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dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Ollie, I think our teaching situation is/was different. You talk about kids in your post. I would never do this sort of lesson with any kids of whatever age- that includes university. as I said in my op i had been teaching those students for a while and knew them quite well. They would regularly swear in Turkish during the break with each other. They would ask the meaning of swear words because they had heard them in a film. Swearing is part of our language and culture(can they be seperated?)
To say

Baba Alex · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 2411

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Liverpool fans stick together.(im still getting flashbacks to that Gerrard header)

Baba Alex · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 2411

bigbadsuzie · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 7:18 am Post subject:

So if swearing is ok or cool even ,why does Dave censor our posts when we use "real " language ? Do I smell the smell of double standards here?I think if they get used to this kind of thing you end up setting yourself as a target .

Baba Alex · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 2411

molly farquharson · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 839 Location: istanbul

I think the trouble with swearing is that it doesn't carry the same clout in another language as is does in your own. When we swear we know it is bad, we feel it in our gut. S.. ter... just doesn't cut it for me and I think that L2 learners can't use it properly for the same reason. Some American movies are so full of profanity that people in other places think it is normal, but I don't think it is. however, that said, my students have heard me say s..t more than once in a moment of frustration, but i tell them not to use it or the other words. I think reading about it and comparing it with one's own language (reading Swan etc) is interesting, but it still doesn't bring it to gut level. That's the pleasure of cussing...

corall · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 270 Location: istanbul, turkey

i think that swearing could be taught in the proper circumstances. like, i don't see why you can't explain what a word means to someone that asks in your class. that can be informative and useful. a whole lesson on it...well... i don't know if i agree with that. although i can admit i have been very grateful to learn a few choice words to fend off unwanted male advances thanks to my turkish private tutor...

when i was in korea, the students there would ask me questions about words because the translations were totally different from the actual english meaning. like the word f**k was translated to the word for crazy in korean and they couldn't understand that crazy and f**k were two different words in english - one of which not being a swear word at all. this was so difficult for them to understand but i felt it really needed to be addressed

i think that used sensibly it can be useful to enhance a students' knowlege, but i myself would try to avoid it if i could.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I don't think that one is fluent in a language until they can swear in it fluently

molly farquharson · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 839 Location: istanbul

so does that mean you are fluent, dmb? I find that when i am in a situation that demands cussing i revert to english, though i know some turkish swear words. that's what i mean by the gut level, as it comes up naturally without having to think about it.

i agree that students need to have the words explained, but i disagree with having a lesson on it. however, that said, if there is a teachable moment, olsun, depending on who the students are.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397