The Scottish thread

[Raymond Kerr]

Dear netters,
Just a few words in response to the teacher who had problems with an
elderly Scottish teacher in class. The same thing happened to me but in
reverse. I've been an EFL teacher for 16 years and a Scot for a lot
longer.A few years ago in Spain I had to change my teenage learners'
class (which I'd been teaching for four years) with a new teacher from
the south coast of England. The students said they found the new
teacher's accent too difficult to understand and thought that he spoke
too quickly. Any group of students will react in the same way at lower
levels until through time they gradually get used to the variety of
accents that exist in English. Groups of students throughout the world
get used to listening to a teacher's own brand of English and panic when
they listen to a different one.If the trainer does speak with a rapid
delivery, then he should be told to slow down his speech, but not to the
point of sounding unnaturally slow as this doesn't help students.He
should not be expected to adapt a new accent. As teachers we should try
expose our students to as many varieties as possible, especially if
students are going to live and work in a target country for longer
periods of time. This can be difficult since materials don't often
reflect minority accents. Under no circumstances should a Scottish EFL
teacher feel or be made to feel that their variety of English is in some
way inferior to any other. There still exists in certain EFL
institutions a certain type of snobbery shown towards non-standard
accents. It's about time these people woke up and listened to the
varieties of English spoken around the world . They might realize that
they are now in a minority.It's good to see that the BBC now has a
variety of local accents reflecting the geographical area where it is
broadcasting.
As a student at Glasgow University, we used to have Spanish fluency
classes with Chilean teachers who had left their own country when
Pinochet had come to power. We learned to respect their individual way
of speaking Spanish although at first it was difficult because we were
more used to Castilian accents. It's just like any accent - the more you
listen , the easier it becomes.
In response to my Australian colleague. William Wallace was one of
Scotland's national heroes and it is around him that the film Braveheart
was loosely based. He was born and lived in Renfrewshire in the western
part of Central Scotland south of the Firth of Clyde, not in the
Highlands as stated.
Regards
Raymond Kerr
Higher Colleges of Technology Al Ain Men's College
Al Ain- Abu Dhabi UAE rk...@hct.ac.ae

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