3 hour lecture vs. prof who's hard to understand?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>At my school, there's only two chem professors, one of which has a very thick accent and is extremely hard to understand. The other only has one class, which meets once a week, at night, and is three hours long.</p>

<p>I took the three hour chem lecture last semester, and it was brutal. I had to get coffee every single time during break just to stay awake, and the professor goes so fast through her slides that you can't get all the notes down (she puts them up online, but it kindof defeats the purpose of learning them in class). There's just no way to keep up, and two hours in I'm pretty much comatose anyway.</p>

<p>I ended up shutting myself in my room for four days before my chem final, and I literally taught myself everything we were supposed to learn the entire semester. I barely ate, barely slept, barely took breaks. It was utter hell, and I can't do it again.</p>

<p>I'm registered to take the three hour lecture again this semester, but I've been thinking it over since break started and I'm wondering if it wouldn't be easier to just take the other lecture. The other lecture meets twice a week, an hour and fifteen minutes long each class. I've heard some horror stories about the foreign professor and how no one can understand him, but I've also heard a lot of people say they switched out of the night class and did better in the day class.</p>

<p>Has anyone been in this type of situation, or have any advice? I've heard so many conflicting accounts, some who've switched to the night class because they were failing the foreign prof's class, and some who switched out of the night class. I'm not really sure what to do, at this point, but honestly, I'm thinking that regardless, even if I can't understand what the professor's saying, it'd only be about an hour wasted instead of three.</p>

<p>What would you do, if you were stuck between the two?</p>

2

<p>Have you actually heard this foreign professor speak or are you just going on hearsay?
Do you have experience with accents? Do you know what nationality he is and have experience with hearing the accent before. You may find out that you can understand him better than you anticipated. Or you may not.</p>

<p>I don't think I could make it in a 3 hour chemistry class. For hard sciences, my brain just can't stay on a subject for that long, and it sounds as if you are the same way.</p>

<p>I'd go with the twice a week, but that's just me.</p>

3

<p>If the school allows switching between class sections after a week or so of class, I would start the semester with the foreign prof and see for yourself if you can understand him. If not, try to transfer back to the weekly section.</p>

4

<p>I know I can't make it in a 3 hour lecture. Heck, this past semester I had all 75 minute lectures and I fell asleep in them most of the time. I'm more used to the 50 minute lecture sections.</p>

5

<p>Go to both the classes for the first week, see which one is better, and stay in that one.</p>

6

<p>I have heard him talk; he actually comes to the other labs all the time to give his input, since he's head of the chem department. He's indian, and his accent's VERY thick, so it is hard to understand what he's saying a lot of the time, but I'm hoping it might be one of those things that gets easier to understand over time, after you get used to the accent.</p>

<p>And yeah, it was pretty awful sitting through three hour classes last semester. I really can't concentrate on something for that long and be expected to remember it pretty well a week (or even a few days) later. In my twice-a-week classes, I don't have that problem. I hardly need to study for very long to do well on tests, since I always remember a lot from the lecture.</p>

7

<p>can't you watch that lecture online on your college's website over a video? My school does record some lectures, especially the evening classes that last 3 hours. You might also buy a voice recorder and record a lecture on a tape. You might also wait until a next semester to take a teacher who you understand and have lectures which accommodate your needs.</p>

8

<p>I could NEVER take a 3 hour lecture in any subject. I took a lecture that was one hour forty minutes and it nearly killed me. I would take the accent over the long lecture any day. Accents can be adapted to over time.</p>

9

<p>im sure there will be breaks with the 3 hour lecturer.</p>

<p>choose that over the prof you cannot write notes with.</p>

10

<p>I think either action is possible if you can change one thing:</p>

<ol>
<li>If you keep with the 3-hour lecture class, bring a recorder or use a laptop with a camera, and record the lectures. Then you can just go over it more slowly.</li>
<li>If you go to the accented professor, try to speak to him a few times before class. I currently have a teacher who has a thick, thick, thick accent and was impossible to understand for a month or so. Spend enough time around it, and you may learn to understand it better. If not, but you still don't want to take the other class, try recording his, too. Either you can listen to them again, or maybe a friend who took his class can help transcribe it.</li>
</ol>

<p>Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps!</p>

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<p>If it were me, I'd try to take the 3 hr. class. If you take the class with the professor who has the thick accent, you may spend most of your time trying to "translate" what he's saying rather than actually absorbing the material. Personally, I have a very hard time understanding thick Indian accents. I remember calling the Dell technical support for computer issues and I couldn't understand a word (thick Indian accent). Some accents are easier to adjust to then others. For me, the Indian accent is very difficult to understand.</p>

12

<p>The professor with the 3 hour lecture DOES give breaks, but only one per three hour class. It's not enough to keep me awake, even though I always run to get coffee during the break.</p>

<p>I think, since I took the 3 hour lecture this past semester and hated it, I'm going to try the other professor and see if it's any easier. Worst case scenario, I end up teaching myself still (and don't fall asleep in class). Hopefully.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your input, though :].</p>

13

<p>When I took chem, it was a twice per week, 1 hour 10 minute long class, and I had trouble keeping myself awake for that long. Three consecutive hours would be deadly. lol</p>

<p>I mean for some subjects, three hours isn't too bad and the professor will usually let you out pretty early, but for technical courses like chem, my brain would turn to mush within two hours.</p>