I know this is a popular language learning area. I myself am currently taking classes from NaNa,which i am thoroughly enjoying. However, I have thought,in every country,in every city, in every culture there is a street side to it, an underside if you will. Are people interested in learning this side to a culture as well or is it something you have to pick up in secret on your own and feel like your sneaking it in? I myself like to learn all aspects of a language, not just its proper form. Any opinions on this subject? Like for anyone learning english, do you even care to learn how its actually spoken here? Because i can pretty much tell you we are about as informal as it can get… especially where I am from in dallas,tx.

I dunno, perhaps I am just a wee bit sleepy but it was on my mind and i felt like sharing. Any input would be super! .:^_:.

I don’t know about street slang (personally, I think it’s something you need to pick up in movies, talking with others, etc.), but learning different dialects is most definitely important, especially in a language like English or Spanish, i.e. so widely spoken that learning how it is spoke in one country simply won’t get you by.

Street slang and “bad words,” IMO would add some level of “depth” into one’s language learning since you get to know the culture better. There’s a thread about teaching “bad words” here: http://edufire.com/forums/7/topics/1614

=)

Joshua, i think it is not agood idea to be in a foreign country and insult using there language !!!i think it is better to use your own bad words .and if you dont know the others bad words i think (faces talk befor tongues!!!!)

When i say street slang i do not mean bad words, i mean grammatical changes in the way we speak.

IE: Nice to meet you,my name is Joshua is more polite and such as opposed to how it really takes place in my environment….. it goes from the above to Hey,sup yo,i’m Josh call me J tho ya heard me?

That is what i mean by street slang. Not bad words, anyone can insult without words, who needs to teach that. However bad words are apart of any culture and if someone wants to learn them then go for it is what i say.

Ya, i got you, here in egypt they call it the youth talk we have alot of it and, at first our parents used to stop us using it ,nowadays our parents are using it too(lol) it seems to be good,but sometimes it erse the mother language.myself i am using it with my friends but realy not with my kids

it’s still good to know the bad words too, that way you know if you’re being insulted! you don’t have to learn them to use them necessarily, but if someone is trash talking me in another language, i’d sure want to know! ^^

I reckon slang is as important as any other part of language learning, but it’s sort of difficult to “learn”, primarily because it’s really region-specific (by which I mean at a national level, state/county level, district level, neighbourhood level…. and then there’s cultural/subcultural slang, too). Also, it can be so fluid, y’know? Certain slang terms can be a flavour of the month, and they might stick around for a matter of weeks, months or years, but you can’t really predict it. So putting it in a textbook or curriculum (and I use that phrase a bit loosely – sort of in the sense of tutoring or small classes, not just compulsory schooling) is tricky.

From the small amount of in-country language study I’ve done, I found that the only way to pick it up was while socialising – someone would say something and I’d be all “eeeh?”. It’d get explained to me; I’d hear it more and more in conversation; eventually I’d get enough confidence in getting the context of it that I’d use it myself.

In terms of English-language slang, at the most basic level it’ll depend on whether you’re learning British or American. I can use my Aussie slang in the UK and generally be understood, but sometimes my Chicago-native friend and I crack up laughing trying to understand what each other are saying! We’ve come to the conclusion that neither of us is speaking English – we’re speaking dialects :D

Ya, i agree with Laura’s take on it. There are a lot of different “dialects” from region to region and city to city. I was half asleep when i thought about it and now that I am awake i agree with laura. I do believe it important to try and learn as much about a culture as you can but each in our own way! =D thanks everyone for there input!

Hey there Josh,
Actually I taught an American slang class in the 1:M sector and it was quite popular with the non-natives :) I think everyone wants to have a lil inside know how … I will be starting the class again soon… so y’all keep a look out
Holla :)