aglages does not need to calm down based on the “general consensus on here”. When the “general consensus on here” picks up the tab for my daughter…I will be happy to calm down. But thanks for the advice.
You are aware that neither of these “tests” require a TA to actually speak at all, let alone fluently…aren’t you?
We are in agreement on this point. As to what is considered “fluent” and whether non-fluent English speakers are something that should just be put up with and overcome…I think it is safe to say we disagree.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your replies. I’m th OP, and I felt a little silly starting the thread, but the other thread in the Parent Forum that I referred to had me a little worried. We live in a fairly diverse area, so I don’t have a problem with accents, but was worried more about actual english proficiency from the TA. From those of you with first hand experience, it seems that it is not a problem, which I am glad to hear.</p>
<p>What are the responsibilities of a TA? From my college days, the TA only was there to reinforce what was taught at the lecture. They handled the labs (graded them) but we followed the lab manual instructions so unless we were totally lost, we didn’t bother to ask them for help. Is the TA teaching new material that the professor never covers? </p>
<p>The “understandability” factor exists with the professors too! DS had a few but he worked his way through it (study group etc.).</p>
<p>MTnest: Yes, TAs still perform the same functions you listed. I have only had one class that has ever taught new material through a TA (and even then, it was VERY little). TA’s are usually only there to reinforce the information you just learned and is available for questions. They also grade quizzes and homeworks.</p>
<p>And I agree with your last statement: you can easily pass with a bad TA… when you have a bad PROFESSOR we’ve got serious issues!</p>
<p>aglages, I don’t know what your daughter’s situation is, but unless she’s been having a lot of bad TAs lately, I don’t think there should be room for alarm. I get what you’re saying, about “getting what you paid for” and what TA’s SHOULD be like. In an ideal world, every TA would have the best english around. But at the end of the day, Pitt is not a perfect school, and neither is any college in the US. They all have flaws. TA’s english might be a problem, but compared to all the other issues a school can have, ONE bad TA is pretty low on the scale. </p>
<p>A TA is not going to impact your daughter’s future. If she’s bright, a hard worker, and has a good head on her shoulders, no TA can derail her from getting her diploma, getting into a good grad school, or her future. Just wait- she’ll graduate with honors, get an awesome job, and you won’t even remember the TA issue at that point. If the issue happens frequently, I would be worried, but if it’s one TA you just gotta take it for what it is. At the end of the day, she’ll be fine.</p>
<p>EDIT: And if your daughter is still having issues, I can help refer her to some great resources on campus or even some friends that are willing to tutor. If she is seriously having a problem, I am willing to help.</p>
<p>I have a very good friend who was born in Germany. She has a master’s in English from an American university and a Ph.D. in journalism. No one would argue that she is not fluent in English; she has lived in this country for more than 20 years. I would put her up against any American I know as far as knowledge of the English language. However, I sometimes have to ask her to repeat something when she is sitting at my kitchen table. She has a heavy accent. Foreign speakers are going to have accents–I often wonder what we sound like when we speak foreign languages!</p>
<p>I think that young people have to adjust. They adjust when someone speaks quickly or has an accent from a different region of the country. Fluency and accent are two different things IMO.</p>
<p>On a humorous note, my friend was teaching a class at our local college and was talking about one of her hobbies: horse-back riding. She was telling her story and the expressions on her students’ faces were changing. They thought she was talking about wh***s. Oops.</p>
<p>Emi2008: Thanks for the offer. My daughter is having difficulty understanding only one TA. She was asked by her professor to attempt to work with this TA for a couple of weeks and if she is still having difficulty understanding then he will attempt to move her to another TA. Based on some previous suggestions, I have asked her to meet with the TA each week during her office hours and review the material that was covered during lab. Hopefully my daughter will begin to understand her and the TA will appreciate the difficulty that some others may be having. Not much to be done at this point except to wait and see. Thanks again for the offer of help.</p>
<p>agh I should pay more attention when I post things. I didn’t know that agagles was the parent who made the original thread about the TA so I thought he was getting unusually upset over this. Anyway, I’m sorry that some of my posts came across as insensitive because I wasn’t completely aware of what was going on.</p>