Unlocking
Word Meanings
Read
the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. credibility (n.) [kred-uh-bil-i-tee] –the ability to
make people believe or trust
Example:
Many clients seek the assistance of Mr. Smith because of his good reputation
and credibility as a lawyer.
2. spam (n.) [spam] – an unwanted e-mail
message, often a commercial advertisement
Example:
I was surprised to see a hundred of spam
mails in my company email account this morning.
3. lenient (adj.) [leen-yuhnt] – showing tolerance
in dealing with misbehavior; not harsh and strict
Example:
My aunt is quite lenient in dealing
with her kids especially the younger ones.
4. school-leaver (n.) [skool-leev-ver] – in British
English this means young people who have just left school because they have
completed their time there or finished a certain course
Example:
Call center companies in our country offer employment to school-leavers who are at least 18 years old.
5. literacy (n.) [lit-er-uh-see] – the ability to read
and write competently or good enough
Example:
The government offers literacy
training to poor children.
Article
Read
the text below.
An analysis
of internet business sales reveals that poor spelling may cost millions to a
company.
Charles
Duncombe an online businessman who runs travel, mobile phones and clothing
websites, says that 99% of internet selling is done mainly through written
communication. As such, spelling mistakes matter because they affect the credibility of a website.
Consumers, who are already concerned about spam and other illegal online businesses, may be turned off by poor
spelling, slashing a company’s sales in half.
A director
of the Oxford Internet Institute said that consumers tend to be lenient on spelling and
grammar errors on websites like Facebook, but not on errors on commercial web
pages.
The problem
results from employees with poor writing skills. Duncombe says employers
encounter difficulty recruiting staff who can spell correctly. In fact, many
employment applications from university and school leavers contain grammatical and spelling mistakes.
According to
the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI), a non-profit business
organization in the UK, 42% of employers are not contented with the basic
reading and writing skills of school and college leavers. Because of that, many
employers are investing in literacy review lessons to improve
staff performance.
James
Fothergill, CBI's head of education and skills, thinks this is a serious
problem and the government must make efforts to improve the basic literacy and
numeracy skills of all school and college leavers.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
How do you think
can online companies avoid misspellings?
·
What are other
disadvantages of misspellings online?
Discussion B
·
How can companies
improve their employees’ literacy?
·
Do companies in
your country offer trainings for employees’ development?