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Teaching slang and idiomsThose who are teaching in an ESL environment, often question if it is proper to teach slang terminology and idioms. Many believe it is not a topic to be covered during formal learning; often the word slang translates into ?inappropriate? when we hear it; a large portion of people even think slang is ?cursing?. So before we make the decision of to teach or not to teach, what does ?slang? and ?idiom? really mean. Slang is typically a nonstandard word created in culture of subculture. An idiom is commonly known to be a phrase in culture or subculture, and they have a meaning different from its literal meaning. While there are some words and phrases, which are not appropriate for a formal learning environment, there are benefits to giving your learners exposure. Especially in the electronic age we have entered into within the last 15 years, we find ourselves shortening our sentences, blending two words to make one, using acronyms and initials. American movies, magazine articles, newspapers, music, and televisions shows are notorious for utilizing slang. Without any exposure, secondary English speakers may not fully understand the meaning of the words. David Burke wrote an article in 1998 entitled, Without Slang and Idioms, students are in the Dark! Burke gave his views about how important is was to teach esl students slang. Burke also included some tips when doing so. He recommended to begin with a natural dialogue consisting of no more than twelve slang words and idioms. Allow the students to guess what the terms may mean before telling them and encourage the students to use the language in a conversation with classmates. After slang and idioms are presented, understood, and practiced, a variety of reinforcement activities can help make the meaning of the slang terms stick. You can incorporate them into activate stages or fun study games. Learning slang in a classroom setting is also a good way to break up the monotony of day-to-day noun, verb, and grammar drills. It is entertaining and many times unexpected to the students. Ideas for ?slang word of the day? or ?idiomatic phrase of the day? may be a simple fun activity to end the day. Slang and idioms are important to the development of any language. Every language uses its own slang and has their own phrases. Even some businesses create their own slang terminology. The ESL student, who learns, understands, and uses it properly will find it can be beneficial to their careers. If you do make the choice to teach slang and idioms, remember that slang changes from region to region and some words used five years ago are now no longer used. Try to stay current, teach appropriate material, and have fun with it. Since most of the materials you will be using for slang and idioms will be authentic materials, the exercises will not be graded. I will be teaching slang and idioms, because I believe that if you are truly going to be proficient in a language, you need to be well rounded.
