There's plenty of interesting stuff about slang out there:
Jay Doubleyou: american vs british english

But how far can we go with 'taboo' words in the classroom?
English teachers should teach taboo words to students. - ESL Forums

Here's a very useful piece on euphemism and appropriateness:

Taboo Words‏‎ and TEFL

Contents

Taboo Words (sometimes known as swearwords, curse words, orprofanity) are those words and phrases which some people find shocking or offensive. They can often cause problems for TEFL‏‎ teachers and learners of English‏‎.

In general, the best advice is to avoid both using and teaching taboo words in the classroom. A number of teachers have lost their jobs through using and teaching taboo words and it is not to be recommended unless specifically requested and sanctioned by the school owner or DoS.

Note that in the discussion below a number of taboo words are used in full. If you feel this could be offensive then please do not read on.

Categories of Taboo Words

In English, taboo words generally fall into 4 categories.

1. Taboo Words to do with Religion

Used in their religious context (e.g. in Church or discussing religion) these words are fine to use. For example a priest may talk about Jesus Christ or being damned by God.

However, some people find their use outside formal circumstances as offensive and shocking, e.g. when you criticize someone by saying, "Jesus Christ! You are so god-damned stupid!"

2. Words to do with Sex or the Body

Often these words have an acceptable euphemism to describe the sex act or body part. In "polite" company one might talk of making love orbreasts. However one may also refer to the same things as screwing or tits when speaking amongst ones friends.

3. Words to do with the Toilet

Like words to do with sex and the body, these words often have euphemisms or polite terms instead of the alternatives which are often considered taboo or shocking in other circumstances. One may talk about going to the lavatory rather than taking a piss for example.

4. Words describing People

A number of words which were originally used to describe individuals or groups without any pejorative meaning have become insults and taboo over time. These fall into several categories:

Ethnicity/Race/Nationality - frog, kraut, coon, kike, wop, paki, etc
Sexual Orientation - poof, queer, etc
Intelligence - retard, etc
Physical disabilities - cripple, spastic, etc

Calling someone a retard is offensive nowadays, and yet a number of years ago it was in standard use to describe someone with a very low IQ. Likewise the word, nigger, was originally used as a simple descriptor and not used in a pejorative manner at all several hundred years ago. (It is derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word for black).

The word, spastic, originally not offensive at all has become highly offensive in British English whilst remaining neutral in American English‏‎.

In recent times certain taboo words have been "reclaimed" by specific groups. Examples here include queer used by some LGBT people,nigger used by some black people and spastic by some disabled people.

Strength of Taboo Words

Taboo words or swearwords are often classified using a star system with 1 star being mildly taboo and 4 stars being extremely taboo. For example:

* damn, blast (BrE), hell

** Jesus, Christ, bastard, jerk (AmE)

*** balls, fuck, shit, wanker (BrE), spastic, retard

**** cunt, nigger

However, it must be remembered that context plays a major part in this. Amongst some groups using words like balls and shit is barely noticeable. Others may well feel that saying Christ Almighty in a non-religious context is highly offensive

Use of Taboo Words

Because taboo words have the power to shock, they are often used in situations full of emotion such as in an argument, making love, playing sport, in pain or when one is under a lot of stress.

In addition, taboo words are often used amongst close groups of people to signal affiliation with that group. A group of friends may call each other wankers or jerks for example without any offense being given or taken. A stranger who joins this group and uses the same terms may well cause offense as they are trying to claim membership of the group to which they do not belong.

If a white person uses the word, nigger, it can be extremely offensive and yet some groups of black people will use it freely amongst themselves with no offense at all.

Context, of course, plays a major part in the use of taboo words. A group of people at a house party may well use taboo words amongst themselves without any restraint. If strangers or children were with the group then they would be likely to moderate their language. If the same group were in a church or perhaps in a job interview then they would almost certainly never use taboo words.

The importance of context cannot be overestimated, hence the shock and immediate apology when a newscaster accidentally uses a taboo word live on air. In the video here Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn uses the word,fucking, on live television and this is followed by immediate apologies from the interviewers; in almost any other context the use of the word would have gone almost unnoticed.

Problems for learners of English

One of the main difficulties for learners of English is understanding the strength of the words they are using. This can arise when the students compare the taboo word to the equivalent in their MT which may have a very different strength.

In Italian, for example, the expression vaffanculo - usually translated into English as fuck off - is used with much more ease than its English correspondent and it bears less resonance amongst Italians who use it in their everyday language so frequently that the word has virtually lost its offensiveness. In fact, recently an Italian Court dismissed a case for "insult and offense" brought to it by a public officer who had been told, "vaffanculo" by another public officer. The Court ruled that there had been no injury or offense and ruled that the expression was merely impolite.

Another problem is with appropriateness (tied in with the use of taboo words to claim membership of a group, above). Two teachers may meet socially and talk about a film being, "fucking brilliant", however in the classroom if the student (or teacher!) talked about a book being, "fucking brilliant" then this would be inappropriate language for that situation.

For this reason it is often best for learners of English not to use these words unless they have a very thorough command not only of English but also of the wider use of English and language register‏‎ which requires not only a very good knowledge of English but also extensive experience in using it.

Taboo Words in the Classroom

It can often happen that students will ask their teachers about swearwords and taboo words; they may well watch American or British films and hear these words and genuinely want to know more.

As a teacher you should tread warily here. Firstly do not launch into explanations there and then. It is wise to check with your DoS or school owner and let them know that the students would like to learn more on this subject and make sure you have their permission for the lesson. Quite simply, too many teachers have lost their jobs because they did not do this and it turned out the school owner was totally against the idea.

If you do go ahead with a lesson on taboo words, make sure that you include elements not only on learning and using the vocabulary, but also and importantly:

context - when it is appropriate to use the taboo words and when it is not
strength - which words are more or less offensive than others

Another typical scenario is for a student to "test" the teacher. They may well be perfectly familiar with a common swearword but to get a laugh from their friends ask quite innocently, "What does fuck mean?" in the middle of the lesson.

The best response here is to ponder the subject for a moment and then say you don’t really know the best way to explain it but you’ll ask the DoS or school owner for their advice and let them know that a student asked the question. Often this will result in the "testing" student beating a hasty retreat.

Conclusion

With people being easily offended by the use of taboo words and it often being difficult to know (even sometimes for native speakers) which words will cause offense and which will not, it is the best policy to avoid using and teaching taboo words in the EFL classroom.

If they need to be taught, however, make sure you have the blessing of your DoS or school owner. In 2009 a TEFL teacher in Australia was sacked after he gave his class a worksheet on the grammatical use of fuck in various contexts. (The case went to court and in 2011 he was deemed to have been treated unfairly although sacking was a reasonable outcome from the lesson.)

Finally, taboo words in the classroom comes under a general list of sensitive subjects‏‎ which should be avoided by the TEFL teacher. These include sex, politics and religion in general.

Taboo Words‏‎ and TEFL

Here's a more academic piece:
Refined Swearing: Taboo Words in the English Language Classroom : Teachers at Work : Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus

To finish, here's a good guide from the British Council:

Taboo in the classroom

Submitted by admin on 26 October, 2006 - 13:00

In this article I will review the arguments for and against teaching taboo language and using taboo subjects, then look at some practical ideas for teachers who decide to use this area of language.

What are taboos?

Why deal with taboo subjects?

The arguments against

Some acceptable approaches

Conclusion

What are taboos?
Swear words, gay rights, torture, sex, one-parent families, drug abuse, divorce, political freedom, obscene gestures, incest, cannibalism, religious belief, death, alcohol, nudity, suicide, racial abuse, AIDS, terrorism, pregnancy, abortion, polygamy, depression, rape, democracy…

Taboos can be found in words, gestures, topics, social and cultural behaviour, body language and personal space. The Oxford English Dictionary defines them as 'Prohibition…generally of the use or practice of anything'
and in linguistics as 'A total or partial prohibition of the use of certain words, expressions, topics, etc., esp. in social intercourse'.

Importantly for teachers, taboos vary from culture to culture. For example,the subject of how much you earn is taboo in the UK but not in other cultures, whereas homosexuality is a subject many British people are comfortable with, but a clear taboo in many other countries. Taboos change as societies change, so topics such as divorce and depression and illnesses such as cancer and AIDS may not be as taboo as they used to be (interestingly, almost no universal taboos have ever been identified, but many are shared by almost all cultures - incest, patricide and cannibalism are three examples).

Both the Oxford Dictionary definitions above are relevant for us as teachers, as we can ask two questions based on this idea of taboo language and taboo subjects:

Is it right to teach taboo language to learners?

Is it right to use taboo topics to teach language?

Neither of these questions have a simple answer, or one that people agree on. The extent to which teachers actually disagree can be seen on this site at Teaching 'bad language'and Controversy in the classroom.

Why deal with taboo subjects?

When we teach a language, we must teach the cultures in which it exists. Taboos are a key element of every culture, so we must teach them too.

Learners rarely learn a language for purely academic reasons. They learn so they can communicate with others who speak the language. In order to do this well, they have to know what language is appropriate and what is not.

Learners who need English to live and work in a country where it is the first language have to understand both taboo language and taboo topics, as they will encounter both. Not understanding taboo areas is dangerous.

Learners in the modern world are constantly exposed to taboo language and topics. As teachers we have a responsibility to guide them through this.

Using taboo topics to teach language can be highly productive, as they often generate high levels of interest and involvement in learners.

When we teach learners about the taboo language and topics of our culture, we share something special and unique, something they do not see in coursebooks.

Taboos are a rich area of language. Thinking about taboos means for example thinking about euphemisms, slang, formal and informal language, double meanings, body language and politically correct terminology. Discussing sensitive areas means using skills in negotiation, agreeing, disagreeing, explaining opinion, justifying, etc.

Multilingual classes are multicultural classes. Discussing the taboos of learner cultures together means real communication of genuinely motivating topics.

The arguments against

Taboos are taboos for a reason. They are areas of language and topics which are prohibited by a society, and when we use them in a classroom we run enormous risks of offending our learners in the most profound ways possible: religious and political belief, sexuality, morality.

Taboo language is extremely difficult to use correctly and appropriately. By teaching learners this kind of language we are giving them a loaded gun but not showing them how to use it safely.

Our work as teachers is not to provoke extreme emotional responses from our learners, although we may think that a provocative role is the right one. Our work is to teach the systems and skills of English. There are many effective ways of doing this apart from exploiting areas that learners would never discuss, not even in their own language.

Taboo topics provoke extreme reactions and in a classroom these kinds of reactions can cause problems, no matter how well we think we can manage the activity. A discussion can turn into a conflict in a moment.

There are few classrooms in the world where nothing bad has happened to any of the learners, or the teacher. Many have had experiences of areas we classify as taboo, such as death, issues of political freedom and divorce. Discussing these may be involving, yes, but in the worst way for someone in your class.

When you decide to use taboos, you should ask yourself why. Is it because they support your aims for the class better than other material, or just because they are taboos?

Some acceptable approaches
Even if you are against teaching taboos or using them to teach language points, there may be ways of exploiting this area. Below are some ideas:

Looking at how taboos are managed in a culture, e.g. euphemism, innuendo, double meaning, formal and informal equivalents.

Discussing what is appropriate and what is not, both at a language and content level. For example, is it right to ask questions about taboo topics when you meet someone for the first time? Which ones are okay and which not? Who can ask those kinds of questions? Is this language vulgar and impolite?

Thinking about body language / gestures / personal space. What is acceptable in each learner's culture?

Looking at modern slang and informal language - rich, challenging and always changing.

Looking at politically correct language.

Learner-led discussion. Learners who feel free to express themselves will often start a discussion on an apparently sensitive area if it is important to them. Our role is to facilitate discussion, guide and ensure that there is no negative impact on other learners.

Talking about your own society's taboos and your own feelings about these (if you are teaching abroad, in another culture). Even if this is not successful, it may offer you some insights into what you should be asking your learners to do.

Looking at taboo language in context, e.g. literature readings.

Conclusion
So

Is it right to teach taboo language to learners?

Is it right to use taboo topics to teach language?

Before you give an answer to the two questions above, you need to think about your own classes. If you feel your learners' needs are best met by teaching them taboo language, then it is right to look at it. Similarly, if you feel that the best way your learners can achieve the learning aims of a class is by looking at taboo subjects then they can become an important resource. But I feel you should take a long hard look at what you are asking your learners to think about, and respond to, before you make the decision to take taboos into your classroom. It may not be worth the risk.

Further Reading
Wikipedia: Taboo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo
Taboos and Issues by Leather, ELT Journal 2003
Breaking Taboos by Guy Cook, ETP April 02
Taboos and issues, Richard MacAndrew and Ron Martinez, Language Teaching Publications, 2001.
Discussions A-Z, Wallwork, CUP.
Dangerous English 2000!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/
http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/

Written by Paul Kaye, Teacher, Trainer, Materials writer

Taboo in the classroom | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
.
.
.

Jay Doubleyou

Thursday, 27 November 2014

teaching taboo vocab in the esl classroom