As I was growing up and in school, I frequently thought it was a waste of time being required to take English classes. I mean we already spoke English. The answer I received when asking the question was, “it is important to have good communication skills by learning how to speak and write correct English, otherwise you will never be employable.”

That response was not exactly an overwhelming motivator for me at the time. It was not because I did not care about being employable, it was because, with a lot of things at that age, I failed to see the connection.

Later in life, especially with written communication, it did begin to sink in and for me has become something that I am continually working on to improve.

It is also something that tends to drive me absolutely crazy, when I read something written in very poor English. I cannot help but gather the impression, when something is written in very poor English, that the author is not intelligent. Items such as not using proper tense or numerous misspellings. This would include my own writing, and something that also drives me crazy. I frequently have issues with the thoughts in my head and having my fingers follow along as they are typing. This results in words that I had every intention of saying, however somehow forgot to type them.

Going back to the original thought of this post, the importance of having good communication skills in order to be employable. Is it just me or has the importance of good communication skills diminished in recent years?

A large percentage of people that I work with, and granted English is not their first language, possess extremely poor English skills. It is to the point where a brand of Pigeon English is used to communicate in my work place. I work in an industry where good communication is important if not vital. Yet there is no encouragement nor effort I see to improve English skills. And it is not only my business, I see the same thing daily with other companies that I interact with. Have we reached a point where good proper English is no longer important? I am also curious as to the response elementary school students receive today when they ask the question, “Why do I have to take English classes?”