English is not my first language, sorry for the grammar mistakes, I tried my best :-) I asked a native speaker friend to help me to fix it ASAP. I will pay more attention to this in the feature! Thx!
I'm usually the first to pounce on such errors, but I actually liked the writing style, and the story - inspiring, particularly for those of us who are outside the usual career path. I think the message can be more important than the presentation. Well done, and thanks for the inspiration.
People obsessed with grammar more than content show up to critique plenty of things here. Just ignore them. The presentation was better than many "how I got started or hired" stories just because you wrote it in a way that was fun to read.
I actually liked the way the story was told and the errors didn't bother me. I was able to get a sense of how excited you are about your new career! :)
Hey, don't worry about it too much. Probably a few bits of grammar or phrasing that could be tweaked, but it's perfectly readable as-is. I spent four years teaching English in China, so I've got a pretty good feel for the various levels of English fluency in non-native speakers - you're doing fine, trust me :)
Really, about the only thing that tripped me up reading that was the German quotation marks, and that's just because I'm an American :)
Congrats on your progress, and thanks for sharing your story. Good luck in the future!
She's from Austria, so English is not her first language. Guess a mistake or two in regards to grammar is the price you pay for broadening your horizon ;)
So quick to feel offended. I had nothing negative to say about her or her story, just that the story was hard for me to read. It's always nice when somebody writes in a language that isn't their native language, but that doesn't make it any less difficult for myself or others to read. Over the last few years I've come to realize that a native-born European speaking English isn't quite the accomplishment it once was. With the prevalence of English in the media and on the Internet, the teaching of English from grade school onward, and the opportunities to speak with English speakers on a regular basis makes it quite easy to pick up the language. While in Spain I was able to really improve my Spanish speaking skills, but upon returning to the United States those skills mostly deteriorated, unfortunately. Korean (I lived there for a year) is a much more difficult language to pick up. I'm very impressed if I meet someone who can speak Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic, or Persian Farsi and ALSO English, French, or Spanish.
I don't really think that the article, grammar mistakes or not, add to my horizon in any significant way. I've helped people in similar positions over the last few years, and understand well what goes in to it.
I hate to go on the defensive here, but snarky comments like this need to be rebuked. It seems to me that this is the type of comment that goes unchallenged because it feels good, but underneath the surface the assumptions are rather weak.
I totally get your point! It is also hard for me to read articles by Non-German people. In our SAP community network (SCN) we all share what we know in English, most of them are not English native speakers. I can't tell the difference what is right or wrong. I will try to get native speaker help for Medium and learn a thing or two along the way ;-) Thanks!
Working with germans where all documentation is written in English, everyday there is a "cook with you" situation for me. But as I learn more German, I understand better the documentation :)
