<p>I currently enrolled for physics I, a required class for my major; however, my professor has a very thick accent that I find EXTREMELY difficult to understand. She was explaining mass unit measurements and matter today and while I grasp those concepts, I would never have been able to follow the lecture without prior knowledge of those topics.</p>
<p>I don't know what to do, all the other physics sections are full and I need this class but on the other hand, like I said I do not understand what she says at all and I forsee this being a major issue. Should I drop the class for something else or keep it and tough it out?</p>
<p>No, they can’t give overrides into full classes because of fire laws. I would talk to my advisor but they’re so slammed that if you don’t have an override request or a major schedule screwup you can’t get in the office.</p>
<p>and add/drop week ends friday so i can’t add a new class later on :(</p>
<p>Try going to office hours or talking to the TA, or talking to upperclassmen who’ve had the same teacher (and passed, preferably). Compare notes with classmates. </p>
<p>I’d keep pressing to try and switch out, but if you can’t, then that’s all I can say. :/</p>
<p>Any chance of sitting in on one of the other classes as well as attending your own? There should be an empty seat or two if you can get in unnoticed…</p>
<p>That’s a good point, KKmama made. Try sitting in another class. If my memory serves me right, when I took basic physics courses, multiple professors taught the same curriculum often using similar or identical exams. If that’s the case on your campus, sitting in for lectures with another professor, but taking exams in your original class, could work out.</p>
<p>Make sure attendance isn’t required for your original.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody for responding but the physics professors are all completely different and use different tests. I don’t know what to do. I really can’t afford to tank my GPA with this class.</p>
<p>If you really can’t afford to risk an F i’d say drop the class and take it next semester with a different teacher. If you end up stuck in the class form a study group with 3 or 4 people to help you out.</p>
<p>My first semester of college I had an Intermediate Econ professor that had literally just moved to America the year before (she got her PhD and was teaching in China previously). I could barely understand her the first week and also thought about dropping. I stuck with it however, and noticed that as time went on I got to understand her more and more. By the end of semester, even though she still had the accent, I could understand her completely without even thinking about it.
Was it a bit of a nuissance and a put off at the beginning? Yes. But it changed around quickly and am glad I stuck with it. Since then I’ve had other teachers with strong accents and have no issues with it.</p>
<p>Again, it’s not ideal but it will improve. I’d stick with it.</p>
<p>I’d just not bother showing up to lectures. Physics I is super easy to learn from a textbook on your own…the concepts haven’t changed in decades and as a result publishers have been able to focus on tweaking and polishing their books for easy reading with fully worked out examples, nice coloring of relevant bits, sectioning, etc.</p>
<p>Self teach… I’m not sure of your major, but in some cases you are really hurting yourself if you drop one of those classes because every higher class requires it as a prerequisite. </p>
<p>Are there available tutors on campus or extra help available somewhere? A lot of our science major classes have additional student instruction. I would check out those options before dropping the class. </p>
<p>Unfortunately you will probably find that a lot throughout your college education. My Spanish teacher for last semester had no time management skills. She didn’t have time to lecture at all on our last chapter because she had spent too much time on previous chapters and forgot what week it was. So, I learned the chapter material myself by studying and getting help from a tutor. </p>
<p>I’ve had math teachers with Russian accents so thick you couldn’t understand them and still done fine. If you read the chapter ahead and are familiar with the material you will have a lot easier time understanding what she is saying.</p>