foreign instructors

[Miriam E Ebsworth]

Yes, Lynn- absolutely! I read your response after I wrote mine.

Miriam

Miriam Eisenstein Ebsworth, Ph.D.

Director of Doctoral Programs in Multilingual Multicultural Studies
New York University

----- Original Message -----
From: Lynn Goldstein <lgoldstein at miis.edu>
Date: Thursday, April 7, 2005 9:30 am
Subject: Re: foreign instructors

> The other side of the coin is the need to address cross-cultural
> communication. Comprehension is also sociolinguistic-if I believe I
> won?tunderstand or I have negative attitudes towards someone, their
> group,their foreignness, etc, then I won?t understand. So what are
> universitiesdoing to educate native born undergraduates about their
> role and
> responsibility in understanding  and working with international
> teachersand teaching assistants? How many universities have
> workshops to help
> native English speaking students uncover their attitudes and
> prejudicesthat might affect their willingness and thus their
> "ability" to comprehend
> their non-native instructors? How many universities address the
> responsibilities of both parties in cross cultural communication,
> and how
> both parties can accommodate and work with each other?  I have seen
> firsthand how a non-native English speaking teacher who was a very
> fluent,accurate, clear speaker of English on all levels (grammar,
> pronunciation,pragmatics?) was perceived by his students to be
> unclear because he was
> Chinese.
>
> Lynn
> lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu on Thursday, April 07, 2005 at
> 5:49 AM
> +0000 wrote:
> >Anthea and all:
> >
> >I just wanted to share a little experience I have had with this
> 'foreign'>accent stuff.  I am American-born, "Caucasian", a native
> speaker of
> >English, raised mostly in the east and midwest. I taught for 28
> years in
> >Seattle (on the west coast), and there I occasionally was asked
> (e.g. in
> >linguistics courses or language-and-culture courses), by people
> from the
> >west coast (some from rural areas, to be sure) if I was "from this
> >country."  They meant from the US, not from Washington State. So
> the low
> >tolerance for any difference, and the reports that students
> perceive a
> >voice as "less comprehensible" if matched with an Asian face,
> resonate>with me.  Many state universities have gone through this
> business about
> >the lack of comprehensibility of "foreign" accents, and attempts
> to train
> >TA's to "enunciate more clearly" or whatever have been mostly a
> waste of
> >time, IMHO.
> >
> >I once participated (since I was chair of a dept. of Asian
> languages) in
> >discussions in the UW graduate school about how to help these
> "foreign">students to be more comprehensible; my suggestions were
> ignored.  But note
> >also the lack of training reported by some of these instructors--
> thrown>into a classroom with no preparation.  Some might benefit
> from training in
> >some kind of pedagogy (as we are forced to do in our language
> >departments). Math and science courses are notoriously bad, from the
> >pedagogical standpoint.  One math prof told me they don't care how
> bad>Calculus is taught--the good ones will get it, and the rest
> will drop out.
> >
> >On the question about ordinary Americans talking about their
> accents--yes,
> >stigmatized accents (New York, southern) are discussed, mocked,
> ridiculed.>Others not so much...  But the idea that Brits are more
> tolerant is new to
> >me--we get the impression that there's a lot more fussing out class
> >accents--like the fact that Mrs. Thatcher was hated (?) for her
> "fake">Oxbridge accent, which she hadn't acquired rightfully.
> >
> >Hal Schiffman
> >
> >
> >
> >On Thu, 7 Apr 2005, Anthea Fraser Gupta wrote:
> >
> >> This seems a very fair and balanced article, that puts forward
> factors>> concerning the speaker's skills, the hearer's skills, the
> cultural>> setting, and prejudice.
> >>  It strikes me that I have the impression that 'accented
> English' and
> >> 'English with an accent' is more used in the US than the UK.
> People in
> >> the UK talk about 'foreign accents' where foreign is shorthand for
> >> 'assumed non-native', and make assumptions that if you are not
> from an
> >> inner circle country you won't be a native speaker of English.
> There is
> >> certainly this shared prejudicial system on both sides of the
> Atlantic.>> But we also talk about British accents -- A LOT. Do
> ordinary American
> >> talk about their own accents????
> >
> >>  This posting isn't very well thought through, but I do have the
> feeling>> that there is something very different across the
> Atlantic in terms of
> >> attitudes to accents. I notice on Ask-a-linguist that a lot of
> Americans>> have a strong idea that there is a correct way of
> speaking, and that
> >> there is a great deal of hostility to Southern accents. I just
> have a
> >> vague feeling that there is a more normative attitude to accents
> in the
> >> US than in the UK. In the UK people certainly have prejudices of a
> >> rather complex sort, but diversity seems to be better accepted.
> >>
> >> Anyone got any thoughts??? Evidence???
> >>
> >> Anthea
> >> School of English, University of Leeds
> >>
> >> 	-----Original Message-----
> >> 	From: owner-lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu on behalf of
> Harold F.
> >Schiffman
> >> 	Sent: Wed 06/04/2005 21:14
> >> 	To: Language Policy-List
> >> 	Cc:
> >> 	Subject:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> 	>From the Chronicle of Higher Education, April 8, 2005
> >>
> >> 	http://chronicle.com/free/v51/i31/31a01001.htm
> >>
> >> 	Teach Impediment
> >>
> >> 	When the student can't understand the instructor, who is to blame?
> >>
> >> 	By JOHN GRAVOIS
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
>
>