Taboo or not taboo?That’s in the question!

Hugh DellarUniversity of Westminster

Thomson Learning

The roots of this talk:

• A talk on swearing

• The squeaky clean world of EFL coursebooks

• The new more risqué EFL materials.

• The debate about the relationship between language

and culture.

• My own everyday experiences as both a teacher of

General English and a writer.

Personal influences and roots

• A long-standing interest in exploring

the reality of British culture

• A long-standing interest in teaching

spoken English - and in the things that

people talk about.

English you won’t learn in your coursebook!

• Swearing, drinking, smoking, chatting

people up, bitching about people,

pregnancy, birth, old age, suicide, death,

sarcasm, illegality - and more!

Some basic principles:

1. When a student sees / hears a word, it doesn’t

mean they like it or believe it!

2. Disagreeing with an idea doesn’t mean you can’t

use certain words.

3. Words in themselves are not rude or offensive.

4. It’s what we ask students to do with taboo words

that can cause offence.

The inherent conservatism of the publishing industry!

The text about mistakes in foreign

languages!

The way the spectrum of acceptability gets

skewed!!

The scapegoating of students!

Let students sometimes lead where we go

The ‘Fatime’ text:

It’s offensive to describe a religious person as

homeless!

Inexperienced teaches can’t deal with arguments

You’re being ‘political’!

You’re forcing teachers to have to deal with it!

Some implications:

1. Taboos are far less frequent than we

acknowledge.

IMPLICATION:

Ask open questions where students have a choice

in terms of how they answer.

Some implications:

2. Stereotyping is still very prevalent

IMPLICATIONS:

- Be wary of the general. Stick to the

individual.

- Exploit disputes via language teaching.

- Provide language to combat stereotyping.

Some implications:

3. If a student says something, it’s not taboo!

IMPLICATIONS:

- Develop a balance between normal

conversation and being a teacher.

- Correct student language and write up

things on the board.

- Provide opportunities - but don’t push!

Some implications:

4. Talking about language is never taboo

IMPLICATION:

The starting point for dealing with taboos has to

be to discuss language - and ask questions about

language!