A blog post on using films to teach grammar by Magda Smith

We tend to throw at our students many fancy terms like total immersion/submersion, accent reduction, PPP, TTT, task-based learning and many more. We tell them to pretty much live and breathe English, but very rarely do we explain how to actually do it successfully. Why? Well, what works for me might not necessarily work for someone else. We want our students to know grammar, but we don’t really want to bore them with tons of exercises. Is it possible to do it differently? Can we tell them to simply watch films and learn grammar from them? Why not, just … how? The problem is that when we watch films and series and even cartoons, we don’t really consider the language in the stories but the stories the language tells. As you’ll read in a second, I used my students and myself as  guinea pigs for this experiment and…. Well… SPOILER ALERT!!! See for yourself!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always hated learning grammar. Regardless of the language (and yes, there were a few of those and most likely there are more to come) grammar seemed like the most boring thing to study. Why am I telling you this? It’s simple. I LOVE teaching it! 

‘It’s been 84 years…’ 

In all my years of work, although relatively less than 84, I have always tried finding new experimental ways of teaching. Some were a success, the others a great and total failure. I learnt a lot from them all. 

‘Courage is found in unlikely places’

The most difficult thing was leaving my comfort zone, my grammar books, activities, and worksheets and trying to be modern, unpredictable, and fun. What I want to tell you about happened by accident while I was learning Bulgarian. One of my favourite films is ‘The Lion King’. I love it so much that I can safely say that I know it by heart. I decided I wanted to see if I could get by in Bulgaria using pretty much only the language from the film. If you’re wondering – no, that did not work, but I did learn something.

‘Are you not entertained? 

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One. My pronunciation was much better than expected and at times, when I used the correct expressions, I did sound a bit like a native. It was encouraging and it forced me to try harder. Two. It was a lot of fun to see that I can actually use cartoon language in real life, and it got me thinking. Can I use it in my teaching?

‘Do or do not. There is no try’

I tried small. I chose a few phrases and expressions from sitcoms and movies that I knew my students were familiar with. I also tested it on teenagers because I figured they would be more likely to catch on. They did… kinda. The most difficult thing was having them use the quotes, while recognizing them wasn’t that hard. So, I had to improvise, yet again. I gave them points, took away homework, let them choose the games just to get them into this experiment. My goal was for them to use their favourite quotes and expressions correctly during the lesson – to say hello, goodbye, to ask questions, to comment on stuff, pretty much anytime they wanted – as long as it made sense. To encourage them, I did it myself. It was a long and painful road.

‘May the force be with you’

And then it happened! One of my students, having a better than normal day, decided to bid me farewell using those exact words. I was beyond ecstatic! So, I encouraged them and took notes of the expressions they used and started making a list which I divided into grammar, vocabulary, and useful expressions. 

‘I’ve got a jar of dirt’

As per the quote – that’s what most of it was. Stuff I couldn’t use not only in real life but even during a lesson (‘I solemnly swear I am up to no good’ sounded more like a hidden threat rather than a phrase to practice during a lesson about the place of adverbs in a sentence). But some of them turned out to be pretty good and useful. We did the first conditional (‘I’ll be there for you when the rain starts to pour’), the present simple (‘I don’t like bullies’, ‘I don’t have friends. I have family’) and many more.  

‘Your mission, should you choose to accept it…’ 

… is to be prepared for a lot of movie watching. Sounds cool? Sure… not when you watch films and series and documentaries and analyse the grammar and vocabulary and the general usefulness of the language. It gets tiring but trust me the students will bring the endless supply of stuff to use in your lessons. Just give them a chance! 

‘This is either madness… or brilliance’ 

In my opinion? A bit of both. Will it work with every group? No. Is it really that useful? Sometimes. It all depends on the attitude of your students and how much actual time you want to dedicate to research. The work involving grammar is good as it gives the learners a real-life use of it and the reason why we teach it to them in the first place. Teaching expressions works better as it is ready to use language that they can experiment with. All it comes down to is ‘trial and error’ – let them know that errors are a part of learning. 

‘That’s all, folks! 

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I hope I didn’t bore you, at least not completely. If you find all this test-worthy – give it a shot. What is the worst thing that can happen? Your students will bring you googled quotes from movies they have never seen. But… they did research them. And as a challenge to you, how good are you with your movie lingo? Can you identify all the quotes I used?

To sum up. If you’re a movie geek like me, you must have loved this article. If not, you’re cursing me to the deepest and darkest deity for wasting your time on reading it. My advice or the takeaway of sort is simply starting easy and assuming it may not work at all (it’s the best way to avoid tears of disappointment after spending hours on research). Have a movie lesson with your group (sort of a ‘conversation movie club’) and together choose a film or better yet – an episode of a TV series to watch as homework (I find sitcoms best as they are short and you can choose lots of useful and cheeky phrases – REMEMBER! humour is your safe zone!). Ask your group to choose 3 to 5 expressions they liked to present in class. Probably not everyone will do it (maybe even no one), but they might surprise you. Note down what they say, add your own and then – improvise! It’s the first time for you and probably for them, so just assume that it’s a valuable experience for all and then next time you’ll do it better. In my experience you gotta fail at least once to get it done right in the end!

You can contact Magda Smith to ask any questions or share any amazing experiences using film to teach grammar at magdalenka.smith@gmail.com

Also feel free to comment below.

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Introduction

Although among some of the first words adult language learners are interested in learning, swear words, for the most part, are avoided by most English teachers, rarely included in English language textbooks, and routinely excluded from language learning syllabi. Now, considering that the average (L1) English-speaking adult utters approximately eighty swear words per day (depending on the person, and how one defines swearing), isn’t it time to address this frequently used form of linguistic expression with our adult learners? After all, swearing is not only an effective means for expressing our emotions, but is also commonly used to claim and/or signify membership to a group, display elements of our personality, project various social identities, and add texture and vibrancy to our words. 

With this opening paragraph in mind, I am dedicating this post to the promotion of serious discussion related to the when, where, how, and why (why not) of addressing swearing with our adult language learners, especially if these language learners find themselves living in English-speaking countries. To this end, and in order to get the discussion started, I will present five reasons why I believe swearing and taboo language should be addressed in adult language classes. 

Reason 1: Swearing and Taboo Language is Omnipresent

There is no escaping it. If you find yourself living in an English-speaking country, consuming English language media, or socializing with with (L1) English-speaking friends, you will be exposed to swearing. And not just exposed to it, in many cases, you will be bombarded with it. For example, it has been estimated that in American-produced television series targeting adult viewers (think Sex and the City, Breaking Bad, and South Park) the prevalence of swearing is in excess of 15 words per hour, with the sweariest of shows peppering viewers with between 10 – 20 swear words out of every 1000 words of dialogue spoken. As for print media, research shows that the rate of swearing in books has increased almost thirtyfold since the 1950s, while swearing online is also a common occurrence, with approximately 1% of all words on Twitter coming from the lexicon of swearing. 

In social situations, swearing is no less common, with field studies suggesting that in daily conversation swear words comprise anywhere between 0.0%-3.4% of all words spoken, with the “average” (L1) English-speaker’s swear word usage ranging from 0.3%-0.7% (which is approximately the same frequency as we use first-person plural pronouns). Aside from conversational swearing, studies into the use of swearing by members of various groups have also clearly shown that swearing is not an infrequent occurrence, with one study exploring language use in a men’s rugby team revealing that swearing made up approximately 2% of total words uttered during pre-match huddles. 

Reason 2: Swearing and Taboo Language is Social 

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of swearing is not aimed at abusing or hurting others. Instead, it is aimed at building and maintaining rapport, expressing closeness and solidarity, communicating membership to a group, showing affection, expressing humour, and creating a relaxed social atmosphere. With these reasons in mind, I believe that by helping our learners better understand the numerous cultural and social functions swearing and taboo language facilitate, we are not only helping them to become more socially competent, but we are also equipping them with the tools they need to build rapport and display belonging in many different social situations, especially when interacting with English (L1) speakers. 

Reason 3: Swearing and Taboo Language is Authentic Language

If you are a language teacher, then you have probably been informed about the importance of using “authentic” language with your learners. And, as much as I personally agree with this, I think, for the most part, we are using the term “authentic” in a modified way. If “authentic” means language without swearing and taboo terms, then most textbooks and curricula are probably adhering to this limited definition of the term. But, if, like myself, you think “authentic” should actually mean authentic (i.e., genuine and based on fact), then you must agree that swearing and taboo language is authentic language worthy of being addressed in our language classes with willing adult participants. 

Reason 4: Avoiding It Does Not Make It Go Away 

Regardless of one’s moral or theoretical stance on the topic of swearing and taboo language, simply avoiding it, does not make it go away. In fact, avoiding the topic of swearing and taboo language with adult learners may inadvertently make things worse, especially given the fact that the misuse and/or misunderstanding of this style of language can lead to a range of undesirable consequences for our learners.  

Reason 5: A Professional Approach to Teaching about Swearing Will Yield Better Results 

Finally, and building on from my last argument, taking a professional and pedagogically sound approach to teaching learners about (i.e., the social, pragmatic, emotional, grammatical, and cultural elements and functions of swearing and taboo language) this style of language will yield better results than simply leaving our learners to acquire this lexically rich, grammatically complex, pragmatically versatile, and socially stigmatised element of language by themselves. This being the case, I believe adult language learners should be afforded the opportunity to learn this stye of language if they so choose (although this does not mean educators should be forced to teach it).

Parting Words

In conclusion, I am not suggesting that language teachers should rush out and start teaching learners the art and science of using and understanding swearing and taboo language – that decision rests with you and your learners. All I am suggesting is that swearing and taboo language is just as much a part of the English language as more formal registers of language, and as such, it is high time the language teaching community engaged in a sincere and open discussion as to the when, where, how, and why (why not) of teaching about swearing and taboo language with adult language learners.

Shameless plug! If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to read my research article related to teaching about swearing and taboo language to South Korean speakers of English (https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1263547.pdf), or listen to an interview I gave discussing the subject in more detail (link below).

Otherwise, that’s it from me. Thanks for reading. 

Listen to my interview here

Currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University, Josh Wedlock has been involved in language education for over a decade. Although currently researching the pragmatics of swearing and taboo language in an additional language, Josh is also interested in the practices, beliefs, and behaviours that enhance language learning outcomes. For more about Josh, please visit www.joshesl.com or connect with him on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-wedlock-phd

References

Bednarek, M. (2015). “Wicked” women in contemporary pop culture: “bad” language and gender in Weeds, Nurse Jackie, and Saving Grace. Text & Talk, 35(4), 431-451.

The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/what-the-f-how-much-swearing-is-there-on-tv-24836

Jay, T. (2009). The utility and ubiquity of taboo words. Perspectives on psychological science, 4(2), 153-161.

McEnery, T. (2006). Swearing in English. New York: Routledge.

Twenge, J. M., VanLandingham, H., & Keith Campbell, W. (2017). The seven words you can never say on television: Increases in the use of swear words in American books, 1950-2008. Sage Open, 7(3), 2158244017723689. 

Wang, W., Chen, L., Thirunarayan, K., & Sheth, A. P. (2014, February). Cursing in English on twitter. In Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing (pp. 415-425).

Wedlock, J. (2020). Teaching” about” Taboo Language in EFL/ESL Classes: A Starting Point. ORTESOL Journal, 37, 33-47.