Interview: Computing Support Assistant

Part 1: Introduction interviewer: What do you like most about your job?

Anne: I like, I like all aspects of the job. It's good to.... it’s varied so there's lots of interest. Interviewer: Are you ever bored?

Anne: No. not really, because it’s never the same things over and over again: it’s different each time. "

Problems

Interviewer: What kind of problems are there? What kind of difficulties do people have?

Anne: People have problems with the hardware, often with printers ... paper jamming. They also have problems finding options in the programs. Mostly with word processing.

Interviewer: Are there any other hardware problems?

Anne: Occasionally a computer freezes... it hangs or freezes. It's usually a memory problem. Interviewer: Is it always the machine or is it sometimes the user?

Anne: Sometimes it’s the user. The printer isn’t switched on, or there’s no paper.

Part 2: Keeping lip to date

Interviewer: How do you keep in touch with what's new in computing? It's changing all the time. Anne: Yeah, by the time you read something, it’s out of date.

Magazines are good for finding out what’s new on the scene. The Internet also has information about new developments.

Interviewer: Do you ever go on courses?

Anne: Yes, they’re a good way to keep up.

Interviewer: What kind of courses?

Anne: Well, operating systems change, so courses about the different functions on the operating system. And then there's the programs that people use, like the word processors and the spreadsheets and the databases. And the best way to understand them is by taking a course and trying them out yourself.

Writing

Answer these questions about the interview with full sentences. Then link your answers to make a short paragraph about Anne.

1. What kind of work does Anne do?

2. What does she like most about the job?

3. What kinds of problems do people have with hardware?

4. Why do computers freeze?

5. How does she keep up with new developments in computing?

6. What kinds of courses does she go on?

Try to answer these questions using an -ing form

How do you draw pictures on a computer?

By using a graphics package.

How do you:

1. find a website?

2. select an option on a menu?

3. move rapidly through a document?

4. return to your starting page on the Web?

5. store favourite sites?

6. share ideas with other Internet users on a subject you’re interested in?

7. increase the speed of your computer?

8. send voice and text messages to other Internet users?

9. end a search on the Web?

Study this typical email address. It belongs to Anna Lock, who works for the Pesto company in the UK.

locka@pesto.co.uk

user ID

domain

type of organization

country

Study these examples of types of organizations and countries.

Organizations «		Countries
com or со	commercial organization	at	Austria
edu/ac	education	au	Australia
gov int	government international organizations	ca ch	Canada Switzerland
mil	military	de	Germany
net	network provider	es	Spain
org	not-for-profit and other organizations	fr	France
		it	Italy

Whose email addresses are these? Match the addresses (1-8) to the list of users (a-h).

1. redcrossyouth@algonet.se

2. webmaster@fao.org.it

3. today@bbc.co.uk

4. jsmith@smith.senate.gov

5. rossi@cantsoc.com.it

6. sales@demon.net

7. lunchx@swtol.usace.army.mil

8. s.larrieu@ly.ac.fr

a a UN organization based in Italy

b a US politician

с a Swedish charity

d a student at a French university

e a news programme on a public broadcasting service in the UK

f an Italian wine co-operative

g a military organization based in the US

h an ISP

Write a brief email to a friend describing your course. Your message should answer these questions.

1. What is your course called?

2. When do you have classes?

3. Which subjects do you study?

4. Which subjects do you enjoy most? Why?

5. Which subjects do you like least? Why?

6. What do you do in your free time?