Zoni Blog | Student Life

My Clothing

With my life in New York, I’m too busy to consider what to wear everyday. I usually wear casuals for both working and studying, because they are more convenient for me. However I really love clothing not only because of my job, but also of my behavior of wearing.

Since I graduated from college, I have had jobs related to clothing; I have been working in the clothing field for 16 years. I usually deal with more than 3,000 pieces of garments a day at work. So I know what makes clothes, how to make them, and how to wear them. I don’t think that I’m the best dresser, but I try to wear clothes accordingly.

Here are some of my suggestions on how to buy clothes. When I buy clothes, I check both sleeve ends to see if there’s any color difference. In fact, some factories dye clothes in incorrect ways. They have problems in rapid dying machines, skills, water, and so on.

Secondly, I usually check the stitches on the lining of the garment because they may come out from lining. When workers sew them, it’s hard to check the bobbin for the sewing machine. Most of clothes have good stitches on the outside. Continue Reading →

As global business continues to develop, international trade companies increase in number. The management of these businesses is a serious problem. That is to say, better management of business results in greater circulation of products and more profit. After graduation from China, I served in a company dealing with the import and export business. My boss was a smart guy; he made plans focusing on the specific requirements of government or of certain plants, and he earned a lot of money. However, his management logic was so primitive that countries with advanced capitalism have already abandoned such logic many years ago. Then I thought, if I were he, with such power and position, the company where I worked would be more prosperous. After careful consideration, I decided to learn the knowledge of how to manage a company well. Obviously, the most sophisticated education with a major in Business Management is in America, so I am here in America to pursue my study in business.

times square

Although I have already landed in America with my dream, it is a little difficult to realize it, because there is a problem with my English language. I cannot easily understand what the teacher says. In addition, speaking is another problem that becomes a barrier to communication. Facing these difficulties, I have to improve my command of the English language first in order to proceed with my academic courses. Thinking of this, I searched the whole area of NYC in order to choose a suitable language training center. My requirements are as followings: excellent pronunciation by the teacher, enough time to revise what I have learned in class, and affordable tuition. Finally, I found Zoni, where I am studying English, because it meets my requirements perfectly.

From now on, I have already studied for three weeks at Zoni, and I feel better. I do believe that I will achieve my desired goals after graduation from Zoni.

By Guanglei Zhang, China
ESL 818, Advanced Writing, Flushing Campus
Teacher: Patricia Griffith

The lives of working professionals and their struggles to learn English in a competitive business world.

 It’s Monday, and Julio Cesar is up at 4:30 getting ready for the long day ahead of him. Julio Cesar is a stock broker.  He graduated at the top of his class in finance and international business from the university Brasilia in Brasilia, Brazil.   He currently is one of 65 chosen candidates participating in a competitive internship at a major financial institution in New York City. The internship starts at 10:00am and continues until 5:00pm, but Julio Cesar is up early because he has to study English at Zoni Language Centers. While other native speakers are still sound asleep Julio Cesar is preparing for the rigors of not only the competitive nature of the internship, but he has to struggle through understanding complex vocabulary in a language that is not his first language. Julio Cesar’s English is actually very advanced. He can carry on a casual conversation, talk gossip and sports with his friends and even watch the daily news without much effort. He understands most of it. But what he has discovered as a part of this competitive internship is that the language of business is very different from the normal conversational vocabulary he learned in regular English classes throughout his school years.

  The Language of business is a complex and difficult set of vocabulary, phrasal verbs and idioms that need to be addressed specifically, in order for him to be competitive. The teachers and other students don’t change anything to make it easier for him to understand in fact, most students are eager to see Julio Cesar fail or not understand something so they can have his spot.

Julio Cesar is like most business professionals with job experiences, assets and connections to be very successful in the United States the only problem for them is not their business savvy but their lack of mastery of The English business vocabulary. As business becomes more and more complex and economies become more and more dependent on each other the more important mastery of the English business vocabulary and speaking will be essential.