Experience with GMU engin/comsci -- professors with tough accents/hard to understand?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my kid goes to another college and is a CS major. They said that one CS professor is known for being difficult to understand, so DC is trying to not end up in that class.

I work in tech. Yes, a lot of the people I work with have accents, but it's not the same. At work, I can ask them to repeat (a few times) or email me what they want to convey. Can't really do that in class at college.

Just record the lectures and listen back.

If the accent is really really thick, no amount of recording and playback will help.

When I used to watch shows with heavy Scottish or northern Yorkshire accents, I would have to pause it and ask my Brit spouse to translate. Today, we have close caption on most streaming shows, and I use that a lot.

If only they had cc for professors.

You can get an auto-transcription for your digital recordings from free online software--and if they are on zoom there is cc real time.

would this software be able to detect strong accents?

My DH is British. He hates those automated call centers where you have to speak your choices because half the time they don't understand his accent. He gets super annoyed.

[Anonymous]

My kid is a computer science major at GMU (if that’s what you meant by “com sci”) and hasn’t reported any problems

[Anonymous]

My DD had auditory processing disorder. Heavy accents are virtually impossible for her to understand, but she doesn’t got to GMU and she is a finance major so I guess she is ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my kid goes to another college and is a CS major. They said that one CS professor is known for being difficult to understand, so DC is trying to not end up in that class.

I work in tech. Yes, a lot of the people I work with have accents, but it's not the same. At work, I can ask them to repeat (a few times) or email me what they want to convey. Can't really do that in class at college.

Just record the lectures and listen back.

Most universities require the professor's permission to record lecture and will usually only allow if there is a documented disability. They don't want everything they say recorded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is true of most schools with strong STEM programs. Including Harvard, back in the day at least.

+1 back in the 90s.

+1 at a HYPSM. Calculus TA (this was a class in sections with no professor or main lecture) would even use Chinese characters on the board to reiterate his points as he worked through equations. It happens anywhere that values research/graduate study over undergraduate teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD had auditory processing disorder. Heavy accents are virtually impossible for her to understand, but she doesn’t got to GMU and she is a finance major so I guess she is ok.

It's not unique to GMU. But she should go to the disability office and get accommodations for that--it would allow her to record/have lectures transcribed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had auditory processing disorder. Heavy accents are virtually impossible for her to understand, but she doesn’t got to GMU and she is a finance major so I guess she is ok.

It's not unique to GMU. But she should go to the disability office and get accommodations for that--it would allow her to record/have lectures transcribed.

She does have accommodations to record. If she encountered the accent issue maybe she would seek to get transcription as well (good idea—thanks)

[Anonymous]

This was a big problem at University of Pittsburgh.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to be rude and for certain individuals, downright wrong, but here's the thing:

1. In STEM, you'll hear many accents and some of them will be very hard to understand. I say this as an immigrant myself, who went to grad school here and heard lots of other accents that I could not understand.

2. In the more selective institutions, such as Harvard, students are intelligent, used to figuring things out, and competitive enough that they will power through because after all, they were selected to go to this prestigious uni!

3. At GMU, you don't often have that confluence of factors in the student body, hence all the whining. But guess what? They have to power through anyway!

Again, my apologies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry to be rude and for certain individuals, downright wrong, but here's the thing:

1. In STEM, you'll hear many accents and some of them will be very hard to understand. I say this as an immigrant myself, who went to grad school here and heard lots of other accents that I could not understand.

2. In the more selective institutions, such as Harvard, students are intelligent, used to figuring things out, and competitive enough that they will power through because after all, they were selected to go to this prestigious uni!

3. At GMU, you don't often have that confluence of factors in the student body, hence all the whining. But guess what? They have to power through anyway!

Again, my apologies.

Then why pay 80K tuition if you have to do it on your own?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:do you mean indian

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210528-the-pervasive-problem-of-linguistic-racism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry to be rude and for certain individuals, downright wrong, but here's the thing:

1. In STEM, you'll hear many accents and some of them will be very hard to understand. I say this as an immigrant myself, who went to grad school here and heard lots of other accents that I could not understand.

2. In the more selective institutions, such as Harvard, students are intelligent, used to figuring things out, and competitive enough that they will power through because after all, they were selected to go to this prestigious uni!

3. At GMU, you don't often have that confluence of factors in the student body, hence all the whining. But guess what? They have to power through anyway!

Again, my apologies.

Complaining about a teacher who lacks a fundamental professional skill (understandable communication) is not “whining.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:do you mean indian

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210528-the-pervasive-problem-of-linguistic-racism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my kid goes to another college and is a CS major. They said that one CS professor is known for being difficult to understand, so DC is trying to not end up in that class.

I work in tech. Yes, a lot of the people I work with have accents, but it's not the same. At work, I can ask them to repeat (a few times) or email me what they want to convey. Can't really do that in class at college.

Just record the lectures and listen back.

If the accent is really really thick, no amount of recording and playback will help.

When I used to watch shows with heavy Scottish or northern Yorkshire accents, I would have to pause it and ask my Brit spouse to translate. Today, we have close caption on most streaming shows, and I use that a lot.

If only they had cc for professors.

You can get an auto-transcription for your digital recordings from free online software--and if they are on zoom there is cc real time.

would this software be able to detect strong accents?

My DH is British. He hates those automated call centers where you have to speak your choices because half the time they don't understand his accent. He gets super annoyed.

They are about 85% accurate with accents in my experience. But some you can train them on the particular accent and they improve. So your rate gets better as the semester goes on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is true of most schools with strong STEM programs. Including Harvard, back in the day at least.

+1 back in the 90s.

+1 at a HYPSM. Calculus TA (this was a class in sections with no professor or main lecture) would even use Chinese characters on the board to reiterate his points as he worked through equations. It happens anywhere that values research/graduate study over undergraduate teaching.

Exactly. This and worse shouldn’t be a surprise anywhere undergrads are the third priority.