Using Slang in the Classroom Research Essay Example

We use slang every day but may not realize it. However, is slang academically appropriate to use especially in the classroom? I spent numerous hours reading through different articles and thinking over everything I read carefully. Eventually, I came to my own conclusion on whether I felt slang was appropriate to use in my day-to-day life, as well as, academically. Before I share my thoughts though I pulled together some of the research I did so that you can also develop your thoughts and opinions as well.

In a news article written by Global News, they have made the suggestion that Torontonians have accepted slang as a way of communicating and that it should be accepted in classrooms. Their claim is valid. One study I read shows that the instructor’s successful use of “slang” gains social approval from the students, which in turn positively affects the student’s affection toward the materials and the instructor (Mazer and Hunt, 2008a, p. 25). That means that the instructor communicates with the students in a way that they are more likely to understand (slang) allowing the students to feel a bit more comfortable and more open to learning from the instructor. In another study by Mazer and Hunt, they also found that positive slang specifically does have a positive impact on the classroom climate which in turn showed that the students were more motivated to learn (Mazer and Hunt, 2008b, p. 51). In other words, students are more motivated to learn from a teacher or a professor who uses positive slang however, this specific study only somewhat proves the accuracy of the claim. 

In a third study that I looked at frequent use of “slang binary” helped students make more sense of their experiences, especially in higher education, which in turn helped the students to form new social networks with students who had the same “mentality” as them (Preece, 2010, p. 34). To put it more simply, this study is suggesting that college students were able to develop friends based on potentially shared slang vocabulary and that helped them have a better experience overall. Looking even further I found a fourth study that states that “college slang” as a “unique form” is a highly important form of subcultural discourse. Slang provided students with a vocabulary of words that was useful for identifying “important facets” of the college experience (Hummon, 1994, p, 93-94). To be more specific, this study states that college slang is its own unique vocabulary, which in turn allows subcultures to be created and allows college students to grasp the important parts of college and the whole experience. Finally, the last study that I read was from Finland they suggest that slang was gender-based and geographic-based and they found this out from an experiment they conducted (Forsskahl, 2001, p. 106.) What they are trying to say is that slang can change, especially when it comes to males and females, as well as, it can change based on where you live as well. For example, if you live in a small town you may say “y’all” when greeting someone but yet if you live in a metropolis you may say “greetings”.  All in all, I would say that the Global News article seems to be valid in what they are saying, and I would personally agree with them that slang should be allowed in classrooms for the reason that it does have a variety of benefits to the students such as creating a support system of like-minded people and even allowing them to understand and be more comfortable with their teachers which may help students excel even more.

As I mentioned above reporters at Global news wrote an article that stated that “Toronto slang” has become widely popular thanks to artists and pop culture phenomena. The staff reporters at global news showed a sufficient amount of evidence in my opinion. They showed support for their claim by mentioning Drake first. As they say in the article Drake has not become popular due to him being an artist but upon doing some more reading into this article and coming across this paragraph I had to stop and think. I realize that this person is responsible for creating these slang words but with how large of a “global influence” he is, it makes people more motivated towards using these words and brings the city some pride (para 5). When I first considered this, I was thinking there was no way that “Toronto Slang” evidence is an acceptable strong start in the evidence to prove the above point. While continuing to read the article, I came across the Toronto Raptors being referenced from back when they were doing their championship run. Fans showed up with all different signs but one that stuck out to staff reporters was one that said “Milwaukee Bucktees.” While this may not seem like a huge deal to some people it is a slang word for an insult that comes from a different language (para 8). Once again this helps to prove the point of the reporters because that was a sign that was made by fans and at the game where millions of people are and it's being televised to plenty of different places in the world. Which helps to spotlight our “Toronto Slang”. The last artist/ pop culture phenomenon that they bring up to further prove their point is Kardinal Offishall. Back in the early 2000s, he released a rap song titled “BaKardi Slang” which shed some light on the city’s slang at that point (para 16). Once again with a celebrity shedding light on these slang terms, they have a huge fan base that is all over the world so “Toronto’s slang” is being heard everywhere around the world which continues to allow Torontonians to have even more pride in where they come from or are living. I feel the staff reporters at Global news did a sufficient job in proving the evidence and backing up what they were saying.

When I initially started researching this topic I was very skeptical about slang being used anywhere and everywhere other than in social situations with friends and family. However, thanks to the research that I did and my observations, my mind did slowly change. My observations came with starting my first semester at Humber the teachers I connected with were teachers that used slang or other communications styles that weren’t perceived as “stiff” and that helped myself feel massively more comfortable. All in all, I feel people should have the right to express themselves in whatever way that makes them feel safe and comfortable. That includes using slang both socially and academically. Especially since sometimes using slang will help lower people’s defenses and allows them to be more comfortable and it may even allow that person to develop friendships based on using slang and similar communication styles. So remember always be yourself and communicate the way you want to, need to or that makes you feel safe and comfortable.