Teacher with heavy accent

[heavyaccent]

NC as controversial.........

DS has been moved up to top set maths for year 8 which is great. He claims to not be learning anything however, as he's having difficulty understanding the teacher because of her thick accent. She also apparently speaks quite quickly. When other students have asked her to repeat something she has exploded at them for not listening. He says she's very strict and not an approachable character.

I'm not sure how to advise he deals with this- he thinks asking her to speak slower or repeat details will get him in trouble. So do we just accept that he will sit there for the whole of year 8 not learning anything? He is now dreading this class every day. It was his favourite subject previously.

My only related experience is when learning to drive with the AA. I was allocated a Nigerian instructor. Very nice friendly man made me feel at ease but honestly I just nodded along with everything he said as I could barely understand a word. After 3 lessons like this I decided to switch instructor- I felt bad but I just wasn't learning anything and I couldn't afford to waste money on lessons.

So what is my AIBU- I'm not really sure. I would rather he drop back to set 2 and really understand the teacher and continue to learn. Is this a bit 'racist' of me though?

@Veterinari it is bloody hard for majority. I still sound a lot like I just got off the ferry... But with a local twang now. Which considering the local dialect probably makes it worse😂

There are over 40 dialects in UK....

It should be a given for everyone who lives and works in the UK to be able to speak (and write) English properly.
Well that's a bad news for the their/there, of/have and your/you're natives😂

Difficult one. Would he learn more back in middle set?

I’ve been married to my husband for 10 years and still struggle with his accent at times. Mostly because he mumbles a lot and when he doesn’t, he speaks quite fast, all in one breath! Have the same problem with one of dc teachers. Abosolutely lovely, but a very thick accent. I find myself nodding along a lot at parents evening!

you must inform the school.she can be the best teacher in the world..but if cant understand theres an issue. i had a dwp call earlier.i suspect probli "written english"surpasses mine.i was repeatedly asking to repeat and in full knowledge my local scottish dialect comes out fast.she never missed a beat and i eventually said id call back.i just couldnt make out most of what got said

It may indeed be physiologically difficult to lose and accent completely, but anyone can learn to speak more slowly and, if they are a teacher, they should have the self-awareness to realise that they need to slow down to give pupils the best chance of understanding the accent.

Some poor teacher, who is just trying to get on and do their job, is being rounded on by and group of kids all happy backed up by their parents.

@BelleSausage I totally agree that the OP should at least meet and talk with the teacher to determine whether her DS is exaggerating, but as someone who speaks RP English in another country, I completely accept that some people do have trouble understanding me, because I pronounce things differently to them. There's no point pretending it can't be an issue.

If these kids genuinely can't understand their teacher, what are their parents supposed to do? The onus is on the teacher to adapt to her group of students, not the other way around.

Teacher shouldn't have to change their accent but they should speak a bit more slowly than normal and ennuniate clearly. They also have to do this when teaching students who are hearing impaired, for example. If pupils are being deliberately obtuse that is a different matter and certainly teachers can be picked on in this way. Schools do not always have a load of qualified staff to choose from these days, to the poster who said they'd been selected at interview.

I have a hearing issue with some accents - newcastle, strong northern irish, some asian accents - I truly have no idea what they re saying - well, enough to hold a conversation but not enough to learn a subject or to be precise about something. My science teacher had an strong accent and after three years with her I was no longer top of the class and ended up not doing science subjects for o' level. Purely because I could not understand enough of what was being said. Friends had no issue with her accent at all. Since then, I have had a colleague from Newcastle and I had to resort to asking him to write a sentence down as I simply could not understand what he was saying. It is not my fault - I just do not hear some accents correctly. Maybe your son is the same.

Most students who complain about their teacher’s accent are either trying to avoid work/ looking for excuses or are racist.
Obviously I have no idea if that’s the case here but I’ve seen it many times.

Many people have hearing issues, including me. I struggle with a lot of accents and not for want of trying.

It really is a case of shutting up and learning to 'get your ear in' - I could always understand the doctors I worked for, but had a brief acclimatisation period when typing for somebody else - I started with mostly Indian/Hindi, Pakistani/Urdu, Bangladeshi/Gujarati, Sri Lankan/Sinti accented doctors and found Nigerian and Tamil accents more challenging, but I adapted. Still bolloxed with excited Geordies, Sand dancers and Glaswegians, though. And cross Western Irish men are always a mystery to me.

Do not let your child waste a year because of political correctness, next year that teacher could be long gone but your child will be left with the consequences, if the pupils cannot understand the teacher the teacher should not be teaching them

I wrote a really long reply but I cannot be arsed.

Know yourself out judging the poor woman based on second hand information.

And we wonder why there is a shortage of teachers in this country. No one is ever good enough!

Arrange to meet the teacher under some pretence?

Why for fucks sake?!

Why are people scared?

Your throwing your son under a bus if you don’t sort it.

You are

@MulticolourMophead, except that the OP's ds doesnt have any hearing problem and no issue woth 'accent' in general.

it can be hard to 'get' some accents. I know, as I am not british and have had to learn to understand many accents. That includes struggling to understand my now H. It took me about a yeat to be able to understand him all the time. Or his friend with a thick yorkshire accent.
But I also know that, when you put your mind to it, you do get it.

MitziK

What’s a sand dancer?

I was taught English O level by a recent immigrant with English as a second language. On two occasions I used words that she didn't understand. Once she underlined a word and said "this word doesn't exist" and on another occasion, I used the word habitat, and she underlined it and wrote "no, this is the name of a shop"

Fortunately, as both incidents were there on paper, my mother was able to go into school, show my work, and complain without having to go into the teacher's nationality.

I didn't get moved to another class, but the teacher left a few months later.

I had a lecturer at uni for one of my politics units who was South American and had such a strong Spanish accent I literally couldn’t make out a word she said. I went to a couple of her lectures and then didn’t bother, there wasn’t any point. I just did the reading at home instead. Not really an option for your ds though, poor lad.

All the anecdotal evidence of good teachers losing their jobs for thick accents. I really hope those teachers got their unions involved and take their employers over the coals for unfair dismissal and racism

Sadly, if they're functionally unable to do the job effectively, it's extremely unlikely a union would be able to do much on the basis as described

For context, I used to recruit HCPs in a specific speciality and geographical area which involved candidates being pretty homogenous. Sadly again I sometimes had to refuse a candidate because they simply couldn't be understood, and while the threats came thick and fast none of them were supported by the regulatory body or even the lawyers some consulted

As said, it might be best if OP approaches the school herself - diplomatically of course - so that she can find out what they're dealing with and then take it from there

Sand dancers are Geordies, but not all Geordies are Sand dancers. Therefore a Geordie and a Sand dancer will sound exactly the same as the will both be speaking with Geordie accent.

A Sand dancer is a person from South Shields.

Although I've lived in the south of England for 40 years, I've retained my east Midlands accent to a degree.
I've spent most of my teaching career teaching severely autistic children. A few years ago I had a more able group, including a lad who was quite a perfectionist and really wanted everyone else to act and behave perfectly.

At parents evening, his mum confessed that he was finding it difficult in my class, because I didn't 'say my As properly'.
He found it really difficult to cope with me saying grass and bath (for instance) with a short a, instead of saying bahth and grahss.

At first it seemed amusing, but clearly to him it was worse than nails on a chalkboard. But there was little I could do about it, of course. He was a lovely lad, but I'm sure he breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the year.

This is not racist, or judging or any of the other things pp are throwing in there. This is a case of ds, and his classmates, not being able to learn maths because they can’t understand her accent, and her refusal to repeat herself. They don’t have a spare year to “tune in” to her accent, even if they can eventually do so.

I would email or phone the head of maths, or head of year. I would explain he can’t understand her and her attitude when asked to repeat herself.

Personally I find some accents impossible, however long I hear them for, I can’t phone companies in case I don’t understand the person I talk to. It’s not racist, the worst is Scottish for me. If I can see their mouth I have more chance, but in a classroom or on the phone I have no chance.

Ds had this in Uni, he had a Lecturer who he just couldn't understand. It was a Math class also. I told him to concentrate and watch him and he's learn his accent. After a month he went to his mentor and was switched to a different class. He wasn't the first to complain he was told. It's too important to get his education.

I definitely think he'll get used to the accent. The teacher must have got decent results so far if she's been put in charge of the top set. If no one understood her it would be reflected in the results. And if others have managed to understand her, your DS will too.