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[billy orr]

I hear an awful lot of bigoted, prejudiced and downright racist views from British expats in SW Turkey. Ironically these are some of the people I was hoping to escape from when I left UK 20 years ago, and now they have pursued me to the Med sunspot where I have made my happy home.

[cartago]

The N word is probably confusing to Turkish people. They might hear blacks using it in songs and movies and think it's normal. I've heard Turks say it before and they seemed genuinely surprised when I told them it was offensive. Race relations are confusing in America anyway and I find many Turks and some non-Americans to be really misinformed about it, like assuming that white-Americans just don't like blacks. The problem is, when you try to describe race relations in America it's really hard to narrow it down or make blanket statements about it. It mostly comes down to people's experiences and perceptions of things which could vary a lot.

If someone is just uninformed then I think a teacher should inform them. You really do need to explain to students for example that this word is pretty dangerous in certain situations. I don't just agree with students, like if someone says Chinese people eat bugs, well yes it's true but it's not like its an everyday food and they eat plenty of normal things. However, I don't really try to change their opinions about things but just give the information that I know.

[spiral78]

You really do need to explain to students for example that this word is pretty dangerous in certain situations

I agree that there is pedagogical value in explaining the 'real' impact of some words in some contexts. For example, we once had a group of Russian men who asked (and had a genuine need to know) what kinds of words can get one knocked out in a bar in Canada (answer: anything to do with mothers! plus a bit more...).

There's nothing wrong at all with collecting a group of words that come up in your classes that can carry consequences in some situations, and analysing them - in fact, this can form the basis for a short lesson in itself.

The danger is that in doing so, you may encourage their use in your class - obviously a safe venue for such words, as you've studied them there! However, it's a risk I would take, not being personally offended by people's stereotypes - they definitely don't apply to me, right??!! Well, I presume not, since I'm the teacher in the room.

This is quite different from trying to 'change their minds regarding their stereotyping of different people - that's not useful, probably, as I've said before.

[artemisia]

Very true. I don't think you can change people's minds and you're likely to make yourself miserable trying to (and not succeeding). This is especially true of someone in his 40s who, by the way, may still be trying to impress either you or his fellow students with his 'cool' knowledge.

My impression is that you feel overwhelmed and continually shocked by what you hear. I'd just suggest preparing yourself for hearing a whole lot of things you might not want to. I don't mean being on the defensive and waiting for them to say things, but having an awareness of what could be said so that you're not so taken by surprise/ shocked every time it happens. Mentally stepping back and taking your own immediate emotional reactions out of the picture can help. It helped me survive as a school teacher (kids have no qualms about saying/ doing just about anything!). As posted earlier, my strategy would be to discuss the meanings (possibly multiple meanings and interpretations) of any given word/ expression and possible impact in various regions (assuming I knew) in an open, unemotional way. You can only do this if you've prepared yourself.

I've given students the benefit of the doubt at times because it is possible to say something in a foreign language that comes across in a way it wasn't meant to. If it's deliberate, all the more reason to distance yourself. It's a horrible clich� but you can't change others, only yourself. And yes, hopefully you can find other things things there to do that you enjoy...

[billy orr]

There are many possible reasons why students may use that word. The user is not necessarily being intentionally offensive. I used to think it was picked up from films, but now I think it is more often from using a dictionary or from mistaken teaching. The word may even have been taught in class at primary or high school as a translation for the Turkish word zenci. Now, the word in Turkish may or may not be pejorative (I have noticed some Turkish speakers are not comfortable with it), but it certainly does not carry the weight of the n word in English. Some dictionaries indicate that the n word is offensive, but students need to learn how to use the dictionary, which brings us back to our job.

Speaking of learning to use the dictionary, a student once came up to me and said: �Can I leave my scrotum in the classroom?� She wanted to know if it was safe to leave her handbag in the room during the break, had found a word for bag in her pocket dictionary but did not know what the little med. abbreviation meant.

[spiral78]