Good at English
Being good at English is important for anyone who gives or receives instructions,
writes articles, letters, reports or books, uses the phone, gives lectures, argues
cases and so on. GCSE at grade A*-C in English, or equivalent, is therefore often
demanded by employers and by further and higher education providers.
There are several ways in which you can be 'good at English':
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spoken English - using speech effectively
report writing - writing in a clear and accurate way
creative English - writing in a particular personal style, or to produce a certain
effect
literary English and reading - having a critical interest in literature and books
interpretation - interpreting spoken or written language carefully, to establish
the exact meaning.
This leaflet suggests the kinds of work you could do using English in different
ways. Whatever your career, a good command of English can improve your
prospects. In fact, a qualification in English is an entry requirement for many jobs
and courses.
Spoken English
There are jobs at all qualification levels in which it is important to be good at
spoken English.
In some jobs you need to express yourself clearly and choose your words
carefully, such as sales and contact/call centre staff; tourist guides; store
demonstrators; radio and TV presenters; teachers of all kinds; actors and
entertainers; negotiators; politicians; trade union officials; barristers and
solicitors; council representatives; interpreters.
In other jobs you help people to develop their use of spoken English, such as
trainers and instructors; teachers of English to speakers of other languages;
speech and language therapists; hearing therapists; elocution and drama teachers.
Report writing
Most of these jobs are for people with at least a good general education, while
many are for graduates or professionally qualified people.
You need to be:
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able to structure and express your own or other people's ideas clearly
good at spelling, grammar and punctuation
able to choose words and phrases which convey your meaning accurately.
Examples of jobs where writing skills are important include: secretaries/PAs;
administrators; market researchers; legal executives; court reporters; local
government officers; civil servants; solicitors; company secretaries; journalists;
technical authors; information officers; publishing editors; public relations or press
officers.
In addition, there are many areas of work where professionals and managers often
have to write reports, e.g. surveyors, architects, planning officers, engineers,
financial services managers and social workers.
Creative English
Very few jobs let you write creatively, using your own personal style, to produce
certain ideas and pictures in the mind of the reader. Instead, you normally have
to conform to 'house style' (i.e. in a style that fits with the way things are
written in your organisation).
Jobs where you have the opportunity to write creatively include press journalists
(on newspapers, periodicals, magazines and online); broadcast journalists (on TV
and radio); advertising and public relations officers; copywriters; authors (of
novels, plays, poetry, speeches, essays). You can also be involved with creative
writing as an English or drama teacher, or primary school teacher.
Literary English and reading
These are the jobs where you may have to judge, analyse or critically examine the
merits of other authors' writing, or amend other people's writing. An interest in
literature and reading can be important.
Jobs that can involve reading and literary English include those in publishing
(editors, proofreaders, sales and marketing executives etc); literary agents;
drama or literary critics; booksellers; producers or directors in theatre, film, TV
or radio; English teachers; library and information staff (for some aspects of
their work).
Interpretation
There are jobs where you need to interpret words very carefully, either written
or spoken, to establish exactly what the writer or speaker means. Such jobs
include: technical authors; advice workers, for instance, in a Citizens Advice
Bureau; financial advisers; consumer protection and law centre staff; barristers,
solicitors, legal executives, conveyancers and others working with the law;
archivists; historians; market researchers and others who design and use
questionnaires or interviews; some computer staff, such as those working in
systems analysis; designers, who work from clients' briefs; lexicographers (who
write, compile and edit dictionaries); translators and interpreters.