English for IT professionals: terminology, cases, mock interviews
From general “why it's important” to specific tools and tips on “what to do and how to do it”
IT is not just codes, servers, and a coffee machine that lives better than most people. It's a whole world where language is the key to understanding, career growth, and the feeling that you're “on the same wavelength” as all those who create the future. And if you don't speak English about code, architecture, or tusks yet, it's time to start.
This article is for those who are already in the tech world or are just preparing to enter it, but want to not just “know English” but think like a real IT professional.
Why “English for IT” is not an option, but a superpower
When you write code, English is already all around you. It's in functions, documentation, variables, errors, and commits. But knowing the words doesn't mean you can live with them.
Spoken English in IT is the ability to think in terms rather than translate: to quickly describe a problem, explain a solution, and defend your idea to a team or client.
The good news is that this is not a talent. It is a skill that can be trained. If you have any doubts about your level, you can take an English test to find out your current level. And read on.
The core of terminology you can't do without
Learning technical English is like building a system: you need a structure.
Development and algorithms: algorithm, recursion, edge case, scalability.
Frontend / Backend: framework, endpoint, API, middleware.
DevOps / Cloud: CI/CD, container, Kubernetes, load balancing.
Data & AI: dataset, overfitting, model validation.
Security: authentication, encryption, vulnerability.
Product and management: backlog, sprint, MVP, stakeholder.
Do not memorize everything. It is better to choose one topic that is close to you now and “speak” it - write code, explain, discuss tasks, even think in it. Words should live in context, not in a list.
How to memorize technical words forever
Memory is not a library, but a training ground. The more often you “pull” a word out of your memory in a real context, the deeper it gets fixed.
So instead of rewriting dictionaries:
● Read real issues, READMEs, pull requests.
Write short answers in English, even if they are comments on the code.
● Explain your decisions with your voice - record yourself, listen, improve.
Return to the same words after a few days - do not re-read, but “play” from memory.
This is the same principle that pilots and doctors use to train their memory: repeated repetition with real tasks, not dry terms.
Mock-interview is your rehearsal for victory
The best way to prepare for an English interview is not to cram answers, but to act out a real scene. A mock interview is a simulated interview that practices everything: technical explanations, body language, reactions, pace, and clarity.
In the classic version, a mock interview has three parts:
- Technical - a short task on an algorithm or code.
- System Design - questions about how you would design a specific service.
- Behavioral - questions about teamwork, conflicts, and deadlines.
Example of a mock interview scenario
Position: Backend Developer
Duration: 60 minutes
- Introduction (5 minutes): Briefly tell us about yourself and your expectations for the position.
- Technical task (25 minutes): “Compress consecutive timestamps into ranges.” Explain the logic, complexity, edge cases.
- System design (15 min): “How would you build a service that processes 10,000 webhooks per second?”
- Behavioral (10 min): describe a real-life work situation using the STAR scheme - Situation, Task, Action, Result.
- Feedback (5 min): what went well, what can be improved.
An example of an answer (in English):
"Last year, our payment service failed during Black Friday.
I rolled back the deployment, opened a postmortem channel, coordinated with the DB team, and restored the service in 18 minutes.
Afterward, we automated rollback to prevent similar issues."
Answers like this are gold. They are short, structured, and sound natural. Rehearse them out loud. Don't translate verbatim - find your voice in English.
What to practice every day1. Algorithmic explanations:
Start with “My approach is...”, continue with “The complexity is...”, and end with “An edge case might be...”.
2. System design:
Practice the phrases “We can scale by...”, “A bottleneck could be...”.
3. Soft skills:
Learn to describe your experience: “I faced a challenge when...”, “What I learned was...”.
4. Feedback culture:
Practice politeness during code review: “I suggest...”, “Consider refactoring this part...”, “Maybe we can simplify it by...”.
These are not just words - they are the code of your communication.
How to get the most out of your practiceTreat English like a sport. Work on your weaknesses: pronunciation, speed of response, terminology, fear of mistakes.
When you hear a word you don't know, don't hesitate to pronounce it incorrectly. An imperfect sound is better than silence.
Make your own mini-plan for two weeks:
● 3 mock interviews (one technical, one systemic, one behavioral).
20 minutes of flashcards every day - repeat the terms.
One short PR review in English.
One technical text to retell in your own words.
After two weeks, you will not recognize how much easier it is to think in English.
A little “survival” vocabulary for IT interviewslatency - the delay between request and response
throughput - how many requests the system processes per second
idempotent - an operation that can be performed several times without changing the result
rollback - return to the previous stable version
hotfix - an urgent fix in production
● scalability - the ability of a system to withstand an increase in load
throttling - limiting the number of requests
regression - a bug that brings back an old problem
pipeline - an automated build and deploy sequence
bottleneck - a bottleneck that slows down the system
Learn these ten words and you will sound like a professional.
Conclusion: why this training really worksEnglish for IT is not about grammar, it's about thinking. You don't learn to speak “correctly,” you learn to speak confidently, quickly, and clearly.
Mock-interviews, vocabulary practice, and real texts instead of “textbook water” are the three pillars of effective learning.
And most importantly, don't treat English like a subject. It is your tool, your weapon and your currency in the world of technology.
Prepared by ENGLISH.KH.UA