Journalist and The Public Relation Officer

Journalist : Good morning Sir. Could I have some information? What does the term call centre mean?  PRO : Call centre is a multi-faceted work-place where various functions occur like customer service centres, information lines, reservation centres, help desks, etc. It is a sophisticated voice operations environment that provides a full range of high-volume, call handling services (inbound and outbound) including directory assistance, multilingual customer support, credit card services, operator services) interactive voice response and web-based services.  Journalist : What size of accommodations is preferred by the call centres?  PRO : Call centres prefer large accommodation depending on their work load and customer base.  Journalist : How large or small is the call centre's work force and personnel costs?  PRO : The size of the work force depends on the functions of the centre. If it is a centralised call centre that handles various functions and their work force is large. Then the personnel costs are the most significant.  Journalist : Could you tell us about the technology they use?  PRO : The call centre’s technologies include Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), Interactive Voice Response (VR), Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) which allows the actions of the computer to be synchronised with what is happening on the phone. They employ Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technologies and other database systems too.  Journalist : What types of calls do the call centres handle?  PRO : Types of calls are often divided into outbound and inbound. Outbound calls are those which the agent initiates to a customer with the aim of selling a product or a service to that customer. Inbound calls are initiated by the customer to obtain information, report a malfunction or ask for help.  Journalist : How are the staff organised?  PRO : The staff of the call centre are organised in tiers. The First tier consists of unskilled workers who are trained to resolve issues using a simple script. If the First tier is unable to do so, then issue is transferred to a more skilled second tier. In some cases, there may be a third tier of support too.  Journalist : Do the call centres get criticised and if so, for what?  PRO : Yes. They do. Some critics say that the work atmosphere in such an environment is below human standard. Some criticise about the low rates of pay and the other constrains put on the staff by the employers. For example, there is the restriction of time that a staff can spend in the toilet. Apart from that, the cal1ers complain about the skill level of the staff and their inability in solving the problem for which the customer calls.  Journalist : Could you tell us about why there is a trend to move call centres to India?  PRO : One reason is the large number of English speaking workers available who can be employed cheap. Also, Indian technology is good and infrastructure is cheap.  Journalist : What does the future hold for call centre employment in India?  PRO : According to the survey conducted by the Employment Cell of India, call centres are going to be the largest job providers in India. The Rs. 81,000 crore industry including other IT-enabled services is expected to generate 20, 00,000 jobs in the near future. The future looks good for the call centre industry because India has a large number of graduates and undergraduates with good command over English. Indian technology is good and infrastructure is available cheap and also effectively trained manpower which is the backbone of a call centre.  Journalist : How is an Indian call centre executive's work rated?  PRO : Indian call centre executives take 8 to 10 minutes in processing their call, whereas call centre executives in the U.K. and the U.S. take 12 to 15 minutes to perform the same task. This saves time and increases efficiency levels. Indians have neutral accent and easily understandable English Accent compared to people in China and other countries.  Journalist : Thank you very much for giving us your valuable time and information.  PRO : You're most welcome. Let me also thank you for taking your time to gather information on call centres. Hope to see the write up in your publication.  Journalist : You're we1come. We will send you a copy of our journal in which the article gets published. Good day sir.  PRO : Good day!

Coordinating Conjunctions and Correlative Conjunctions

A conjunction joins words or groups of words in a sentence.

• I ate lunch with Kate and Derma.
• Because it is rainy today, the trip is canceled.
• She didn’t press the bell, but I did.

There are three types of conjunctions:

1.Coordinating Conjunctions

     a.Connect words, phrases, or clauses that are independent or equal

     b.and, but, or, so, for, yet, and not

2.Correlative Conjunctions

     a.Used in pairs

     b.both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also

3.Subordinating Conjunctions

     a.Used at the beginning of subordinate clauses

     b.although, after, before, because, how, if, once, since, so that, until, unless, when, while, where, whether, etc.

Coordinating Conjunctions

1.And—means "in addition to":

• We are going to a zoo and an aquarium on the same day.

2.But—connects two different things that are not in agreement:

• I am a night owl, but she is an early bird.

3.Or—indicates a choice between two things:

• Do you want a red one or a blue one?

4.So—illustrates a result of the first thing:

• This song has been very popular, so I downloaded it.

5.For—means "because":

• I want to go there again, for it was a wonderful trip.

6.Yet—indicates contrast with something:

• He performed very well, yet he didn’t make the final cut.

Correlative Conjunctions

1.Both/and

• She won gold medals from both the single and group races.
• Both TV and television are correct words.

Late Coming

Characters

Teacher and Vinodh 

Teacher : Vinodh, why are you late today? Vinodh : I came on foot. I have an injury in my leg. Teacher : Yesterday also you came late to English class. Vinodh : I came with my father in bike. We were held up in traffic jam. I will not excuse you hereafter. Teacher : How many marks did you score in English I paper? Vinodh : I scored 60% sir. Teacher : In English II Paper? Vinodh : I scored 48% only. Teacher : Then you are careless in learning grammar. Vinodh : I shall try to improve, Sir. 

Easy English Conversations during Train Journey

Characters

Ramesh, Shobana and Kumaran 

Ramesh : Shobana… When did you arrive at the station? 
Shobana : I came here at 5 p.m. 
Ramesh : Which train are you waiting for? 
Shobana : I am waiting for the Pandian Express. 
Ramesh : What is the time of departure? 
Shobana : 19.40 hrs. 
Ramesh : Have you reserved? 
Shobana : I have reserved two tickets for me and my brother. 
Kumaran : We are going to our grandfather's house. 
Ramesh : Where does you grandfather reside? 
Kumaran : He resides at Thillai Nagar in Trichy. 

Methods for Improving Your Spoken English

14 Methods for Improving Your Spoken English Without a Speaking Partner

1. Think in English.

Sometimes the difficult thing about talking in a new language isn’t the language itself, but how you think about it.

If you think in your native language and then try to speak English, you’ll always have to translate between languages. Translating isn’t an easy thing to do! Even people fluent in two or more languages have trouble switching between languages.

The solution is to think in English.

You can do this anywhere, anytime. Try to use English when you’re thinking about your day, or when you’re trying to decide what food to order. Even try to use an English to English dictionary to look up words. That way you never have to use your native language and translate words. You’ll notice that when you think in English, it’s easier for you to speak in English.

2. Talk to yourself.

Whenever you’re at home (or alone somewhere else) you can practice your English with your favorite person: yourself.

If you’re already thinking in English, try speaking your thoughts out loud. Read out loud, too. Practice is practice, and even if you don’t have anyone to correct your mistakes, just the act of speaking out loud will help you become more comfortable speaking English.

3. Use a mirror.

Whenever you can, take a few minutes out of your day to stand in front of the mirror and speak. Choose a topic, set a timer for 2 or 3 minutes and just talk.

The point of this exercise is to watch your mouth, face and body language as you speak. It also makes you feel like you’re talking to someone, so you can pretend you’re having a discussion with a study buddy.

Talk for the full 2 or 3 minutes. Don’t stop! If you get stuck on a word you don’t know, try expressing your idea in a different way. You can always look up how to say that word after the 2-3 minutes end. This will definitely help you find out what kinds of words or sentences you have trouble with.

4. Focus on fluency, not grammar.

When you speak in English, how often do you stop?

The more you stop, the less confident you sound and the less comfortable you become. Try the mirror exercise above, but challenge yourself to speak without stopping or stammering (taking pauses between your words) the entire time.

This might mean that your sentences won’t be grammatically perfect, and that’s okay! If you focus on speaking fluently instead of correctly, you’ll still be understood and you’ll sound better. You can fill in the correct grammar and word rules as you learn them better.

5. Try some tongue twisters.

Tongue twisters are series of words that are difficult to say quickly. One example is: “The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.” Try saying this a few times! It’s not easy.

Word games like this will help you find the right placement for your mouth and tongue, and can even help your pronunciation. Y

6. Listen and repeat.

Do you watch TV shows or YouTube videos in English? Use them to improve your fluency. Choose a short part of a show and repeat it line by line. Try to match the tone, speed and even the accent (if you can). It doesn’t matter if you miss a few words, the important thing is to keep talking. Try to sound just like the native speakers on the show.

7. Pay attention to stressed sounds.

English uses stresses in words and sentences. That means you’ll need to stress, or emphasize, certain words and syllables (sounds) to give words and sentences different meanings.

Listen to where native speakers place the emphasis when they speak. Try to repeat it the same way.

This won’t only help you speak well, it might even reduce misunderstandings. Sometimes the placing the stress on the wrong syllable completely changes the word. The word ADdress, for instance, isn’t the same as the word adDRESS. ADdress refers to a physical location where someone lives, and adDRESS means to formally speak to a group of people.

Learn to hear the difference!