On Monday, 18 February 2013, Abbas Mahmood wrote:
From: liamwyatt@gmail.com javascript:; Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:47:06 +0000 To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org javascript:; Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimania 2013 scholarship now accepting
application
" Hong Kong is an international gourmet paradise. Please use less than
200
words to describe your favourite dish of food."
Is this an English-language test? Or, is this to help determine the best catering options? Or something else?
+1 to what Liam asked. I honestly don't understand the premise of that question in the scholarship application form. Abbas.
Upon further questioning I was informed that:
"This question is referring to the selection criteria #4 "Fluency of English language". "
So... Apparently this is where you are expected to write something that convinces people you have a firm grasp of English. Unfortunately, this is a written test, not an oral test - because an oral test might be quite useful. I know many people from my own country and other English-native-speaking countries that are officially literate but when asked to speak in a formal setting (or even semi-formal situation like Wikimania) are incapable of clear enunciation, diction, grammar, intonation, accent and speed. Certainly, they can be understood by *other* native English speakers but they have no concept of how difficult it is for non-native speakers to understand them.
Perhaps a mandatory class for native speakers before the conference entitled: "Speak English, like, more good 'n stuff for all y'all. Mmm'kay?"