Hey, guys. I am a graduate student of China. I have been telephone interviewed twice by two top tier investment banking firms. but I have all failed for my poor oral English. could you please provide some way to improve it? thanks a lot.
I am quite confident of my abilities except my English:(
| +311 | UBS Tech MD hires Son (from no-name college) as an Intern | 53 | 18h |
| +89 | [Official] 2026 IB Analyst Bonus Megathread (with 2025 Consolidated Pay and Perks/Benefits) | 12 | 22h |
| +52 | Is DCM actually underrated ? | 18 | 5h |
| +46 | Are all Tech / TMT groups sweaty? | 31 | 5h |
| +41 | UBS Groups Ranked by Future Outlook | 20 | 4d |
| +40 | JPM M&A is Gone??? Purely Coverage Banking??? | 20 | 5h |
| +37 | Am I behind? 31 Year Old Analyst | 10 | 8h |
| +32 | UVA McIntire vs Cornell Dyson for IB | 19 | 3d |
| +32 | Losing my personality in Banking | 5 | 20h |
| +31 | Incoming IB Analyst: Best Ways to Prepare? | 8 | 20h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
English is the most critical of your abilities if you want to work for an investment bank in America. Sorry.
You're not gonna find a way to improve your English on this website. Enroll yourself in some classes, and read a lot of books in the long run.
Is this for positions in IB in China/HK or London/NYC?
I have a few Chinese mates and the main problem you guys have is more oral communication than reading and writing (although this is very important too in IB of course).
Sean's right, there's no "quick fix" for this. Spend time (a year...) in a purely english speaking environment only with native english speakers. That's the solution if you really want to try and get good english skills. Otherwise watching shit loads of english/american films helps understanding, but won't get you all the way.
stop speaking chinese with your friends. elimniate all chinese speaking people, including family members. take english speaking classes. WRITE a lot of essays. read a lot. when you watch TV, sit with a pen and a pad and write down all quotes that you like. repeat these statements during commercials as if you were the person who spoke them on tv. this will make you articulate.
this plan is bullet proof, as long as you STOP SPEAKING CHINESE.
sometimes the language used in eng/american movies gets too colloquial. my advice would be to watch as much of bbc/cnn n other news channels as u can.. paying special attention to pronounciation and intonation...dont get too carried away by the accent though.
if language is the only thing that's stopping you...practice by voice recording ur answers and keep revising them. u'll gain confidence with time n practice.
You guys are all so nice. I'll have a try. Thank you a lot. Besides, I am studying fixed income securities now and will graduate in summer, 2008
what's wrong with a HK or Singapore bank?
Deserunt error cum consequatur ea dolores voluptates natus. Dolor totam in quasi vel rerum. Sequi a quam facilis molestiae. Unde pariatur omnis ipsum dolorem id molestias.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...