When I heard it, I just stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared at my teacher, who’d said it. I tried to process, doing a little Yooper-to-English translation in my head.

It took me a second, but I got it.

Although I am a Yooper, sentences full of “eh’s,” dropped prepositions, and lazily pronounced slang words that are so common in the Upper Peninsula throw me off sometimes.

I’ve heard many of my MSU classmates complain that they’re unable to understand professors who are not native English speakers and have accents stronger than those in the U.P. In the same classes, I hear every word of the lectures without issue. That isn’t because I research different English dialects in my free time or have a unique decoding skill. The disconnect is a result of perspective.

Many international students and faculty have studied English since elementary school. Though it’s not their native tongue, they typically have a decent command of the language. Yet people squint at them when they speak as if they aren’t making any sense.

In one of my interpersonal communication classes, we discussed a study that suggested college students bring certain biases into classrooms with foreign professors.

In the experiment, students listened to two pre-recorded lectures. They were told an American professor delivered one lecture and a Chinese professor gave the other.

In a survey afterward, students reported that they could easily understand the first professor. He was clear and engaging. The second lecturer received poor reviews. Students couldn’t hear all of his words, they were struggling to comprehend, and that made the entire experience a bit frustrating.

Here’s the thing: The recordings were exactly the same.

With students from all 50 states and more than 130 countries milling around campus, the levels at and ways in which people speak English will undoubtedly vary.

Maybe someone has a thick accent. Maybe they’re relatively new to the language. But they are still speaking English.

I’m continually impressed by international students who read, write and learn complex concepts in English, which might be their second, third or fourth language. Some, I feel, have a better grasp on English than I do.

A mispronounced word or slightly incongruent sentence is not as bad as it’s made out to be. Impeccable grammar or not, take the time to listen. Then you’ll likely understand.

Merinda Valley is the opinion editor at The State News. Reach her at mvalley@statenews.com.