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mbagal1
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riverripper
I think of all the international students I have met during tours only a few (vast MINORITY) were difficult to understand.

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I just remembered a very funny incident (well, for me) that happened in grad school in the US. I was studying with a group of other international students (I'm Indian) and I found it absolutely hilarious when a taiwanese guy couldn't understand a korean guy's english accent and asked him to repeat a particular word 3 or 4 times. To me of course they all appeared Asian and I was like how can they not understand each other :)
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pandeyrav
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This is quite distressing for international applicants. Does anyone have any knowledge of how the recent international pass outs are faring ? especially in light of this year's clamor for H1B and subsequent lottery.
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BCC145
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[/quote]

I just remembered a very funny incident (well, for me) that happened in grad school in the US. I was studying with a group of other international students (I'm Indian) and I found it absolutely hilarious when a taiwanese guy couldn't understand a korean guy's english accent and asked him to repeat a particular word 3 or 4 times. To me of course they all appeared Asian and I was like how can they not understand each other :)[/quote]


Dude, I think the insensitivity of your post is pissing a lot of people off.

Not everyone grows up learning English and not everyone has a chance to perfect his/her accent, even though he might be an extremely capable individual.
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mbagal1
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Agreed. I apologize. I thought about it after I posted. I did not intend to come across like that. If anything, I was ignorant at the time about the differences that can exist.

Also, they had a good laugh about it too when I explained why I was so amused. I have had made some really good friends from all over the world, and I certainly dont think that knowing English is necessary, especially for a technical degree like mine.
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I keep visiting this post and this is what I keep reading in between lines:

"Internationals don't even know how to speak English properly but they get in at top schools due to diversity "quotas" (whatever those are) and because they fake interviews. But I can't say so because it's non PC so I'd rather use examples and/or questions to make the same point without actually spelling it out as clearly."

While several people clarified that the examples they quoted were the exception, the subliminal message persists, post after post, and I'm getting disturbed that it isn't being challenged more vehemently.

Is reality so different at other schools than at my school? I mean, do people who can't communicate in English effectively actually make it into Elite+ schools?

L.
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hbs.aspirant
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lepium
I keep visiting this post and this is what I keep reading in between lines:

"Internationals don't even know how to speak English properly but they get in at top schools due to diversity "quotas" (whatever those are) and because they fake interviews. But I can't say so because it's non PC so I'd rather use examples and/or questions to make the same point without actually spelling it out as clearly."

While several people clarified that the examples they quoted were the exception, the subliminal message persists, post after post, and I'm getting disturbed that it isn't being challenged more vehemently.

Is reality so different at other schools than at my school? I mean, do people who can't communicate in English effectively actually make it into Elite+ schools?

L.
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I have personally seen the non english speaking example in a school ranked close to 10. I will be surprised to find one at top 5-6 though.
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aaudetat
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lepium
I keep visiting this post and this is what I keep reading in between lines:

"Internationals don't even know how to speak English properly but they get in at top schools due to diversity "quotas" (whatever those are) and because they fake interviews. But I can't say so because it's non PC so I'd rather use examples and/or questions to make the same point without actually spelling it out as clearly."

While several people clarified that the examples they quoted were the exception, the subliminal message persists, post after post, and I'm getting disturbed that it isn't being challenged more vehemently.

Is reality so different at other schools than at my school? I mean, do people who can't communicate in English effectively actually make it into Elite+ schools?

L.
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I hear what you're saying. I don't think international students get in to meet diversity quotas. I think they get in because they're exemplary people. I do think they sometimes have trouble communicating and contributing if their language skills aren't up to speed. However, for those who make the effort, they can very quickly get very good. Two people on my team had never been in English-speaking countries before and did have a hard time communicating. Now they argue with me in meetings. Another teammate has not improved his English. He got a perfect score on the last finance exam, but hasn't been able to help with our marketing write-up. Each person's experience is very individual, making generalizations hard.
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I think people need to look at it from a different perspective in terms of verbal language comprehension.

I work in a multi-national team and often travel abroad for business. International Business is increasingly important, so post-MBA you may well be crossing paths with people from many different countries, IN many different countries. This means that the communication and social skills you develop need to be international. For Example, You can't rely on people having good English when you're dealing with a foreign company. Likewise, if you travel to another country to do business, its important you understand the nuances of the business culture there.

The internationalism of any MBA's student profile is important, as it will expose you to potential issues and allow you to practise and hone your listening skills and prepare you for international business, post-mba.

In terms of Indians speaking English, i work with many Indians in my office. People in the USA may not be aware of this fact, but the common language in India is ENGLISH. So many people speak different dialects that common understanding is usually through English. e.g. An Indian speaking Kannadiga (Bangalore native) won't necessarily understand someone who speaks Hindi (Delhi) etc.
So Indian English can be considered to be its own form of English as differentiated as Say England/Scotland/Australia/USA English.

Learning to understand Indian English is no different to trying to understand a Scouse (my accent ;) https://www.ku.edu/~idea/europe/england/england17.mp3), Geordie (https://www.ku.edu/~idea/europe/england/england20.mp3), Yorkshire accent(https://www.ku.edu/~idea/europe/england/england56.mp3), Norfolk accent (https://www.ku.edu/~idea/europe/england/england11.mp3) Glaswegian accent (https://www.ku.edu/~idea/europe/scotland/scotland3.mp3). In fact some people will find the Indian English accent (https://www.ku.edu/~idea/asia/india/india2.mp3) easier to understand.
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Argh! I am running late in finishing my essays .. but I still had to just stop everything and listen to each of those accent files. Thanks togafoot! :)
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togafoot
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mNeo
Argh! I am running late in finishing my essays .. but I still had to just stop everything and listen to each of those accent files. Thanks togafoot! :)
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Did you find them easy to understand?

Scouse -> Liverpool Area
Geordie -> Newcastle Area
Norfolk -> East Anglia Area
Glaswegian -> Glasgow (Scotland)
Yorkshire -> Yorkshire ;)

the website is good for all accents, including USA ones
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mNeo
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Well, I've worked with a few Irish people in the past and I've been a long-time follower of Leeds United (I know :( ) .. so I've been exposed to a few British accents.
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I go for Everton - can understand scouse talk (and Scottish talk thanks to David Moyes), quite easily.
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I'm not sure if the discussion was intended to be purely US-centric, but most international students graduating from the top US b-schools (including some so-called "Near Elites") are eligible for UK work permits under the HSMP scheme.

For those interested in working in multinational companies but facing H-1B troubles, the HSMP might be a good way to get a start in the company of your choice by working in the UK for a couple of years instead.
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Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

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