Failure to communicate.

[laptop-mechanic.livejournal.com]

As some of you know, I work for a university run repair shop. This means I see a lot of students, especially exchange students.  Exchange students are especially hard to deal with, as their command of english usually rates somewhere between decent to really, really bad.  And its the bad ones that really give you some head-desk moments. And thats just trying to get an accurate problem description out of them. We often end up having to resort to email only interactions with them to make them understand anything, and even then it frequently takes several attempts to get the point across.  I fail to see how they're able to pass any of their classes if their ability to communicate with their professors is this impaired.

And dont even get me started on the exchange students from the medical school. There are few things more obnoxious than a doctor with training wheels, and their "drop everything and help me RIGHT NOW" mentality.

Comments

[spooforbrains.livejournal.com]

What's the difference between God and a doctor?

God doesn't think he's a doctor.

[japester.livejournal.com]

What's the difference between God and a Sysadmin?

God is more forgiving.

[knirirr.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it is foreign staff with poor English skills who cause a problem. I remember exchanges like this:

Foreigner: I try run $PROGRAM and it not work!
Me: $PROGRAM is not installed on that system.
Foreigner: But $BOSS say you install it!
Me: What do you mean? Did $BOSS ask you to ask me to set it up for you?
Foreigner: But you install it!
Me: Did $BOSS give permission for that?
Foreigner: It not work! You install it!
..etc. etc.

[japester.livejournal.com]

Is that icon Silver or deGrassi?

I know that both are suitable for use upon the unsuspecting stupid.

[knirirr.livejournal.com]

Hope (http://www.sirwilliamhope.org/Library/Hope), actually. His New Method (what I usually teach) is based upon similar principles to Silver's system.

[gracewanderer.livejournal.com]

"I fail to see how they're able to pass any of their classes if their ability to communicate with their professors is this impaired."

Simple - they're math or engineering students. They simply speak with their professors in their native language.

[sami-rdwd.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain, except most of the foriegn students I speak with are over the phone. The only ones I see are the ones usually coming in to get their user name and password... other than that, I get to decipher what they're saying over the phones and attempt to get them to understand my directions on how to correct their computer problems.