychologist and behavioral science journalist, later popularized the term and developed related concepts in his influential book, Emotional Intelligence (1995). In Working with Emotional Intelligence (1998), Goleman explored the function of EI on the job. According to Goleman, emotional intelligence is the largest single predictor of success in the workplace. Goleman and others have developed the concept of a testable EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) counterpart to the IQ (intelligence quotient).In contrast to the focus on academically-oriented skills, such as mathematical ability, that are evaluated in an IQ test, an EQ test focuses more on the individual's capacity to deal effectively with others. To that end, it evaluates traits and abilities such as self-awareness and empathy, which are sometimes referred to as soft skills. Goleman describes emotional intelligence as â€Å"managing feelings so that they are expressed appropriately and effectively, enabling people to work together smoothly toward their common goals. † According to Goleman, the four major skills that make up emotional intelligence are: * Self-Awareness Self-Management * Social Awareness * Relations hip Management. The Importance of Soft skills When it comes to skills in employment, the first line of emphasis is typically towards abilities, training and knowledge of specific skill sets. These are referred to as hard skills. Soft skills are often overlooked, but they also play an important role in day-to-day operations. Small business owners should place equal importance on hard and soft skills during the hiring process for new employees. In addition, current employees should be encouraged to develop soft skills if they are lacking in this area. Drive/Work EthicThis is a difficult skill to quantify, but employees will typically either display a strong work ethic and the drive to complete tasks, or they won't. While a work ethic is largely an innate skill, it can be learned with proper training and motivation. Some employees may be able to develop a stronger work ethic with incentive based pay or monetary rewards such as bonuses if they reach a certain goal. Communication Skills Communication skills are the most important soft skills for an employee. The ability to communicate through the spoken and written word is a necessity in nearly every industry and in every workplace.Communication skills can be learned and improved with the right training. It may take time for employees to learn effective communication skills, particularly if they have a naturally shy disposition. In this case, a course on public speaking can work wonders. The techniques learned by speaking to a large crowd can be adapted for daily communications and these lessons are typically good confidence builders for employees. Teamwork The ability to work well within a team is another important soft skill. Some employees may naturally feel comfortable working within a group, while others may have problems and prefer to work alone.It is necessary to spot these personality types ahead of time for proper group formation. Every team should have a diverse set of personalities that mesh together as a cohesive whole. Team building exercises can be very beneficial in helping employees develop this skill. Decision Making and Problem Solving Being able to make quick decisions, think on their feet, and solve simple problems are important employee traits. Even simple problems such as a copier being out of toner can grind an office to a halt if no one displays these simple skills.At least one employee needs to have the ability to take charge of a situation and guide the others through if they have difficulty. The employees who display these decision making skills are often excellent candidates for promotion to management level. Importance of Soft Skills in Our Life Most of us feel that if we have good technical knowledge & skills we will achieve success. Hence; not many try to learn soft skills. This presentation brings out the importance of soft skills in our life. It shows that without soft skills, it will be difficult for us to achieve progress & be successful

In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen presents a number of...

In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen presents a number of relationships in early 19th century England Pride and Prejudice essay â€Å"How does Jane Austen present the pleasures and problems of love and relationships in early 19th century England in Pride and Prejudice† In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen presents a number of relationships in early 19th century England. One of the main relationships is between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Elizabeth is the daughter of Mr and Mrs Bennet who are a part of a well off country family who own Longbourn estate and Mr Darcy is a very rich landowner. Another main relationship is between Jane, Elizabeth’s sister, and the most attractive Bennet and Mr Bingley a wealthy agreeable man and Mr†¦show more content†¦Wickham and Lydia have a difficult relationship because Wickham is a con man paid to marry her by darcy so Elizabeth’s family can keep her family reputation in order where as Lydia is young and foolish that believes her in love with any man who passes the time of day with her. Mr Wickham has been after a fortune by marring a rich girl he had already tried to elope with Darcy’s sister Georgina that was stopped by Darcy. Wickham was friendly with Elizabeth until a wealthy heiress turned up .He tried to marry her but failed. He eloped with Lydia almost by mistake as her has no money and he had no intention of marrying her until Darcy pays him to marry her so they end up married and travelling to Newcastle. Collins and charlotte lucus is a convenient marriage that suits them both but it is not based on love. Mr Collins starts with trying to marry Elizabeth but â€Å"she will have none of him† he takes this as being rejected but the family and since his patroness wants him to marry he marries the next girl he bumps into, Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte is not romantic and just wanted to get married â€Å" I am not romantic you know I never was I ask only a comfortable home and considering Mr Collins’ character, connections and situation in life I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state†. These days inShow MoreRelatedSibling Relationships In Pride And Prejudice1215 Words   |  5 PagesJane Austen puts an emphasis on both loyal and rival sibling relationships in all of her works, and these relationships prove to be as important, if not more important, than those relationships of marriage. Pride and Prejudice offers insight on many sets of siblings. 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