English Language Support during exams week

Wishing you good luck with your exams.   We are still here to support you.

English Language Support for week 14

Failure and success.

Michael Jordan "Failure" Nike Commercial

What do Steve Jobs,   Winston Churchill,   Mahatma Gandhi,  Thomas Edison, Michael Jordan,  and Marie Curie have in common?   They were failures who became successful.  And around the world there are many more like them.  For some,  failure defined most of their lives, but it did not destroy them.   They learned from and overcame this failure, never giving up.    So can you.   You should welcome failure, not fear it.

There are three questions everyone should think seriously about.

1. What is failure?   
2. What is success?  
3. What is your attitude towards failure?

Have you ever really thought about this?   It may seem trite to discuss this topic.  Everybody knows this stuff.     But then if this is so,  why are so few able to manage it well?    Different cultures view failure differently.    It may be shameful,  a loss of face.   Failure may be punished.    Or it may be valued.

One of the greatest virtues of America is that it celebrates failure.   One of its greatest presidents Abraham Lincoln lost 8 elections plus faced numerous other failures before being elected as president and achieving tremendous success in a short time before being killed.   In business,  bankruptcy is not viewed as the end of one's business career, but an opportunity,  which is why it is called 'reorganization'.   Just think of Steve Jobs and Apple if you want to gain the American perspective on failure and success.   I think it is a healthy perspective, but not necessarily easy.

For many students,  their first experience of failure in life  often occurs at university,  being it failing an assignment,  a  test,  or a course.    It can be most shocking.   It hurts.    But it needn't be the end. It shouldn't be shameful.      And hopefully it isn't repeated.   You find out the cause and address it. Sometimes the reason for the failure is a poor fit -- you are in the sciences, but are not good at math and not really interested in the field.   The way to success is to change majors.    Sometimes failure is a message to us that we do not have a particular ability or interest (and probably never will have). Other times it may reveal a missing knowledge or skill that we can obtain or improve.   Our habits or lifestyle might also be the cause, and can be adjusted.     It may simply be that the academic life is not for you,  at least at this time.   The key is to examine the failure to see what caused it, and deal with this in both macro and micro ways.

It has been said that we only learn from suffering,  that happiness teaches us nothing.   So it is with failure.   We can learn from it.       It teaches us humility.   It teaches us to look inward.  It teaches us compassion for others who fail.   It teaches us the way to success.

Famous Failures

This week's English Language Support

Are you good at email?

Students and teachers often complain that they get too much email and this is a valid complaint.

Email Overload Is Costing You Billions -- Here's How To Crush It

Top Tips:

For Receiving Email

1. Use separate email accounts for separate purposes. I recommend 3 accounts.   For example,  use one specific account for VIU matters,  and another account for personal non-VIU matters.  Have a third as a general account where when you have to give an email address to someone  you don't know (ie. a business) you use this.  This is where your junkmail will go. 
2. Try not to check it constantly as this wastes time.   Have a routine of regular times to check your messages, such as first thing in the morning,   first thing when at work,  before or after lunch,  and later in the afternoon.   Four times a day should be enough.  And have a set time for fully processing/managing all your daily emails.
3. Use your folders to organize your mail.
4. Don't be afraid to delete emails.
5. Make certain that you are receiving important emails such as from VIU ISS.
6. Keep your inbox to a minimum.  Some suggest no more than 25 messages.  All other messages should be read, filed, or deleted.
7. Acknowledge that you received the message.   Otherwise the sender may not be sure you got their message.    Keep this reply short and prompt.
8. Use the 80/20 principle.  

For Sending Email

1. Don't send an email unless it is really necessary.   If there is a better way to communicate (i.e. talking to someone or using a wiki),  then do this.
2. Always include a clear "subject line".
3. Make certain that your name is in English, and that you have an appropriate email address (i.e. one that indicates who you are, and is not silly or offensive).  Otherwise,  it may not be read.
4. Keep it short.    Long messages are better sent as letters, perhaps as an attachment to a short email message.
5. Use spell-check.
6. Reply promptly,  clearly,  and briefly.
7. As with all writing,  consider the reader and write for them.   You are not writing for yourself.
8. Have your email program remember email addresses so you don't have to type them in each time.    If you do type in an email address,   be certain to spell it correctly.   A misspelled email address is a serious problem!
9. Put your most important point at the beginning of the message.
10. Avoid text-speak (i.e. emojis).   This is email, not texting.   
11. Remember 'please' and 'thank you'.
12. Have a signature block at the end of the message.   A message should always be signed to ensure the recipient knows who sent the message.

Remember that email is a tool for fast convenient (and potentially mobile) communication.  Use it for this.   It should be not be a place to store information or for discussion;  these are better left to wikis or discussion forums.

You may want to explore Evernote  or  PBWorks for these purposes.

I really like this webpage

11 Essential Tips to Manage E-mails Effectively

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English Language Support this week

As you get nearer to the end of semester,  carefully planning is vital to success.   Please don't leave matters to the very end.    If you need help with your English,  we are here for you.