Teach English in Coxs Cove - TEFL Courses

By definition the term slang refers to use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Considering this the question lies with the efl teacher on how important it is to teach such a subject in a class of students who are trying to learn english for the first time and whether by teaching the students slang and idioms would be of any beneficial use to them. As an efl teacher one has to consider the part that slang and idioms play in the student's future. By its very definition slang is used only socially and is considered taboo when speaking in formal manner. This being said I consider that the usage of slang it their meaning is very important for any person to completely be fluent and comfortable with the language. In this day of age a student of english needs to know and understand the use of slangs and idioms to really be competent in the language. Slang is an important part of conversational english and should therefore be covered in the course. Without the knowledge of slang and idioms students teaching of the language is incomplete. Whenever the student will use or need to understand the language it is bound to consist of slang and idioms as they are now a huge part of conversational english. Even though slang is termed taboo in formal talks a student would never for their whole life will communicate using only the formal language. While conversing to their friends and colleges outside the workplace or perhaps watching a television show or reading a magazine the knowledge of slang is invaluable as such pieces are peppered with it. Anne Merritt, an esl teacher has written a very enlightening article http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/how-important-are-slang-and-idioms-in-language-learning/ where she shows how important it is for the students to not only know the basic formal language but also the not s formal language of slang and idioms. She herself being a student of another language as well finds it difficult nowdays to understand french written in magazines as they are filled with slangs which she isn't accustomed to. This shows how widespread the use of slang in the world of today is and how important it is for the students to know the meanings of such words and their correct usages in conversation. Many people and even some educated teachers consider slang as mostly of obscenities and curse words where as the truth is far from it. Though Obscenities and curse words do fall under the category of slang the but form only a minor part of a vastly large vocabulary. People use slang without even they themselves realizing that its slang they are using, for them slang represents only curse words and obscenities. “To pig out”, “C'mon”, “Tick me off”, all these phrases are slang and these are but just a very few examples of Idioms that are used with ease in everyday conversation by any speaker of english. Even though slang and idioms are considered somewhat of a taboo in business talks and formal speaking there are several idioms that have crept into such conversation and are used with great widespread. Some of such idioms are “Has the floor”, “To pitch ideas”, To be out of someone's league” are again a few such examples. To summarize I would again state although teaching slang and idioms in a formal classroom setting may seem inappropriate, there is no doubt that it is an important exercise. These words and phrases are everywhere in the english language and are used in all contexts. Considering many students find learning slang and idioms entertaining, it is an effective way to get the classroom eager to learn english. A well-rounded esl course will include a thorough examination of the formal aspects of the english language, but complemented with the not-so-formal terms and phrases as well. Sources- http://www.teflcorp.com/articles/78-tefl-teaching-slang-and-idioms/246-teaching-slang-and-idioms.htm http://ingles.ing.uchile.cl/otros/downloads/Without%20Slang%20and%20Idioms.pdf and Wikipedia.