Emily CP #4

Date/Time: 4 April 2017 @ 6:45 PM

Location: Tallahassee, FL

This week Saeed and I continued our Starbucks routine yet again. As I was getting my coffee Saeed looked over one of his class assignments on unprepared and prepared speeches, and asked me to help explain the difference. As Saeed read through the assignment descriptions he stumbled over a few words and asked for my help in pronouncing them. This act then led to a lengthy discussion on accents and colloquialisms. Saeed shared that he has difficulty understanding English spoken by individuals with heavy accents, and also shared his desire to try and lose his own accent. I told him that since he is learning English as an adult he is unlikely to lose his accent altogether, but if he focused on enunciating each word, and spoke loud and clearly, his accent would not seem so heavy to native English speakers. We then talked about the difference between Southern, Northern, and Midwestern accents, and why even Americans poke fun at accents like those from Boston or Minnesota. I asked him if there were any distinct accents in Kuwait and he couldn’t say whether there was either way. After our accent chat I taught him a few funny things that Americans say in the south such as “y’all” or “bless your heart.” It is interesting to note how tough on himself Saeed is, I’m really beginning to notice that one of the biggest obstacles Saeed faces in learning English is the expectations he has for himself; I told him to be patient, and to practice intentionally, and that after a while English will become a habit.