Narrative:

During preflight brief with first officer I stressed the importance of listening for and paying attention to extensive taxi instructions. No heads down during taxi and checklist completion only after we stop moving aircraft. I briefed the fact that he and I were not so familiar with ord. I briefed that we would complete as much of before takeoff check prior to taxi after engine start so no heads down and aware of position at all times so as to prevent errors during taxi. Ready to taxi we called ground metering: they said 'you have wheels up time of 42' (30 minute hold) plan on holding at 'scenic pad. Monitor ground' preparing to taxi out of the alley I was expecting a left turn from ground on bravo to the 'scenic hold pad'. Ground called issued long and fast taxi instructions; 'taxi alpha to A16; left to bravo; right to M2; mike; right; hold short of 32L.' the first officer read back clearance and I think controller couldn't understand first officer accent and thought it was a bad transmitter. (First officer is puerto rican/cuban and has strong accent difficult to understand at times.) so I read back clearance which ground understood. (Those taxi instructions didn't coincide with the 'scenic' hold pad but we wanted to depart 32L so we started to taxi.) coming around alpha there was a B777 right at A16 coming at us nose to nose so I stopped to allow him to pass and ground said 'hold position; when the heavy clears continue.' first officer read back the instructions but ground once again was having difficulty understanding his read back. So I read back the instructions. It was a bit burdensome! Continuing on alpha taxiway first officer then initiated completion of challenge and response portion of before takeoff checklist! I said 'no stay with me on this taxi out! We can work checklist at the hold pad! I continued taxi on alfa and wasn't aware I had past A16 (missing my left turn) and ground said just use A15. Well A15 was just passed on the left when I noticed the A15 sign. I realized I had passed it. Ground said; just continue on up to A9 and turn left onto tango to T10 and we will cross 32L there. So first officer read that clearance back and it once again was an issue so I just continued taxing via the amended instructions. We held at '10 hold pad' until wheels up time. [We] completed checks [and the] rest of taxi and flight uneventful. First officer and I were in mexico city two nights before and he was a true pleasure to have there because he spoke so well with the controllers. It didn't go as smooth in chicago leading to frustrations on my part. I contained my frustrations but it caused lots of confusion. I needed him to back me up with the airport diagram as we taxied and he was trying to do the checklist. I want to add: I think the ord controllers are the best in the world! There were no errors on there part that I am aware of. They don't know that we are not from chicago and unfamiliar with ord.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 Captain describes a miscue during taxi at ORD partly due to the First Officer's Puerto Rican accent.

Narrative: During preflight brief with First Officer I stressed the importance of listening for and paying attention to EXTENSIVE TAXI instructions. No heads down during taxi and checklist completion only after we stop moving aircraft. I briefed the fact that he and I were not so familiar with ORD. I briefed that we would complete as much of before takeoff check prior to taxi after engine start so NO heads down and aware of position at all times so as to prevent errors during taxi. Ready to taxi we called Ground Metering: they said 'you have wheels up time of 42' (30 minute hold) plan on holding at 'Scenic Pad. Monitor Ground' Preparing to taxi out of the alley I was expecting a left turn from Ground on BRAVO to the 'Scenic hold pad'. Ground called issued LONG AND FAST taxi instructions; 'taxi Alpha to A16; left to Bravo; right to M2; Mike; right; hold short of 32L.' The First Officer read back clearance and I think Controller couldn't understand First Officer accent and thought it was a bad transmitter. (First Officer is Puerto Rican/Cuban and has strong accent difficult to understand at times.) So I read back clearance which Ground understood. (Those taxi instructions didn't coincide with the 'Scenic' hold pad but we wanted to depart 32L so we started to taxi.) Coming around Alpha there was a B777 right at A16 coming at us nose to nose so I stopped to allow him to pass and Ground said 'hold position; when the heavy clears continue.' First Officer read back the instructions but Ground once again was having difficulty understanding his read back. So I read back the instructions. It was a bit burdensome! Continuing on Alpha Taxiway First Officer then initiated completion of challenge and response portion of before takeoff checklist! I said 'NO STAY WITH ME ON THIS TAXI OUT! We can work checklist at the hold pad! I continued taxi on ALFA and wasn't aware I had past A16 (missing my left turn) and Ground said just use A15. Well A15 was just passed on the left when I noticed the A15 sign. I realized I had passed it. Ground said; just continue on up to A9 and turn left onto Tango to T10 and we will cross 32L there. So First Officer read that clearance back and it once again was an issue so I just continued taxing via the amended instructions. We held at '10 hold pad' until wheels up time. [We] completed checks [and the] rest of taxi and flight uneventful. First Officer and I were in Mexico City two nights before and he was a true pleasure to have there because he spoke SO well with the controllers. It didn't go as smooth in Chicago leading to frustrations on my part. I contained my frustrations but it caused lots of confusion. I needed him to back me up with the Airport Diagram as we taxied and he was trying to do the checklist. I want to add: I think the ORD Controllers are the best in the world! There were no errors on there part that I am aware of. They don't know that we are not from Chicago and unfamiliar with ORD.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.