Working with Shumin is a great pleasure because of her professional approach. Her knowledge of STE is excellent and with her pragmatic approach she helps companies to improve. Our trainees rated Shumin all with excellent. If you consider to train your staff in STE, I highly recommend Shumin.

I found all the STE rules to be highly beneficial for my work and certainly look forward to start applying Simplified English rules by using the ASD-STE100 specification. The two-day workshop conducted by Shumin has taught me how to use the STE rules correctly and apply them in the appropriate context. Everything has been explained very clearly.

I would rate the introduction to ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English an 8 out of 10. Base on the STE presentation on rules, my favourite would be Rule 2.3 where you use an article (the, a, or an) or a demonstrative adjective (this, these) before a noun. The STE exercises provided in this workshop were of a very high standard and I would rate them 9/10. In terms of trainer evaluation, I would rate Shumin's training an 8 out of 10.

I attended Frans's training course in Simplified Technical English in June 2010 and I am very glad I did. Apart from being an engaging speaker and managing to enunciate 57 and a half writing rules in three hours without boring you for a second, Frans is a brilliant technically-minded linguist - a rare find. The ease with which he can turn convoluted (or downright bad) material into crystal-clear technical writing, at first sight and without hesitation, didn't cease to amaze me throughout the training sessions. Frans is personable, flexible, an extremely knowledgeable scholar and an excellent teacher. The two days spent in training with him definitely enriched my skill set. I can wholeheartedly recommend him, as an efficient trainer, enthralling presenter, and leading documentation expert. Top qualities: Personable, Expert, Creative

The presentation on rules clarified a lot of things of which I was unaware. I have a much better understanding of how to format lists with colons, when to use obey vs. comply, and the differences between notes, cautions, and warnings. Moving forward, I will be able to utilize the ASD-STE rules more effectively to write better documents. I appreciated the exercises completed in this workshop because they helped me immediately practice and enforce the ASD-STE rules. I like the fact that they were timed. Writing under time-constraints forced me to think quickly and fully concentrate on my writing. I will definitely recommend this training to writers of many fields, especially technical fields. The material, presentation, and instructor are fantastic. I learned a lot about ASD-STE. Even though I’ve been using this writing convention for almost eight years, formal training brought much clarity and comprehension that I had not previously realized. I now know that an aptitude for writing and a copy of the STE rules is a good start, but not enough. This course takes your understanding to a professional level!

This was a great course with very useful and practical knowledge for my work. Simplified Technical English (STE) encourages users to always refer to the approved list of verbs and nouns in the STE dictionary before writing their technical documentation. The active voice is also a very useful and powerful tool in sending loud and clear instructions to our users. Starting a warning or caution with a simple and clear command is also very crucial in my line of work. Shumin's delivery of the training is highly organised, and she has been most patient with our comments, questions, and feedback the whole time.

This Simplified Technical English (STE) workshop has equipped me with the right kind of STE knowledge and skill sets to move forward confidently in my role as a technical writing team leader. I am glad that I was able to attend this course!

I find that STE rule 2.1 extremely useful in technical documentation to avoid ambiguity. Rule 3.6 is one of my favorites because you need to master well syntax and language to always avoid passive voice. It was a good excercise, thanks Shumin for this interesting and challenging topic!

My favorite STE writing rules: * Rule 1.9 and Rule 1.10 When you must select a technical name, use one which is short and easy to understand. Both rules ensure a better understanding of technical contents. * Rule 3.6 Do not use a past participle with a helping verb to make a complex verb. Past tenses may be adequate for marketing texts due to stylistic reasons, but not for technical contents, where precision and clarity play a major role. * Rule 5.1 Keep procedural sentences as short as possible. The description of procedures in technical manuals has to be as simple as possible to avoid confusing the reader.

Frans is an exceptionnally talented linguist, in addition to an excellent marketing and technical representative for his company. Boeing has had the pleasure of working with Frans as the liaison for our activities and hopes to continue having him support us in that role and any future role he may have with the company.