Helping International Students at BUSP

For the next four weeks expect to see more international students at BUSP, especially in the evenings. One hundred students from Middle Eastern and North African nations will be at Kelley studying entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, and learning how to development a business plan. Their time with us is being sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the Coca Cola Co. While the students will have varying grasps of the English language, chances are, all will have accents that may be somewhat unfamiliar to us. Our accents will be just as foreign to them. So how do we best communicate with these guests? Smile! It's understood universally. If you do not understand, please do not pretend like you do. Instead, kindly acknowledge the difficulty you're having and ask the guest to repeat the question, speaking more slowly. On the flip side to this, they will be able to understand us easier if we speak slowly and clearly. Of course, we'll need to avoid colloquialisms and slang. If your efforts to communicate just aren't fruitful, do get your co-worker or supervisor to assist you. Sometimes a different ear and voice will do the trick.