Guest FungManX Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Alrite.. so my question is.. is it possible to do work in china with MSF if I have no knowledge of mandarin? Will the staff at the clinic's understand english? or are we supposed to know their language to talk to them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Hello, If you are a physician and wish to work with MSF, it would be an asset to speak the language of the country in which you'll work, but it generally has not been a requirement. (That being said, the doctors I know who have worked in these milieux have picked up some of the language to be able to converse with the local peoples.) Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dopetown Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 The education system in China is devoted to teaching English as a second language. Students are being taught English at around the middle school level. I know a 3-yr med student in China. I was impressed with how well he could communicate. We talk over msn when I'm up late. The thing is, although they can read and write relatively well, their speaking skills won't be great; mainly because they were taught by teachers with thickass accents, compounded by the fact that they themselves will have thickass accents. If you don't have a Chinese background, learning Mandarin will be a pain. The tonality of the language is very different from speaking English. I know of this white chick who's trying to learn Mandarin. Let's just say it's not going too well. It sounds like.... it should be Mandarin, but mixed with English... I don't even know how to describe it. It's terrible. Kudos to her for sticking with it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest quebecboy Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 As Kirsteen mentioned, it isn't necessary to be able to speak the local language (as I was told by an MSF recruiter who came at our school). However, MSF does give favoritism to people who can speak and write at least two languages (fluently), and if you can speak the local language, then it's really advantageous for them to send you on a mission (for logistics, communicating with the patients, village chiefs, etc...). Look on http://www.msf.ca , you should find all the info you're looking for. Quebecboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest satsumargirl Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Just something for you to consider. It is true that many of your colleagues may have a grasp of English. But many of your patients won't, especially if you are heading out to more rural areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest citrinez Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 just curious as to what 'MSF' means? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest quebecboy Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 MSF: Médecins sans Frontières (or doctors without borders, or again Medicos sin Fronteras.. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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