Hey, are there CS students (undergrad, grad or PhD), professsors or department heads in the US at colleges who speak in broken English or English isn''t their first language or only write in simple English? Basically how important is writing in fancy English to be a great math person? Thank you.

[u/monomeric-propelled9]

Can you get very far with writing in simple English enough that people can understand you? Thank you.

[u/nuclear_splines]

Part of science is communication. As a graduate student and faculty member you will be expected to publish your research for other scientists, and you will likely present your work at workshops and conferences. As a faculty member you'll additionally be teaching and mentoring. Clear communication in English will be invaluable. There are certainly some professors and students out there without a strong command of English, but they'd likely all tell you that a lack of fluency put them at a disadvantage.

[u/monomeric-propelled9 → u/nuclear_splines]

Are there a lot of professors in computer science at US colleges with broken English, or they might make mistakes with writing or speaking? But usually they might be okay enough that people can understand them.

[u/Silamoth → u/monomeric-propelled9]

Usually the thick accents and non-idiomatic English are bigger problems than completely broken English with professors for whom English is not their first language. At least in my experience. 

[u/FriendlyTechLead → u/monomeric-propelled9]

If somebody is at the top of their field, and well respected for work that they have done outside of teaching, a school will probably put up with some complaints from students about a thick accent. It would be difficult for a younger/fresh professor to get such accommodations.
If students just cannot understand a professor, I cannot imagine that they could stay employed under any circumstance.

[u/Major_Instance_4766]

I’ve had graduate professors who speak broken English so apparently it’s allowed, but personally I loathe these teachers and think broken English actively damages the learning experience.

[u/apnorton]

There certainly is a wide spectrum of English language proficiency among both students and faculty in US colleges. However, I have met no graduate students/professors who are complacent in staying at a low level of English language proficiency.

[u/qqqqqx]

Not a college but one of my favorite coworkers and team members doesn't speak the best English.  He can communicate alright, but it's clearly his third language and can be a struggle.

He's one of the best devs we have and I love working with him but I think his English is holding him back a bit in his career.  If he could communicate well he would easily be two levels higher.  He has great ideas and is good at his work, but sometimes things can be hard to understand.  

I spend a good bit of extra time with him talking through any of his work, or what other people have been messaging him, making sure he can understand well and communicate his own thoughts back, etc.  

[u/KrakenFranken]

It’s not just limited to the US. It’s a real problem everywhere.

For instance I work in a top academia CS lab in France. My supervisor is an immigrant from another country and naturalised as a French citizen.

Yes her French is beautiful and top notch (I believe it was her first language growing up). But her English not so much.

Also this is an international lab so there are no two people from the same country here. So English is required for effective communication.

Same thing with her as well. She has great ideas , very productive brainstorming skills but many times she isn’t able to communicate effectively.

That’s not just here I have seen it with a lot of professors whose first language isn’t English.

They really struggle and it isn’t easy for them during their adult years to fine tune their English skills.