But, that’s how they talk in movies so it’s only fair! : Three Teachers’ Perspectives on the Emergence of Slang in Student Assignments in Swedish Upper-Secondary Schools

Abstract: Social media, movies and games all have something in common – they all have a tendency to foster slang. Adolescents of today consume these mediums virtually every day, and thus they easily adopt these slang terms faster than any other group. As they are influenced by the slang and informal style used in these mediums, this type of language use may become dominant and spill over on their academic English. The main objective of this study is to investigate the opinions of three Swedish upper-secondary EFL teachers through qualitative interviews. In the interviews, the teachers presented their opinions in relation to whether the usage of slang is evident in their students’ assignments as well as their opinions on the potential possibilities and challenges involved in working with slang in the classroom. The teachers noticed an emergence of informal language, and slang to a certain extent, in their students’ assignments. Profanities occurred as well, albeit more rarely and more so through speech. The teachers emphasized the importance of addressing slang by way of marking or discussion. They mostly saw the benefits of working with slang as a theme in the classroom due to it potentially being a fun learning experience and an opportunity to learn about cultural differences in the English-speaking world. However, the challenges were that it requires a certain amount interest from the teacher and it may take time that could be spent working on other goals.