Recently one of my students told me that he was going to “SOB” next trimester. I was totally confused. A quick Google search didn’t yield a definition that made sense to me. So, I asked him to clarify if he doesn’t mind. Surprisingly the answer was he was going to ‘stand on business’ a slang term used to express a person’s promise to take care of their responsibilities.
This trimester, I am planning to have a lesson plan around the phrase “standing on business” to teach about connotation and prepositional phrases. By involving language that students use every day to learn new concepts in the classroom, I can position them as the experts in that language.
In fact, my response to my students’ language contrasts with the restrictive approach that has recently been a hot topic among educators on social media. Last month, a list of “prohibited language” from an anonymous educator was collectively shared several times on X, which was commended and censured largely. As we understand, many of the terms and phrases on the list are popularised by various Tik-Tok specialists on digital platforms. Therefore, instead of prohibiting a language, we, as English teachers, use inclusive and culturally responsive practices to connect with and learn from students in both formal lesson plans and casual conversations.
Let’s notice that certain behaviour or language use in the classroom, for example, the common use of the word “brush” by students in a classroom as an entry point for thinking about the linguistic value in culturally specific student speech. We can say the same word in many different ways and places. It’s absolutely part of writing and learning. As far as I am concerned, a student being told that his sentences aren’t good enough, or that he can’t communicate effectively with language that is culturally specific is incredibly harmful. This type of cultural devaluation from the education system can lead to linguistic trauma.
In the initial days of my teaching, I noticed that there were many words and phrases that my students used that I couldn’t understand well. I legitimately could not have a conversation with some of my students. So I decided to position myself as a learner first in my classroom. I never want my students to feel any sort of shame or disregard for the language that they speak. One of my biggest goals in my teaching, specifically in writing, is to centre my students as writers of their own stories. If the concern is about academic rigour or appropriateness for the assignment, I always try to encourage the educators to embrace the variation. If our main concern is preparing the students to write excellent essays we can do that without discouraging them. Asking for a simple explanation can go a long way. This is something that both Ali and Ahmed have done when confused about language in their classrooms while I was preparing Royal Oman Police cadets for EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) courses.
As far as my experience is concerned, students are often generous when sharing the meaning behind the language that they use. I would also say that asking for an explanation to a suspected inappropriate word or phrase will organically filter out the use of that word or phrase in the classroom. Educators can also use context clues if they are unsure of the meaning of a phrase or a word.
Speaking to students in ways that they will identify with and understand that they are active participants in language comprehension and acquisition. I am always pleased to borrow their language to communicate with them. I would strongly say that if an educator isn’t engaging with the students as a member of his or her family he is just doing a disservice to students, but to himself. As I had a lot of opportunities to interact with the students, I was told that certain teachers, especially in schools, the teachers not only never acknowledge the contributions of the students but they discourage them which harms even the future of the students by all means. I greatly believe that those teachers do not deserve to continue as teachers.
Moreover, those narrow minded teachers are to be provided proper in service training so that they could learn the real psychology of the students. By observing and participating in the language that students use, teachers can watch language ‘evolve in real time.’ Similarly, as a teacher, I don’t see a point in policing the language that my students use.
Indeed, I wish my students to understand how language works and evolves and the role the language plays in our lives and our cultures. I keep reflecting this both in my everyday interactions with the students and by structuring assignments to allow students to explore their own languages.
I do acknowledge that educators have the freedom to determine what is and isn’t allowed in their learning environments, however, those boundaries cannot cut across someone’s identity.
Dr SAJI UTHUPPAN
The author is lecturer of English
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