dd can't understand her teacher because of her strong accent

[brimfull]

she is in yr 12 which is I think old enough for her to make the complaint herself but I know that a few of her classmates have done so and nothing has been done.What they can do I don't know.

It is As maths .Teacher is dutch which I find surprising as I find dutch accent easy to understand but dd sasy this woman is impossible to understand.
She has lessons with anther teacher for another component of maths so not her sole teacher thank god.

Would you call the school?

[seeker]

I wouldn't do anything unless I had actually heard the woman talk myself. But I have a nasty suspicious mind!

[brimfull]

good idea about writing a letter

[girlandboy]

Hmmm, my sociology teacher had a REALLY broad geordie accent. We actually told her that we were having trouble understanding her. It became a standing joke with her, and she was great about it. She also made an effort to make sure we understood her. This was in year 12 too. I suppose it depends on how approachable the teacher is.

[brimfull]

She has spoken to the head of math ,she said to come to her if she doesn't understand something and she'll explain it
suppose that's all she can do really

Also dd has said she hasn't siad anything to the dtch teacher as she thought it would be too rude.Have told her to politely tell her she finds it difficult to understand her accent.
God help the Japanese students in the class.

[Overmydeadbody]

There's not really much that can be done though is there, apart from maybe make the teacher aware so she can be more conscious of how she speaks and maybe let all the pupils know to tell er if they don't understand?

I had a physics teacher who learnt english from books and reading. It was almost impossible to understand her most of the time. We used to run riot in her class

[pickie]

GGirl, the Dutch teacher might like to know if pupils cant follow her so she can work on it?

[seeker]

Have you heard this woman talk, ggirl?

[brimfull]

no never heard her speak myself.
I agree there isn't much that can be done short of telling the woman to encourage her to speak more clearly if she can.
I have advised dd to tell her herself, rather than just saying pardon all the time she needs to spell out the problem.

[seeker]

Thing is, I've never met a Dutch person whose English wasn't as clear if not clearer than most native speakers - and I do just wonder whether there's something else going on here? Do the pupils like this teacher?

[brimfull]

I agree that the Dutch accent is usually easy to understand.We have loads of dealings with the dutch as a family and dd says this woman's accent is much stronger and more difficult to understand.I do believe her if that's what you're thinking-she's not the type to embellish something.

Could be it's mixed with another type of accent as Holland very multicultural as well.

[brimfull]

aaaah
apparently she is part portugese

[Freckle]

DS1 has a Nigerian teacher for chemistry and she can be very difficult to understand (and I have heard her speak myself). I've found that the pupils do gradually get used to the accent and don't experience any problems thereafter. Maybe they just need to leave it for a while - although not helpful if they are missing out on important work in the meantime.

I do think though that it is something for the school to sort out. It's no good saying that she speaks English if the way she speaks it is completely unintelligible.