Understanding a "new" accent

Understanding a "new" accent

One difficulty students have in listening to lectures is understanding a "new" accent. Maybe your high school English teacher talked with one kind of accent and now your lecturers use a different one. In English speaking universities the staff come from many different countries and from different parts of the same country. This means that even though they are all speaking English it may take a week or two to get used to their voices.

Suggestions:

1. Look at the lecture topic on the course outline. Do you understand the title?

2. Find out the meaning of the topic before the lecture.

3. Read the textbook chapter on the topic.

4. Think about the questions you think the lecturer will be answering.

Understanding fast talkers

A second problem can be the speed of the lecturer's talking. Some students don't even know if what they are writing down is one word or two.

Handy tips

1. Ask if you can record the lecture. Some lecturers allow recordings but others don't.

2. Try to note key points like names, statistics and dates.

3. Use a capital letter instead of writing the key word every time it is mentioned. For example if the lecture is about water pressure just write WP each time.

4. Make up your own shorthand system for common words. Here are some that are commonly used. There are many more and we suggest reading more about taking notes so that you become efficient at it.

& = and
# = number
A = B = A equals B
A -> B = A leads to B
@ = at

5. Use plenty of space on the page as you take your notes. Make lists and sketches. You can add details later from your textbook.

6. Write down what you think you hear. Then later try saying it aloud if it doesn't make sense. Perhaps "be low" is really "below" for example.

Understanding jokes

As you will know from your own language, jokes depend on knowing a lot of things that are not said as well as understanding the words that are said. They also depend on the speaker and the listeners finding the same things funny. What sounds funny in one place may sound stupid in another.

• Suggestions

It is annoying to see other people laughing while you don't know why, but think of this. Some of the students who are laughing may not understand the joke either. People sometimes laugh along with the others just to look good. One day as you learn more about the country and its famous people, the names and events that everyone knows about and as your English improves, you will understand the jokes too. It just takes time.