Welcome to the reality of a large public university: TAs that no one has a blessed clue what they’re saying.

Most of these TAs are knowledgeable, well-intentioned and hard working. They all had to pass a written English proficiency exam to teach for the school. The simple and unfortunate truth is, though, that their oral English proficiency is often lacking, and this can absolutely screw even the most dogged student out of a good grade. It gets easier as the semester goes on and everyone gets used to each other’s way of speaking and someone realizes “injure” is actually “integer.”

Intro chem, econ, math and physics classes are historically notorious for incomprehensible TAs; being an already difficult weeding class is probably not the only reason Math 222 is the most failed class on campus. Students in these classes would do well to practice using small words, speaking slowly, and playing a few rounds of charades with their friends. Packing a little extra patience the first few weeks of class wouldn’t go awry, either.