Job Discussion Forums

[jaffa]

It's always fun to teach them 'bloody' - inoffensive and very common in British/Ozzie/Kiwi English. Americans, of course, won't have the faintest bloody idea what you're going on about.

When you hear students using it perfectly, you know you're doing something right. That's my theory anyway.

[kev7161]

Here's a web page that will show you how to use a certain curse word AND how to use it in grammatically correct ways. Two birds with one stone sort of thing:

http://justin.justnet.com.au/rudestuff/uses-of-the-word-f**k.html

(note: please edit the link - - take out the ** and add, well, you know)

[Timer]

I limit my swearing to "crap" in class. Around students outside of class I'd up it to "shit" unless I know them really well in which case I'd be more relaxed with it. I want my students to be comfortable and at ease in the classroom, but there needs to be a limit.

All the students I have taught don't have good enough English for me to start going into stuff like slang or swearing. A lesson on swear words would be a waste of time really.

[NoBillyNO]

[rogerwilco]

[xiguagua]

[DanDoesESL]

I've had several "F**k you"'s after not replying to "HALLLLLLOOOOO". Yeah, that'll make me want to talk to you more.

That being said, slang terms could be a fun english corner topic, if not a particularly productive lesson.

[kungfuman]

Most of my students will go to the US or Canada when they finish. They swear and know all the words - from watching US television (cable) or movies and playing Xbox or Ps3 games.

Nothing new I could tell them.

I try not to use bad words in front of them but it happens sometimes.

[hilena_westb]

[choudoufu]

if your students will be going abroad, it's very important that they know
the difference between the hollywood version of life and reality.

sure, they've heard cursing in the movies, and swear words in the rap
songs. doesn't mean that language is appropriate for daily life.
regardless, they are unlikely to use them in the proper context.

i don't care what richard pryor says...........you repeat that crap when
you get to los angeles and you're toast.

[xiguagua]

[Denim-Maniac]

If you were making a list of all the problems a set group of students have, I think you'd need quite a long piece of paper. And I also think the category 'Is a bit rubbish at cursing' would be right at the bottom of said list (or not worthy of inclusion on the list).

As a result, common sense would dictate 101 things you might want to address before you worry about how well students swear. Thats nothing to do with political correctness.

[sPinkomania]

My main rule there is making sure my students don't get beat-up if they go abroad by screwing up their swearing!

I remember in Kunming I saw the following graffiti on the wall and thought it was a laugh "Son of my bitch". Is that what you say to your son when you're unhappy with your wife?

I've had students ask me what 'Shit' or '*beep* you' is in a pretty straightforward manner. I usually just brush it off, tell them not to say it in my class and I don't focus on it. For adults I have never taught it, but I bring up inappropriate language when someone is saying something they shouldn't like mistaking bitch with beach. Or the 'cock' thing.

I even had 'I am here to service you', or 'You can service these women' which I assume must make sense when they translated the sentence from Chinese but it just sounds a little uh, suggestive, so I explained it...Awkwardly. Anything that people might really take the piss out of for saying if they went to the West, I correct.

[7969]

[it'snotmyfault]

I'd still just concentrate on what I consider far more important issues. There's so many things that could be being taught that are far more useful than bad language IMO.

I don't feel the need to swear in Chinese and I can't see how being able to swear proficiently or recognising swearing and colloquial insults in Chinese would make life any easier for me.
If anything it would probably lead to more problems.