Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

I'd like to see you shift your entire phonological inventory after the critical period. And as far as "services" for teachers who speak English as a non-native language being a parallel to students who speak English as a non-native language receiving help? Students aren't teachers. It's your (and my) responsibility to make sure you understand. Just because you have to ask "Who is Sarah Monies and what event is she in at the Olympics?" doesn't mean your teacher needs to take extra time out for "accent training".

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• Posted by pantheon on February 27, 2009 at 2:12 p.m.
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Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

If undergrads are not the main concern at any university then their tuition should be equal to the effort that the university is putting forth to ensure that EVERY student is recieving a quality education...which is very little. And trust me, tuition for in an undergrad is much more than that. Listen, I've had "that" teacher, the one who is fully capable of teaching the class but simply can't put it into words that the students can understand. EVERYBODY struggled in the class and more times than not the teacher looked at all 30 students as if the problem was unique to our class only. She then literally REFUSED repeat herself. She said if we didn't understand we should see her during her office hours. I don't think that office hours should be wasted on simple translaiton but should rather be reserved for questions that come up after a student has recieved a comprehensible lesson on the material first. Heaven forbid that a person paying seven thousand dollars a semester request a teacher they can understand. If a teacher can't speak the language of the students who are practically paying the university's bills, more assistance should be provided to the students. Perhaps a teacher's assistance, the required use of a power point presentation with the lecture, an outline of the lecture, or a study guide. If you are a teacher your priority should be to teach, not to do your own research or publish your work. You are responsible for the educations of many students who also take their education seriously. The LEAST you can do is make sure your students can understand you.

P.S. Every grad student was once an undergrad so please do not act like you were WAY to good for the first four years of college.

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• Posted by rally on February 27, 2009 at 10:06 p.m.
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Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

I honestly dont think there is not one college student in this country that hasnt had a college professor from another country and with that a college professor who can't speak English very well and if you say you didnt your a liar! Now im not prejudice in any way but when there is a barrier or poor spoken professor standing in my way to my diploma and college education, you better believe Im going to have problems! I have actually switched classes (3 times to be exact) to get a professor who I can understand. I dont care what research they have done and where they got their education, I care about their ability to teach me the material I need to know successfully. I dont have a problem with forgien teachers but do agree that they should be able to teach and speak english and if that means training or more requirements to teach than so be it, its about the students undergrad or grad. All lot of time these oh so smarty pants professors didnt want to be professors in the first place, they want to do research and write in journals but guess what... just like we have to pay tuition they have to pay bills, ie mortgage, car payments, gas, food, etc. So because they have such high degrees these universities see them as gold! But HELLO the question is can they TEACH! Not everyone is a teacher and it takes a very dedicated and willing person to want to teach and lets face it thats not the case! These so called "teachers" just need a job and will get it because of the long list of accomplishments, which im not knocking them for it, you did your research and writing but leave the jobs for the millions of people who care about teaching! I think this articles rings so true for almost EVERY single student here in America, and with that I should be able to get my degree from a professor who CAN speak english and not one with a mile long list of accomplishment and degrees.

Keep up the great writing!

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• Posted by laraelcr on February 27, 2009 at 11:01 p.m.
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Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

From the KU academic page: "The value the university places on high-quality teaching creates a culture that cultivates and encourages positive interaction between students and faculty." I know it's just a sales pitch, but how is hiring researchers rather than effective teachers fulfilling that statement? (whether or not they speak english?)

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• Posted by em1 on February 28, 2009 at 7:45 p.m.
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Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

This is not just professors - I don't know a single person who took Calculus from a GTA who spoke good English. The math department is particularly bad about this, which is sad given the difficulty many people have understanding math.

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• Posted by delta77 on March 1, 2009 at 2:38 p.m.
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Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

Actually, linguo (love the name, by the way - that episode is one of my favorites), I believe "spoke good English" is technically correct, as "good" is an adjective describing "English." Of course, "spoke English well" sounds better, with "well" being the adverb modifying "spoke," but both are technically correct in terms of grammar.

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• Posted by G_E on March 2, 2009 at 1:16 p.m.
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Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

I asked a friend who is graduating this spring with an econ major about the math, I am an history major, and she said that she got straight A's in Calculus all the way though. No problems understanding. So, was it the GTA or the calculus that was the difficulty?

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• Posted by irishswearingen on March 2, 2009 at 1:43 p.m.
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Lucero: University should help its teachers with accent barrier

Damn, now I just feel silly. (I suppose that's what I get for being so eager to correct people's grammar, ha.)

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• Posted by G_E on March 2, 2009 at 9:50 p.m.
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