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?

I don't think you are being racist.
It can happen with many accents. If I visit Belfast it takes me a few hours to click back in with the accent.
Friends in NI think the same for my accent I speak very fast.
I adore Kevin Bridges but need him on max volume.
Can you speak to other parents? It is an awkward conversation to have with the teacher, I'd give it a few weeks, if there is no change speak to the school.

madnessitellyou asked to spell “look” and gets “Luke” too funny

The teacher is qualified and passed exams and interview, she speaks English, but you have decided she's not good enough. So, go ahead complain to the school but don't dress it up as something else. Be truthful. Say your son can't understand her accent.

I have a mind you'll find others both pupils and staff who understand her well enough, however you won't come across well complaining about her accent.

Most of the people on here egging you on to complain wouldn't complain if it were them because they know how they'll come across. Say and do is 2 different things.

What a nightmare OP.
This happened to me in Uni.
One of my lectures had a very thick foreign accent.

Wonderful man. So enthusiastic. Used to bounce around the room as he taught and his passion was very clear.

Couldn't understand a bloody word he said.
Luckily it was within the change period. I left it till very last minute desperately hoping that I'd find a way to understand. But didn't and didn't want to risk it not happening further down the line so changed modules.

They really could be the most wonderful person and so knowledgable. But a teacher must impart their wisdom. And if that can't be done then the school must find a way to remedy this.

Come on OP, what's the accent?

I only had one teacher with a strong accent but I typically don’t have problems understanding any accent. It’s a very individual thing. The suggestions that the OP is racist because of this is very over the top.

This is a massive issue because you can be accused of racism when you are not being racist at all. I have mild hearing difficulties (diagnosed) and struggle to understand different accents (and my own, tbh). I explained that to one of my lecturers and was accused of racism before I had completed the statement about asking to sit near the front and to please not be frustrated if I ask her to repeat things. I even showed her my hearing aid. I ended up going to the head of department ahead of her..... (*eyeroll.... She is a very unpopular lecturer, it would seem. It’s not just me.)

I am surprised that so many people are assuming that the teacher is either "foreign" or a different race. My initial thought was of something like a teacher (most likely white) from some parts of southern Scotland, teaching in England, something like that.

Even if the teacher is foreign or non-white or both, I am afraid that makes no difference. The kids' education comes first. If a number of the kids are unable to tune into the accent after a while, that suggests that the teacher is not capable of doing their job and either needs to work on modifying their accent or work in a different field.

I am a long term foreign resident and racial minority in the country where I live. I think people in the country where I live are obliged to be accepting and accommodating of foreign accents when I and other foreign residents are speaking the local language, but we on the other hand are obliged to make sure we are comprehendible! I know some other foreign residents who are very hard to understand when they speak the local language. If they miss out on employment prospects as a result, that's harsh but I've afraid that is part of the risk you take if you migrate--the purpose of a language is to communicate. And children in particular have the right to be able to understand the teacher easily.

I agree with PP that waiting for a couple of weeks to see if the children are able to tune into the accent, and if it does not, raising the issue politely but clearly and honestly, is the best option.

How did the teacher get the job if she can't be easily understood?

If the teacher is a native English speaker - which could mean she is from countries ranging from Jamaica to Canada to Kenya - then yes unfortunately the students will have to get used to the accent. She's speaking English correctly just with a different accent.

Speaking too quickly to be understood and shouting at students for asking her to slow down - those are issues related to her job as a teacher and should be raised and corrected.

No-one said the teacher can't speak English well. She is obviously comprehensible at a job interview sitting 3 feet away across a desk, that is not the same as in front of a class. And she shouldn't be getting angry. Not sure anyone has said to complain either, just to politely address it.

Not quite the same but my boss has a heavy accent and talks fast. We are not in the same office so most conversation is by phone. I really struggled to understand her af first but it has got easier over time. Still a pain sometimes though.

I'd be more concerned she is snapping if asked to repeat words, and feedback to the school.

I love the old " speak English love" posse.

If only British people applied the same rules when they go abroad.

Blah blah blah maybe those parents of those children in those countries should make it an issue.

But right now this discussion is about a child's education being affected in this country.

I’m a scouser but according to my ds (16) i talk much posher than all of his friend’s parents.

He has recently started at sixth form college which is just about in another county. He said it’s like “spot the scouser” in there as everyone else talks completely different to ds and around 10 friends who have gone there from his secondary school.

He has a name that ends in IE which said by his new peers sounds completely different to how he says it and he’s struggled with a few of the stronger accents, despite having one himself.

@pinkboa I’m not British. I’ve also lived in a country where English was not spoken widely, and had to learn the national language (I did speak the local language).

The issue here isn’t the accent as much as the teacher’s attitude when she isn’t understood.

Why can English people go and live and work in Spain, yet not speak Spanish.

I agree that people who live in another country should learn to speak the language well (I do, for a start). But in the kind of case you are talking about, the English teachers are not required to speak Spanish as part of their job. It's not remotely comparable.

She is obviously comprehensible at a job interview sitting 3 feet away across a desk, that is not the same as in front of a class.

Yup, this. Classroom teaching puts particular demands on communication ability. Big rooms, echoes, lots of people, background noise, some pupils not getting an optimal view of the teacher, teacher turning around to write on the board while continuing to talk etc and pupils having to listen WHILE looking at their books and paper. meaning that they can't lipread. Teachers have to be able to speak clearly.

On a controversial one, but:

Maths is a shortage subject. Teachers are still leaving the profession in droves. In some schools, anyone who respires will have to do as they struggle to recruit and retain staff as it is.

I work in a shortage subject and in some schools I have worked in there were people with extremely heavy accents, because they were the only ones applying for the job. Similarly some spectacularly incompetent ones.

Complain, if you will, but be realistic about what may happen. The teacher may get spoken to. But if it's that or a string of supply, don't expect anything much to change and support your son as much as you can at home.

I don't agree with it, but that's what teaching has become.

The teacher must have got decent results so far if she's been put in charge of the top set

Nope - sometimes the worst teachers get the top set as they are perceived to be better able to manage their behaviour.

It's up to the teacher to make themselves understood - the essence of the job is clear and effective communication.

I had this many moons ago in what would have been year 8 and also in maths. I had done really well in primary and year 7. However I could not understand the teacher's accent and I learned zilch in year 8 and never ever caught up again, I just gave up and lost interest. I didn't say anything as I was the only one with the problem it seemed and I didn't want to be seen as racist. I so regret that as it affected the rest of my life.

@NextTrainGoesToBEROWRA I always have the subtitles on the t.v!

Year 8 french I had a teacher with a thick Scottish accent - not a fucking clue. Sometimes she told us the English couldn’t pronounce things properly and would try to teach the Scottish then the french 😬 ruined french for me, I never caught up. Spanish and German were fine though. YANBU speak to the head of year!

I don’t understand all the posters banging on about ‘you should have to prove you can speak English to live here’ and similar nonsense. It just seems like they're Using this thread as a platform for irrelevant ‘Little-Britainism’

The OP has been clear that the teacher speaks English - that’s not the issue. I’m not even sure that the accent is the issue.

OP - the teacher should be able to engage with her students in a non-abrupt manner if they are struggling. That is the issue.

I worked with a Scottish man for 4 years and found his accent so hard to understand. I wasn’t embarrassed to ask him to speak more slowly. He obliged. No teacher should get annoyed if a child cannot understand them whatever the reason may be. My children have a supply teacher who also tells them off when they don’t understand her due to her accent and they all dislike her intensely as she is so mean

OP - the teacher should be able to engage with her students in a non-abrupt manner if they are struggling. That is the issue
I agree.
Though at the moment what the OP has is her DC saying that the teacher has been abrupt or shouting at other students when they've said they don't understand.
I'm not entirely sure that can be brought into their concern raising really as it's really hearsay and also being raised much after the incident
(e.g. it may well be that the teacher has explained to the group, and already slowed down, and explained 1+1, only for the student to pointedly make a comment about not understanding then whilst laughing to the group. Vs someone really didn't understand their accent, had their hand up and asked the teacher to explain again because they didn't follow and could they walk through it again slowly. Those 2 situations would get two different responses most of the time)

I've seen top set students deliberately goad a teacher once they've got their teeth into something and then when the teacher has to be firm or abrupt they go "but we only asked a question" "we were just stuck" and then rely on being top set to excuse their actions. I've seen it happen with skilled teachers and teachers with some weaknesses.

I'm not saying that is happening with the OP's child, but it does mean I think they have to be cautious confusing a reasonable basic concern that their child is struggling to understand (after a period of actively listening Vs half hearing and hoping to fill in the gaps) with what may may not have happened concerning different students on different occasions.

The more the OP Can keep the main issue the main issue and avoid being side tracked into what people think of this teacher's personality, the better resolution she'll have.