Timeline for How to tell speakers that their English is terrible?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
19 events
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 22:10 | comment | added | Stephan Branczyk | @DavidRicherby, Then, let's just agree to disagree on that one. | |
| Oct 5, 2017 at 22:07 | comment | added | David Richerby | Requesting a transcript is still completely infeasible. | |
| Oct 5, 2017 at 21:12 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 21:06 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 21:01 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 20:52 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 20:21 | comment | added | Stephan Branczyk | @DavidRicherby, If math is not a basic requirement in that specific field, then yes, such a request may be appropriate. The same goes for foreign languages. Some fields require that you know specific languages and knowing a specific language actually helps you understand a particular accent. But if that language is not a particular basic requirement of your field, then you would have a good reason to ask for a written transcript in advance. In any case, I've amended my original answer considerably. I hope that my amended answer gets a better reception. | |
| Oct 5, 2017 at 20:14 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 19:47 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 19:36 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 5, 2017 at 12:03 | comment | added | Dilworth | Certainly, the OP's advice is actionable and helpful. The speaker must make effort to improve her English, just like she and all of us make effort to improve our lectures, content, form, exposition skills, strategy etc. | |
| Oct 5, 2017 at 10:37 | comment | added | David Richerby | @StephanBranczyk If you're near- or far- sighted, you're wearing glasses or contacts unless your vision problem is at the level of a recognised disability. I'm having difficulty seeing "I'm not good at understanding foreign accents" as any kind of recognised disability. It doesn't seem much different from putting in a request along the lines of, "I'm not very good at math so please ask all your speakers to go real slow during the mathy parts of their talks." | |
| Oct 5, 2017 at 10:30 | comment | added | Stephan Branczyk | user2390246, I agree that most people wouldn't follow a script closely, but still a script would still be useful if your spoken English is not understood by your audience. @David Richerby, I wasn't lying, nor I was suggesting lying. People do vary in abilities in understanding foreign sounds. It's like someone who is near-sighted, or far-sighted, or has butterflies appearing in their vision. One doesn't need to be legally blind to politely ask for an accommodation for the next time around, especially if that accommodation is the only way you'll be able to follow what's going on. | |
| Oct 3, 2017 at 10:14 | comment | added | David Richerby | "What you must ask for [in advance] is the transcript." The what? Talks (with the exception of some fields) aren't delivered from a script. There is no stenographer. There is no transcript. | |
| Oct 3, 2017 at 9:31 | comment | added | mattdm | Asking for a transcript seems like a good idea, but lying about a disability is not. | |
| Oct 3, 2017 at 9:02 | comment | added | Plumpie | How is it not actionable? something not actionable would be 'you suck' whereas providing a specific point that can be improved provides a clear path forward. | |
| Oct 3, 2017 at 8:35 | comment | added | user2390246 | "ask the organizers of the event (or the faculty in charge) to provide transcripts of the talk in advance the next time around" Is this something that happens? Surely that would be difficult or impossible to provide. Personally, I deliberately don't write down a script of what I'm going to say in a talk, and even if I did, I doubt I would stick to it very closely. I don't think I'm unusual in that regard. | |
| Oct 2, 2017 at 21:32 | history | edited | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 2, 2017 at 21:24 | history | answered | Stephan Branczyk | CC BY-SA 3.0 |