Dear Madalena,
I am tutoring a Nepalese Kindergarten student. He has been in the US for about one year; and he had some basic English knowledge before he came here. I was chosen as his tutor, because I am ESL myself (I don’t have much of an accent, but I can relate).
He seems very reluctant to talk, unless he knows the exact words/ phrase. His family reported to me, when they try to help him and they want to use English, he says that they are not saying it correctly and that he gets frustrated with them. Recently a family member mentioned that he rarely talks in school, because he says : “How can I talk in school, when I speak so differently than everyone else?”, and that since he has an accent he is self-conscious.
I am not sure if this comes from other students teasing him, even though our communities are very open minded and multicultural, or if it is from within him.
I am looking for resources to help him, but all I can find so far is “How to get rid of an accent…”; but I am more looking for something that can help him embrace his culture/accent and still be successful in everything he does. I would greatly appreciate any hints to start me in the right direction.
Thanks so much!
Gesine
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If at all possible, also try to find someone who he respects/idolizes who speaks with an accent, even if it’s not his own. You can base a conversation on the fact that the accent has affected how the student views him. I’m an American who speaks German fluently with a heavy American accent that I don’t think I’ll ever lose. I’m also a big hockey fan and love listening to hockey coach Ralph Kruger (Swiss national team in the past, now with the Edmonton Oilers), who happens to be German-Canadian and speaks fluently like I do — with a heavy American accent. It makes me feel a lot less conscious and accepting of my own accent.