Columbia University is piloting a new tool to prevent the mispronunciation of students' names in the classroom.
NameCoach is a software program that allows students to record themselves saying their names and upload it to the school's online database. It’s designed for students that don’t have a common anglicized or English language name, or if their chosen name differs from whatever is on the official roster. The university is trying it for the first time this fall semester, and the registrar says so far more than 800 students have used it.
Education experts say especially with younger kids, mispronouncing a student's name can hurt their academic performance. It can discourage them from class participation, alienate them socially, and create negative tensions in a school setting.
Matthew Hart, an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, has been trying it out with his students this semester. He says it's important to create inclusive spaces, and that begins with getting identifying markers right, including pronouns, honorifics, and names.
"For me, it's part and parcel of a broader understanding that naming and being named are related to the ethics and politics of recognition," he said, "and of respecting gender diversity, cultural diversity, and national diversity."
WNYC's Alejandra Salazar spoke to Richard Hake.