ESL School

... they can understand when facing abusive language from others.

I confess I have devised a lesson on taboo language to satisfy the demands of successive classes to know more on this topic. To prepare the ground I always have a discussion about how the students in the group use offensive language in their native tongues: how often, to whom, under what circumstances. I then ask them to think about how their choices are made: are there people to whom they would never swear no matter how provoked? I can then explain that the use of such words is highly idiosyncratic. In some circles, expletives are used freely and nobody is surprised or offended. In others such language would be ill advised as it would brand the speaker as impolite and ill-educated.

Then I offer a rating system for the terms. A one-star word or expression can show emotion but is not likely to be considered unduly offensive. At the other end of the scale a five-star rating indicates something too strong for use unless the speaker wants to cause deep offence. Some dictionaries do this, so you can cross-refer with the dictionary you are using.

My next step would be to find an article on the topic. Try this URL if you want something very meaty on this topic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A753527 (The Origins and Common Usage of British Swear-words). According to the article I use, I prepare some question for students to discuss in pairs or groups. The questions usually involve grouping words according to their literal meaning, then to the ways in which they are used. I also ask them to think about why certain subjects become the source of coarse words: religion, body parts, sexual activity. I then initiate a class grading exercise to see if the learners have managed to pick up on the level of offensiveness. I make sure that by the end of the lesson they really do have their ratings correct as the chances are that some of the students will try the expressions out.

I realize that I have evaded the issue of whether teachers should teach this type of language or not. Firstly, I don’t think we should ask any teacher to do so who is uncomfortable with the topic. I am not all that comfortable with it myself and will not give this type of lesson to students who have an immature attitude. On the other hand, this is an integral part of the language and learners will meet vulgarity in English at some point, so I think it is legitimate to teach it. I would not make the topic a core part of any curriculum but if the learners request such a lesson and can deal with it in a mature and responsible way, then I think schools should find a way of providing it.