Hi,
This is a very interesting issue.
I am a near-native speaker with a strong accent, and I run several staff
development courses for audiences that include deaf participants. Noone has
ever mentioned/complained directly to me or to the institutions I work for
about my accent.
I believe this is because I use multisensory strategies so that the students'
learning does not exclusively depend on what I am saying, as I am saying it.
Interestingly, several of my students who are native English speakers have
mentioned the difficulties of understanding some scotish lecturers...
Hope this informs the debate,
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Margarida Dolan PhD Phone: 0044(0)1225 383241
Learning Support Tutor and Staff Developer Fax: 0044(0)1225 386709
Learning Support Service
University of Bath
Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
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Quoting Sue Green <[log in to unmask]>:
> Hi,
>
> Busy time of year I know, but any advice appreciated.
>
> We have a lot of lecturers for whom English is not their first language. Some
> deaf students are finding it hard to understand them. These are students who
> have notetakers, but naturally want to understand what's going on in the
> actual lecture. Apart from trying to get tutors to enunciate more clearly
> (which might be genuinely hard for some, as some languages don't have the
> same sounds as English), face the front etc, what else can we suggest?
> Thanks,
>
> Sue Green
> Disability Co-ordinator
> The University of Birmingham
>
>
>
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