[nabs] foreign professors

[chris nusbaum]

Hi Alicia,

You mentioned the Professor's notes. If he has notes for the lecture,
could you email him and see if he could email you the notes he took
for the lecture? That is, if he did his notes in English! *smile* If
he can email the notes to you, you can study the notes either at home
or on your notetaker during the lecture if you have one. It would then
be straight from the horse's mouth... the exact notes on which the
professor is basing his lecture. Maybe this will work! Hope this idea
helps!

Chris

On 8/20/11, bookwormahb at earthlink.net <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Hi Alicia,
> What a tough class then. I would see if there is another professor teaching
> the class next semester.
> Could you wait to take it then or next year, perhaps? If he only teaches
> that class, he is an adjunct  professor and may not be there long. If he
> cannot be understood, probably other students cannot and will give him bad
> evaluations.
> He’ll probably be gone within a few semesters if not sooner.  Yes, I think
> it is the university’s fault to hire an instructor who students cannot
> understand. Remember, generally college is not like high school; I know
> styles vary among professors. But in high school lots of notes were given by
> the teacher along with class discussions and assignments such as worksheets.
> In college, its my experience that it is lecture based with some discussion
> and other activities thrown in such as a group activity, video, maybe a
> review game. Professors might write a little on the board like an outline or
> proper names so students can spell them right or use powerpoint, but most
> information is delivered via lecture, unless its an english class where they
> write more on the board.
>
> My point is that I’m sure other students are just as frustrated as you
> because they cannot understand him and therefore cannot benefit from the
> lecture.
> I’d bring your concerns up to the department dean and bring other students
> along. If you really have to take the class now, hopefully he follows the
> textbook; if he does, study the textbook more than what he says in class.
> Sit up front to be able to hear him'; maybe you could ask him to talk
> slower. If other students understand him, maybe they could summarize the
> lecture for you.
> Maybe get a notetaker; but as I said, notes from professors usually just
> supplement the lecture; when I see powerpoints, often its merely a list of
> topics and maybe defining some key words.
>
> I have taken classes with professors who are foreign, but I understood most
> of what they said. It does not sound as bad as your situation. If I did not
> understand a word/phrase, I put a question mark in my notes, and asked the
> professor to repeat it after class or during office hours; they were usually
> happy to say it again. I just said, “sorry, I did not catch what you said
> after xx theory. What was that and can you spell that name?” They would do
> so. But I did this to fill in gaps, not for the whole lecture. I found that
> when they spelled words I could not understand and spoke to me slower on a
> one to one basis, we were able to work it out.
>
> I hope you can find an alternative professor, or take the course online.
>
> Ashley
>
>
>
> From: Starner, Alicia M.
> Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2011 6:57 PM
> To: 'Discussion list for NABS,National Alliance of Blind Students.'
> Subject: [nabs] foreign professors
>
> Hello All,
>
>
>
> I kind of know what I am going to do, but thought I would get some input
> from all of you. This semester is the first time I have come across a
> foreign professor with such a strong accent. ON the first day of classes
> there was only room for me in the back of the classroom, so I went in and
> took a seat. I had a very difficult time understanding the professor. I left
> the classroom thinking that I will go back and sit up front. On Friday that
> is just what I did, but I still walked out of class not understanding him. I
> did understand the video he was playing, but couldn’t understand a word he
> was saying. My first thought was drop the course and see if there was
> another instructor that taught the course, but I learned that he is the only
> instructor that teaches the course. I feel I am at a double disadvantage if
> I can’t see his notes and I can’t understand a word he is saying. I started
> to send an email to the access office, but decided it probably isn’t an
> issue for her. It is not really her fault or the universities fault I don’t
> understand a word this man says. I even recorded the lecture to see if I
> could understand him better at home, but the recording was even worse. Does
> anyone have any suggestions? I thought about dropping the course and seeing
> if he teaches the course online, but don’t know what to do. What would you
> all do if in the same situation.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Alicia Starner
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Chris Nusbaum

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The real
problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that exists. If
a blind person has the proper training and opportunity, blindness can
be reduced to a mere physical nuissence." -- Kenneth Jernigan

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