International Studies Major Complains About Professor’s Accent

For the past semester, international studies major and self-described “perfect student” Jamie Coates has been taking INTS 251, Contemporary Issues in the Middle East. Recent reports indicate that Coates is on track to earn a C in the course, which she says she will receive because she cannot understand her professor’s accent.

“How am I supposed to understand the course material when my professors barely speak English?” Coates said. “Her thick Turkish accent makes it impossible to follow along with lectures.”

When asked about the value of international professors bringing diverse perspectives to the classroom, Coates said, “I just don’t think I should be expected to learn in a setting where the people around me speak a different language. As an international studies major, I need to actually understand my classes so that I’m prepared to enter the increasingly global world.”

While many students complain of teachers with thick accents requiring a little more effort to pay attention to in classes, it is international studies majors like Coates who must suffer the weight of international professors bringing diversity into college classrooms.

 

— Hannibal Lechner