a leaner with zero foundation

[GoodTaste]

Is the expression "a leaner with zero foundation" understandable to you? Is it proper and natural in English?

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A Chinese guy talks about how to learn English with "zero foundation":


In fact almost all Chinese English learners are with zero foundation. What about Chinese PhDs? A Chinese PhD may have read English for 20 years and passed countless examinations, yet his chance to speak English out loud is almost zero. Any English learner who has never spoken English out loud is called a leaner with zero foundation.

 

[GoesStation]

Any English learner who has never spoken English out loud is called a leaner with zero foundation.

I think you can figure this one out.

 

[tedmc]

That's a typo for "learner". There is no such term as "zero foundation". The closest I can think of is "poor foundation".
The whole paragraph is badly written.

 

[GoodTaste]

There is no such term as "zero foundation". The closest I can think of is "poor foundation".
The whole paragraph is badly written.

The speaker's intention is to attract more newbies to learn English from him. He meant "Even if you don't know abc or 26 letters. Just come to me and you will be richly awarded with English skills." So "poor foundation" doesn't reflect this intention.

The original Chinese is 零基础. Can you translate it into "poor foundation"?

 

[tedmc]

The speaker's intention is to attract more newbies to learn English from him. He meant "Even if you don't know abc or 26 letters. Just come to me and you will be richly awarded with English skills." So "poor foundation" doesn't reflect this intention.

The original Chinese is 零基础. Can you translate it into "poor foundation"?

Yes, that is a literal translation from Chinese. Is the whole paragraph translated?

"Even if you don't know abc or 26 letters. Just come to me and you will be richly awarded with English skills."

The above should be in one sentence. "Awarded" is used with a prize/title/certificate, not skills. And no "with"
How about "imparted"?

 

[GoodTaste]

Impart tends to be of information or wisdom, rather than practical skills (of speaking English out loud). I am not very sure.

"Rewarded" may work there.

 

[tedmc]

You reward someone for having done something, not for paying you fees to learn a language.

You can impart skills too:
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/impart

 

[GoodTaste]

I think you can figure this one out.

Why figuring? It is a typo the whole world knows and I know many native speakers make more typos than I do.

it is poorly written

Your editing of the OP will be welcomed then.

 

[emsr2d2]

I have no real issue with "zero foundation". I hear people using things like "We shouldn't employ him. He has zero experience". It's a relatively casual way of saying "none at all". So, for me, someone learning English with zero foundation clearly means that they have absolutely no knowledge at all of the language or, in this case, even the alphabet.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

That's a typo for "learner". There is no such term as "zero foundation". The closest I can think of is "poor foundation".
The whole paragraph is badly written.

Hi, Ted -

Zero means no, more emphatically. Absolutely no foundation. None. Zero. Zip point doodly-squat.

Now you know!

 

[Tdol]

I'd call the PhD a person who has had little opportunity to interact not someone with zero foundation, a term I dislike.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Why figuring? It is a typo the whole world knows and I know many native speakers make more typos than I do. . . .

Hm. I don't get it. If you knew it was a typo, why did you ask?

 

[tedmc]

This is not a point of English but rather one of logic. How can a learner who has gone through a course in English have no foundation at all? The foundation may be weak but to say that there is no foundation is an exaggeration. It is like saying that the learner has learned nothing, not a word, zilch.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

This is not a point of English but rather one of logic. How can a learner who has gone through a course in English have no foundation at all? The foundation may be weak but to say that there is no foundation is an exaggeration. It is like saying that the learner has learned nothing, not a word, zilch.

The writer is making a different point: that unless you've actually used a language, you have no real foundation.

Whether or not it's true, it's certainly a clear way to state the opinion. So without considering whether the writer is right, it seems to me to be a good rhetorical word choice.

Can someone who's read dozens of how-to-play-piano books but never sat down at a keyboard be called a piano player? No. Does that person have a foundation in piano playing? It depends on how you look at it.

 

[GoodTaste]

I'd call the PhD a person who has had little opportunity to interact not someone with zero foundation, a term I dislike.

What does PhD stand for? People have different ideas.
For some, it stands for Doctor of Philosophy;
For some, PhD=Permanent head Damage;
And for others, it stands for a mystery of life.
You seem to be in the rank of the middle.

Hm. I don't get it. If you knew it was a typo, why did you ask?

I didn't ask for the correct spelling of anything. I asked the linguistic question about "zero foundation".

This is not a point of English but rather one of logic. How can a learner who has gone through a course in English have no foundation at all? The foundation may be weak but to say that there is no foundation is an exaggeration. It is like saying that the learner has learned nothing, not a word, zilch.

Welcome to war zone of ads.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . I didn't ask for the correct spelling of anything. I asked the linguistic question about "zero foundation".

Oh. You highlighted "a leaner with zero foundation." The odd word there is leaner, so it looked like that's what you were asking about.

If you had corrected the misspelling or only highlighted "zero foundation," we would have understood.

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In the game of horseshoes, a leaner is a horseshoe that leans against the spike without wrapping around it. The red horseshoe is a leaner: