Exploring College Slang

1. Exploring College Slang Joe McVeigh Ann Wintergerst

2. Slang�an active introduction tot wastey face� fives boo own slammin

3. Here�s a little context A: Did you see her hair? You can tell she did that dye job herself! B: Tot! I got wastey face in the basement last night after my first bottle of wine. I call fives! I�m just going to the bathroom. From now on it�s all about you Boo, all about you. Dude, my snowboard completely owns yours. Did you see that girl?� She was slammin!

4. Here�s what the students said tot (adv) abbreviation for totally. Used in agreement wastey face�(adj) very intoxicated OR noun; a person who is very intoxicated. Synonyms: hammered, wasted, drunk fives (n) an exclamation to lay claim to a seat when you are leaving for a few minutes, presumably five minutes. Synonyms: be right back, brb boo (n) a name for a lover, derived from the french word �beau� which roughly means beautiful. Synonyms: girlfriend, boyfriend. own (v) 1. to be superior to. Synonyms: to rock, to rule. Usage: comparing similar objects. slammin (adj) very attractive.� Synonyms: hot, good looking.�

5. What is slang? Informal, one or two words, considered non-standard Varies by age, region, or other demographic factors May relate to illicit activities or may be vulgar or vituperative Over time may change to standard status

6. Student difficulties with slang Undergraduate international students with high levels of English

7. Origins of the project

8. New York Times September 30, 2007 On Language: Campusspeak by William Safire Sketchy about the lingo being spoken by today�s adultalescents? Word-blending is big in campuspeak. �He�s sort of a nerd, but he�s just so adorkable� combines adorable with dork, the amalgam defined as �endearing though socially inept� � Another blend is fauxhawk, combining faux, �artificial,� and Mohawk, defined as a �hairstyle achieved by combing all of the hair to the center to give the appearance of a Mohawk without shaving the head.� Yet another is ginormous, blending gigantic with enormous A new slang blend is chillax, from the adjective chill, �easygoing,� and the verb relax, the combo meaning �do nothing in particular,� an activity widely practiced in centers of learning throughout the nation.

9. Methodology Slang Collection assignment in undergrad TESOL methodology course Results of the initial collection Problems with the initial collection Forming of project team Alexis Mussomeli�editor Ellie Molyneux & Natalie Sammarco�surveys Katie Moon & Uma Tantri�web design

10. Project � Initial EditAlexis Mussomeli Duplicates Idioms Non-local items Standardization of definitions

11. Project � SurveyEllie Molyneux & Natalie Sammarco Smaller lists of words Survey construction Email requests Responses Survey results

12. Survey Objectives Obtain demographic information First language, friend group, affiliations Determine frequency of slang use �How often do you hear this�� vs. �say� Determine variability in slang meaning Investigate correlations between demographics and reported slang frequency

13. Hypotheses International and ESL students with less interaction with NSs probably hear and are aware of fewer slang terms Variations in frequency Most students would be aware of the words in the survey

14. Method 4 surveys 39 words per survey 156 words total Randomly distributed

16. Participant Origins and First Languages

17. Is there a connection between reported slang frequency and . . . . . . social house residence ? . . . class year ? . . . gender ? . . . international student status ?

18. Results Is there a connection between reported slang frequency and social house residence?

19. Percentage of first years vs. seniors who often hear or very often hear the word�

20. Percentage of men vs. women who often or very often hear the word�

21. Percentage of NNS vs. NS students who never hear the word�

22. Survey Limitations Relatively small sample size Confirmation bias, fatigue, correlation vs. causality Self-reporting vs. discourse analysis approach

23. Project � Web ImplementationKatie Moon & Uma Tantri Dictionary � navigable or downloadable Categories Audio files Resources Practice materials

24. The Web Site https://segue.middlebury.edu/index.php?action=site&site=slang-glos Or go to www.joemcveigh.org and look for the link to the Middlebury Slang Project You will find: Definitions and example sentences A downloadable dictionary Sound files Electronic resources Learning suggestions

25.

26. Project � Idioms Team Dictionary of idioms with definitions Downloadable from web site Sophie Elphick & Ley Lacbawan

27. Slang and Idioms How is slang different from idioms and colloquial language? Idioms under the weather to kick the bucket to bite the dust Colloquial language shut up Slang babe, chick, dude, hunk wired, mellow

28. Purposes of slang To identify members of a group To change the level of discourse in the direction of informality To oppose established authority

29. Slang and idioms Idiom processing strategies by L2 learners of English (Cooper 1999) Guessing from context (28%) Discussing literal meanings (19%) Using the literal meaning (19%) Other strategies (29%) L2 learners employ a variety of strategies based on what works for them

30. Slang and idioms Corpus analysis of Am. Eng. Idioms (Liu 2003) Aimed at identifying most frequent idioms in academic contexts Difficult to capture low-frequency idioms that could be important to students

31. General learning strategies Converse with native English speakers.� A lot of slang can be picked up easily if the first time you hear it or use it, you can personally relate to it.� Watch American sitcoms or movies.� Slowly you will be able to understand more and more slang by picking up on context clues.� Listen to American music.� American music is one of the mediums through which many slang words are created and shared.

32. Activities for Teaching Slang Fill in the blank dialogs Listening fill in the blank Sentence matching exercises Crossword puzzle Campus research projects

33. Fill in the blank dialogs Fill in the blanks with slang expressions describing people: couch potato catch cold crush loaded player hot Jack: Why didn�t you pick up the phone when I called you last night? Mary: You ignored me in school today and were so ___cold__________. Jack: I thought you were mad at me because you heard I have a __crush________ on Angela and I�m a real __player__________. Mary: I�m not mad because of that but because you�re such a lazy __couch potato___________. Jack: You know that I�m a good ___catch___________ because I�m ___loaded/hot_________.

34. Sentence matching exercises Matching column with slang expressions related to drinking and relationships: __d___ black out a. to engage in heavy, usually prolonged kissing __f___ hot b. extremely intoxicated __h___ buzzed c. to fall asleep very quickly due to exhaustion or alcohol __g___ knocked up d. to lose one�s memory as a result of extreme intoxication __c___ pass out e. a close relationship; exuding stylish qualities __a___ make out f. sexy, popular or in style __b___ wasted g. pregnant, often referring to an unplanned pregnancy __e___ tight h. moderately inebriated

35. 3. Dialogue using slang expressions related to academics: LiMing, a student from Shanghai, China, arrived on campus for the first day of classes. He overheard the following conversation in the cafeteria: Pete: How�s it goin� man? Andy: Finals tomorrow, so I pulled an ____all-nighter_________. Pete: Me too. I�m so far behind, so I ____crammed__________ �til way after midnight. Andy: If I don�t do well and I ____bomb__________ the exam, I�ll fail my economics class for sure. Then I�ll be ____screwed_________ because my GPA will go way down. My mom will kill me. Pete: I�m in the same boat.

36. Crossword Puzzle

37. Campus research projects

38. Specific steps for classroom teachers Compile a list of slang expressions that would be useful for your students and that are level-appropriate. Ask students if they have heard of any of these slang expressions on the list. Give them an example of each one in a sentence either orally, on the board, or on a handout because additional context is usually helpful in figuring out the meaning. Distribute the handout with the slang expressions, definitions, and example sentences and review these with them. Create activities such as the ones you just participated in to help them learn, understand, and practice these slang expressions.

39. Specific steps for classroom teachers Ask students to work in pairs/groups on these activities. After checking the answers, have each pair/group prepare a short skit in which they use any of the newly learned slang expressions. Have students perform these role plays in front of the class. For homework, assign them to listen for slang expressions used by Americans on or off campus, on television, in the movies, or in songs and bring these to the next class. The first five minutes of each class will be a mini-lesson on slang expressions and feature the slang expressions of 2-3 students. Ask students to keep a running list of new slang expressions. By the end of the course, their slang vocabulary will have increased tremendously.

40. Electronic Resources Middlebury College Slang Project https://segue.middlebury.edu/sites/slang-glos Introduction to TESOL Course Web Site https://segue.middlebury.edu/?&action=site&site=intd1028a-w08 Joe McVeigh dot org � presentation resources www.joemcveigh.org Urban Dictionary www.urbandictionary.com The Online Slang Dictionary www.onlineslangdictionary.com The Internet Slang Dictionary www.noslang.com/dictionary.php

41. Published resources Owen Hargreaves David Burke

42. Questions and Discussion

43. Thank you