Turning Informal Into Formal: A writing activity for phrasal verbs

The purpose of this exercise is to reinforce students’ understanding of the differences between formal and informal English, highlighting the role phrasal verbs can play in changing the register. Students will begin with informal speech and edit it for a more formal context, using one-word equivalents for the selected phrasal verbs.

 

Level: High intermediate to advanced

STEP 1 – Ask students to name people in positions of power who can effect change, for example, a president, mayor, or school director. List their ideas on the board.

STEP 2 – Ask the students to choose one person in power and list 2-3 actions they would like that person to take. Each item on the list must use at least one phrasal verb. Be sure students have access to a good phrasal verb reference chart that includes definitions, such as the one in the appendix of Book 4 of the Focus in Grammar series. Model:

I want our governor to:

• come up with a way to help out state college students with tuition
• put together a program to help students find work after college
• make laws that will stop people from using up too much gas, water, and electricity

STEP 3 – Students will use their lists to compose a short letter. Model the business letter format on the board, indicating the correct positions of the addresses, the greeting, the closing, and the signature.  In the body of the letter, one-word equivalents must replace the phrasal verbs. (Additional revisions may be necessary to increase the formality, e.g., elimination of contractions and abbreviations, more appropriate greetings and closings, etc.) Model:

Dear Sir:

I would like to make three requests. First, I kindly ask you to find a way to assist students who attend state colleges. Tuition is difficult to pay, and students like me need more help to get a good education. Second, the state government needs to create a program to help students find work after college. You could create free job centers at libraries, for example. Finally, I am worried about the environment. I believe the state government can make new laws that will stop people from wasting gas, water, and electricity. Until there are such laws, people will continue to waste.

Thank you.

Respectfully,

 

VARIATION: Instead of a business letter, students can write a short article. Tell them to imagine they are writing for a local newspaper. The headline can be Time for Change or Changes We Need.

Should Idioms Get the Boot?

Few, if any, would argue against the need to focus on vocabulary skills in the ESL classroom. All the buzz about the Academic Word List and the General Service List attests to that. High frequency words are taught for general and academic purposes. But what about idioms? Can we argue the need to teach them? Should they be regarded as an appetizer or dessert and never a part of the main course?

I’ve written about how to teach idioms in the past, but I’d like to consider if we should teach them at all. I believe there are some cases when they must be addressed. For example:

• When a student asks us directly to explain an idiomatic expression
• When an idioms appears in a reading or listening passage and could cause confusion

What about at our own initiative? Should we make a deliberate choice to teach a set of idioms? While I wouldn’t rank idioms as high as verb tenses and intonation patterns, I think they do have a place in the ESL classroom. My reasoning is the same as it is for teaching informal speech patterns. The students are going to encounter idioms, and if they’ve had some exposure to these expressions, they’ll be better prepared to comprehend and react to real-life situations. Students don’t necessarily have to incorporate idioms into their speech. In fact, they’d be better off using idioms sparingly and cautiously. It would be easy for a non-native speaker to misjudge the appropriacy of an idiom or forget the grammar a certain idiom requires. (Correct: Give someone the boot… Incorrect: Give to someone a boot…)

If you decide to teach idioms, I’d offer the same advice as I did in my other posting on idioms. Try to go beyond the meaning. Teach register and appropriacy. As with any vocabulary, limit the number of items you teach at one time and always teach vocabulary in context. Use authentic sources if possible to emphasize the frequency of idiomatic expressions. From advertisements to song lyrics to news headlines, idioms are out there. I think it’s a good idea to help our students make sense of the everyday language they will encounter.

Whaddya gonna do about slang? Mix it or nix it?

We all know that our main objective is to facilitate our students’ ability to communicate in English. When they make an error, we offer correction. When they look to us for a speech model, we strive to provide clear, accurate English. But where does slang fit in? Does it have a place in our instruction?

I’d argue that it’s impossible to ignore the use of slang. Language learners will inevitably encounter it, and by not having any knowledge of informal English, they will be confused if not clueless in such situations. For instance, all books write going to, but if our students listen to American songs, watch an American TV sitcom, or overhear conversation on public transportation in any of the 50 states, they’ll hear gonna. In fact, such common reduction of words in fast speech has started to affect spelling. Look at public comments online or billboard ads and you’ll see words like gonna, ya, don’tcha, and ‘Sup? Given the pervasiveness of slang, would we not be putting students at a disadvantage if we kept all informal speech out of our curriculum and focus only on standard language that’s appropriate in professional and academic settings?

There seem to be two basic approaches to dealing with slang: (1) teach it in conjunction with standard English or (2) address it separately. Some grammar textbooks have taken a cautious approach to addressing slang: standard English is the focus, but some informal variations are noted. Other publications are dedicated solely to helping students make sense of American slang. These attempts range from a phrasal verb workbook to a dictionary of street talk. This fact itself raises the question what we mean by slang. Is it merely English used in informal contexts or is it a compilation of dirty words and adolescent lingo?

Suffice it to say that we needn’t create a lesson on four-letter words and all their uses, nor should we like, you know, try to give the 411 on all the fave expressions used by teens and tweens among their BFFs. I think we must teach standard English, but we should also address informal speech when it’s relevant and when students ask us about it. For example, in the case of adjective clauses you can present levels of formality and explain the appropriateness of all the variations: the friend to whom I spoke > the friend whom I spoke to > the friend who (that) I spoke to > the friend I spoke to. In the case of compound subjects using the first person singular, I’d tell students that “my friend and I” is the only acceptable form, but they will occasionally hear the non-standard “my friend and me” and even “me and my friend”.  When idioms such as pain in the neck surface in a lesson, you can throw in the alternative pain in the butt and note that butt in general is rude. A student may then venture to ask about pain in the ass, and such a question needs a straight answer: Explain ass is very rude and its use will offend polite company.

In the past, I’ve experimented with the approach of teaching slang separately, that is, making it the focus of a lesson. A short clip from a movie can provide enough material for a 50-minute class. You can present changes in grammar and pronunciation as well as alternatives to standard vocabulary.  Among my YouTube vodcasts I’ve created a series of lessons on American Slang that steer clear of hard core street talk and present informal and idiomatic language for everyday use.