Foreign accents

Recently I had a customer call complaining about the reservation line operator who had a strong accent she could not understand, even though he spoke in English to her. I hear this complaint a lot. The most common response is the arrogant "Learn to speak English!". I have a very different view on immigrants because I had a college roommate from Thailand for 2 semesters so I trained my ears better to understand foreign accents I normally don't hear, though it did take about a week to get used to hers at first.

When I took Spanish in high school, I had a good teacher. Mrs. Leisha Anderson explained to us that it takes 2 years to fully grasp any language (grammar rules, accent differences, enough volcabulary to have a conversation). Further, she disagreed how foreign exchange students are tested on their knowledge of a language (she was an exchange student in Spain). She explained how schools and colleges use written tests to conclude if a student knows a language. In reality, when you go into another country you will mostly be speaking it. So in learning Spanish she conducted oral and written tests. She commented once I had a good Spanish accent. I said I just copied the way Rita Moreno spoke.

When I first met my Thai roommate, I asked how she learned English. She said she learned it in school in Thailand, then when coming to America she discovered she learned British English. Not quite the same thing. So she basically had to learn English over again. She did figure out that I spoke differently than the others students here. Close to the Missouri border I have a bit of a Southern accent, though not as much as my parents thanks to TV. The people in northern states speak with a bit of Scandanavian accent.

So my advise with dealing with foreign accents on the telephone is simply ask for someone who speaks English, or a supervisor. You don't have to struggle to understand someone. If you are face to face with a foreign accent I have a few pointers.

1. Look at them. Looking down mumbles your voice and you want to be heard correctly. Yesterday a guy asked if I said correct or current. Very similar in sound.
2. Speak slowly and clearly enunciating the words, not necessarily louder. No slurring. Practice with tongue twisters. Pe-ter pic-ked a pe-ck of pic-kled pep-pers (I hyphenated the stresses or hard sounds).
3. Don't be afraid to ask what they said again and pay attention to body language to know if they understand you. If you have a hard time understanding their accent, I assure you that they are trying to understand yours.
4. If someone is shaky about a new language they will often ask one word questions. Example: Cars? (means Do you have cars available to rent now?) One coworker took longer to figure out our new El Salavador worker spoke English because she would get mad when he asked to clarify her need instead of just answering his question. I could tell by his reaction that he did understood me perfectly.
5.Sometimes rephrasing into a shorter sentences is required for someone who is not fluent in your language. In other words, get to your point in 5 words or less. No long explanations. Most of us communicate effectivly with the 2nd El Salvador worker who knows less English than the 1st one. It can be done.
I better go now. Post later.