Taboo English In Second Language Research

Once frowned upon, Taboo English words such as ‘bloody’ and ‘bugger’ are now commonly heard in society and non-native learners of English will undoubtedly come into contact with this bad language through exposure to day-to-day conversations, the media, movies and popular music. However, despite the prevalence of this bad language in society, very little academic literature exists in the field of second language research on the pedagogical implications of addressing Taboo English in the ESOL classroom. Bad language is a valuable aspect of a speakers’ linguistic repertoire and native English speakers use taboo words in complex and diverse ways to communicate ideas quickly and efficiently. This book demonstrates that teachers, preparing adult learners to understand everyday language they will be exposed to in the ‘real’ world, need to address Taboo English to some degree. ESOL teachers’ attitudes towards teaching about bad language are then analysed and techniques used for teaching Taboo English in the classroom are also investigated.