What is the difference between General and IT English?

In the era of globalization and rapid technological development, proficiency in the English language has become an integral part of professional growth, especially for IT specialists.

However, not all approaches to learning English are equally effective in the context of your professional needs. There are two main directions for learning English: General English and English for IT. General English represents the language in a broad context, while English for IT focuses on specific terminology and situations specific to the IT industry. In this article, we will take a detailed look at what this difference entails and why it is important for IT professionals to focus on learning English specifically for their field.

General English and English for IT

Let's delve deeper into their differences.

• General English primarily focuses on preparing individuals for effective communication in a wide range of everyday situations. This approach encompasses the study of grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading, and writing. Its main mission is to provide students with universal communicative skills that they can use in various situations in their lives. Learning general English equips you with competencies that allow you to communicate, read, and comprehend various topics.

• In contrast, English for IT differs in its specialized orientation towards terminology and skills necessary for successful professional actions in IT companies. It concentrates on specific words, phrases, and grammatical structures that are commonly encountered in programming, software development, system administration, and other IT disciplines. With English for IT, you can effectively exchange ideas with colleagues, navigate technical documentation, actively participate in international projects, conduct research, and analyze information obtained from primary sources.

Advantages of English for IT

By mastering English for IT, you gain a valuable asset—direct practicality. This direction prepares you to easily use English in the world of development, project management, or testing. You will be able to create technical documentation, work on projects, negotiate, and communicate with clients and other stakeholders worldwide.

However, it's important to remember that English for IT does not fully replace general English.

General English remains an important element in comprehensive English language proficiency. By expanding your vocabulary, improving your grammar skills, and learning to structure your thoughts, it contributes to your overall development. It also hones your listening and reading skills, which are crucial for understanding a wide range of information and cultural context. So, let's explore how these two areas complement each other and contribute to your professional growth.

English for IT in IT Specialists' Communication

A significant number of professionals in the IT field indeed prefer to use not specialized IT terminology but, instead, rely on more general and business-oriented English expressions. Such an approach often leads to lengthier communication with less factual information.

Let's delve into a few examples from the everyday life of an IT specialist:

Email communication

• Hi Alex,

Just a quick reminder about our team meeting tomorrow at 10 AM. Please make sure to review the agenda and come prepared with any updates or questions. See you then!

Best regards,

Sarah

A rewritten example using IT English:

• Hey Alex,

Just wanted to remind you about our daily stand-up tomorrow at 10 AM. Make sure to go through the backlog and be ready to provide updates on your tasks. Let me know if you have any blockers. See you there!

Best regards,

Sarah

Retrospective

• Speaker: Good afternoon, everyone. Today, I'd like to discuss our company's new marketing campaign and gather your feedback on the proposed strategies. Let's dive right into the presentation.

A rewritten example using IT English:

• Speaker: Good afternoon, everyone. Today, I'd like to present our roadmap for the upcoming software release and get your input on the planned features. Let's get started with the presentation.

Tech-support work

• Customer: I'm having trouble accessing my account. I keep getting an error message.

Support Specialist: I apologize for the inconvenience. Could you please provide me with the exact error message you're encountering and any steps you have already taken to troubleshoot the issue?

A rewritten example using IT English:

• Customer: I'm experiencing connectivity issues with the API. I'm getting a "401 Unauthorized" response when trying to make requests.

Support Specialist: I apologize for the inconvenience. Could you please share the request headers and the code snippet you're using to call the API? We'll investigate the issue and provide a solution.

The examples provided vividly illustrate how IT professionals apply both directions of the English language—general and specialized—for effective communication and performing various tasks. Each of these directions has its importance and purpose within IT communication, contributing to better mutual understanding between the team and clients.

The study of the English language should be approached comprehensively, encompassing both general and specialized directions. General English forms the foundation of language skills, while English for IT focuses on developing specific abilities necessary for building a successful career in the IT sector. These directions mutually reinforce each other, helping you achieve a level of English proficiency that enables quality communication with stakeholders and team members.

Our team pays special attention to combining IT/Business English with general English in the learning process. It is important to remember that specialized IT English accounts for approximately 30% of the overall communication volume in the IT field.

One2one English for IT