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These biases are not without latent opportunities. The upside of this is if your cohort is generally associated with a strong accent (e.g. grad students from C

These biases are not without latent opportunities. The upside of this is if your cohort is generally associated with a strong accent (e.g. grad students from China), a sure-fire way to separate yourself from the crowd would be work on diminishing your accent.

at-fates-hands 11y ago
I remember seeing an interview with Sergei Federov (famous Russian NHL'er) it was one of his last seasons when he was playing with the Capitals. I was absolutely floored hearing him talk. There was no hint of his Russian accent at all. I remarked to one of my friends about him losing his accent. He told me it was well known after the late 90's backlash against Russian players, many went to great lengths to lose their accents by hiring language experts to help them with their English language skills. It would appear Sergei went above and beyond in that regard.
coreyp_1 11y ago
Us grad student here. The problem with most foreign grad students is that they do not want to work on their accent, or on English itself, for that matter. Many of them just congregate into their own groups, and rarely speak English except for when they have to. Then, they wonder why they get such low reviews when they give a lecture! In a way, this is highly pragmatic of them. Most of them do not want to stay in the United States after they graduate, so they have no interest in the extra effort that it takes to learn an American accent. The extra time it would take actually pulls them away from their research, and is seen as a distraction. Unfortunately, those who do want to stay either don't know how to, can't, or won't practice a better American accent, and so are extremely difficult to understand, even when you are familiar with the subject matter that they are talking about. I have met only I have a dozen or so foreign students that I did not were from another country until they told me so. It wasn't about the size of their vocabulary, but entirely based on their accent.
- bbgm 11y ago
  Should they? I can't tell if your comment covers any accent, or just very thick ones. English is my first language (I speak Hindi but am not very comfortable carrying on a conversation in the language). I have lived in the US for almost 20 years, and at no point have I ever felt that my accent was holding me back.
  - coreyp_1 11y ago
    IMO, slight accents are not a problem. Very thick ones are (such as not being able to understand individual words because the vowels and consonants are so badly mispronounced). I am a native speaker, but I have a regional accent. When I teach classes, I consciously minimize my home accent because it is difficult for non-native speakers to understand my English if they are not familiar with its sounds. Why shouldn't an ESL speaker do the same? When I go to other countries whose language I have studied, I try very hard to mimic the national accent, and people appreciate the effort. I think of it as a way of showing respect to them, their heritage, and their culture. If I disregard it simply because I don't have time or can't be bothered, then I am being extremely rude. And so, yes, when I have gone to Mexico, Brazil, France, and Germany, I have tried to speak those languages as authentically as possible.
- ta0967 11y ago
  I have met only I have a dozen or so foreign students that I did not were from another country until they told me so. where are you from?

at-fates-hands 11y ago

I remember seeing an interview with Sergei Federov (famous Russian NHL'er) it was one of his last seasons when he was playing with the Capitals. I was absolutely floored hearing him talk. There was no hint of his Russian accent at all. I remarked to one of my friends about him losing his accent. He told me it was well known after the late 90's backlash against Russian players, many went to great lengths to lose their accents by hiring language experts to help them with their English language skills. It would appear Sergei went above and beyond in that regard.

coreyp_1 11y ago

Us grad student here. The problem with most foreign grad students is that they do not want to work on their accent, or on English itself, for that matter. Many of them just congregate into their own groups, and rarely speak English except for when they have to. Then, they wonder why they get such low reviews when they give a lecture! In a way, this is highly pragmatic of them. Most of them do not want to stay in the United States after they graduate, so they have no interest in the extra effort that it takes to learn an American accent. The extra time it would take actually pulls them away from their research, and is seen as a distraction. Unfortunately, those who do want to stay either don't know how to, can't, or won't practice a better American accent, and so are extremely difficult to understand, even when you are familiar with the subject matter that they are talking about. I have met only I have a dozen or so foreign students that I did not were from another country until they told me so. It wasn't about the size of their vocabulary, but entirely based on their accent.

bbgm 11y ago
Should they? I can't tell if your comment covers any accent, or just very thick ones. English is my first language (I speak Hindi but am not very comfortable carrying on a conversation in the language). I have lived in the US for almost 20 years, and at no point have I ever felt that my accent was holding me back.
- coreyp_1 11y ago
  IMO, slight accents are not a problem. Very thick ones are (such as not being able to understand individual words because the vowels and consonants are so badly mispronounced). I am a native speaker, but I have a regional accent. When I teach classes, I consciously minimize my home accent because it is difficult for non-native speakers to understand my English if they are not familiar with its sounds. Why shouldn't an ESL speaker do the same? When I go to other countries whose language I have studied, I try very hard to mimic the national accent, and people appreciate the effort. I think of it as a way of showing respect to them, their heritage, and their culture. If I disregard it simply because I don't have time or can't be bothered, then I am being extremely rude. And so, yes, when I have gone to Mexico, Brazil, France, and Germany, I have tried to speak those languages as authentically as possible.
ta0967 11y ago
I have met only I have a dozen or so foreign students that I did not were from another country until they told me so. where are you from?