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I'd be very surprised if they don't teach English in elementary. In Eastern Europe they start teaching English from kindergarten.

by pbz 15y ago

AJ007 15y ago
I have not met any Russians who were proficient in English, that learned it locally in school. I have met Russians who were fairly good with English that learned it after living in the US for a while. Compare that to, for example, someone from the Philippines who will be proficient enough in English that you think they are an American.
- asmosoinio 15y ago
  Not arguin against you, but I think your example was a pretty poor one: The Philippines was basically owned and ran by the US for a hundred years. So when discussing English skills, it is not a good example of a "regular other country".
  - AJ007 15y ago
    I never said the Philippines was a "regular other country", thus why is this in quotes? In my own personal business, I estimate without native English proficiency my employees would be worth 1/5th or less of what they are to me now. I would have to hire an bilingual manager to run projects, and that person would have to be paid a lot. My turnover would be higher and the accuracy of instructions would be diminished, thus resulting in slower project execution times. Irregardless of the non-ideal situations of the past, current citizens with English proficiency benefit enormously -- in the form of money. Being proficient in English is a really big deal. As an American child I was told over and over again that it was important to learn a foreign language to increase my ability to get a job. As an adult, I found the opposite, that English above all other languages was critical in running a successful international business.
    - asmosoinio 15y ago
      The double quotes in my reply do not mean an exact quote, more like what is described in Wikipedia as under Irony or maybe Signaling unusual language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_quotes#Signaling_unusual_usage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_quotes#Signaling_unusual... You used the Philippines as a counter-example to Russians not having very good skills in English. I think the example was badly chosen: Like if you choose to compare them to Canada or United Kingdom. Of course there are countries where people have better skills in English than in Russia. But I think comparison with one of these extreme examples misses the point -- you should compare Russia to other countries that are competing for being "the world leader in software development". I do think however that we are discussing about a bit different things though, as I didn't understand how your reply had anything to do with my message -- except for the double quote part.

I'd be very surprised if they don't teach English in elementary. In Eastern Europe they start teaching English from kindergarten.

by pbz 15y ago

I'd be very surprised if they don't teach English in elementary. In Eastern Europe they start teaching English from kindergarten.

AJ007 15y ago

I have not met any Russians who were proficient in English, that learned it locally in school. I have met Russians who were fairly good with English that learned it after living in the US for a while. Compare that to, for example, someone from the Philippines who will be proficient enough in English that you think they are an American.

asmosoinio 15y ago
Not arguin against you, but I think your example was a pretty poor one: The Philippines was basically owned and ran by the US for a hundred years. So when discussing English skills, it is not a good example of a "regular other country".
- AJ007 15y ago
  I never said the Philippines was a "regular other country", thus why is this in quotes? In my own personal business, I estimate without native English proficiency my employees would be worth 1/5th or less of what they are to me now. I would have to hire an bilingual manager to run projects, and that person would have to be paid a lot. My turnover would be higher and the accuracy of instructions would be diminished, thus resulting in slower project execution times. Irregardless of the non-ideal situations of the past, current citizens with English proficiency benefit enormously -- in the form of money. Being proficient in English is a really big deal. As an American child I was told over and over again that it was important to learn a foreign language to increase my ability to get a job. As an adult, I found the opposite, that English above all other languages was critical in running a successful international business.
  - asmosoinio 15y ago
    The double quotes in my reply do not mean an exact quote, more like what is described in Wikipedia as under Irony or maybe Signaling unusual language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_quotes#Signaling_unusual_usage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_quotes#Signaling_unusual... You used the Philippines as a counter-example to Russians not having very good skills in English. I think the example was badly chosen: Like if you choose to compare them to Canada or United Kingdom. Of course there are countries where people have better skills in English than in Russia. But I think comparison with one of these extreme examples misses the point -- you should compare Russia to other countries that are competing for being "the world leader in software development". I do think however that we are discussing about a bit different things though, as I didn't understand how your reply had anything to do with my message -- except for the double quote part.