When learning a language I am an advocate for the deep-end approach. The language should hit you like a brick all at the same time. While you are flailing about in the vast ocean of confusion, you see a small boat with a light coming towards you. Just as you feel you are going to drown you feel a hand plunge down into the water and grasp the back of your shirt firmly. You are lifted up at once out of the churning waters and dragged onto the little boat. You gasp and cough. You rub the salt out of your eyes, as you vision clears you finally see the person who saved you. But- what is she doing now? She’s trying to put a vest on you. She puts a bright orange vest on and ties a rope around it. You are relieved, then whooop you notice you are soaring through the air. But wait! You exclaim, I am not a bird! You are met once again by the jolting splash of the water. You flail as before, but this time, you feel a steady tug on the rope and the light buoyancy of the vest. You are no longer sinking, but you still must work to keep afloat in the storm. “Today you will learn how to swim!” comes a voice above the roaring.
What I mean by this is that language classes should ideally keep you almost constantly face-to-face with the full, living entity that is language, even though it will sound like a rapid-fire garble for a while. What ends up happening a lot in language classes is that being understood becomes the most important thing. Teachers end up talking slowly and not using slang. They will cater their speaking to the students ability to understand. While on the other hand, I understand that when I'm sitting in class and I have no idea what the teacher is saying I would tune out.
I think the solution to this, as to most things, lies somewhere in the middle. I think that it is imperative that no matter what, the teacher talks in a way that sounds natural and ordinary. Even if they talk slower,
------Digression: The Importance of Context Explained--------
There are different 'vocabularies' for different contexts in every language. For example: A mechanic might not use the words "placenta" or "breast-feed" on a usual basis, but a OB/GYN would. A nurse in an ICU might say "sever" while a normal person might say "cut". Part of comedy is using words in the wrong contexts.
Therefore one of the most commen difficulties for language learners is using words in the wrong context, or even being aware of the different contexts. Few, if any language classes teach different contexts. It is a big reason that people feel uncomfortable using a language. Sometimes it will be funny, sometimes it will be offensive, and sometimes it will be really embarrasing. The contextual 'sub-language' operates constantly sub-consciously and automatically.When a non-native and a native speaker are communicating, it is very difficult for the non-native to know exactly what he/she is communicating. Thus the native speaker cannot know which of the 'sub-meanings' are intentional, and which are purely accidental.
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What makes it funny?
Aside from the apparent grammar mistake "fruit of labour" instead of "the fruits of labour" or at least "the fruit of labour", two abnormalities stand out. The first one is "cherish", and the second one that I didn't see right away is "crops".
"Cherish" has 3 meanings in the dictionary
to cling fondly or inveterately to
- evangelist preachers
- a church group of people having a passionate, emotional, spiritual moment with crying and rocking back and forth and humming
- a small alter memorial of someone who has died
- a newlywed couple giving wedding vows
- "I will cherish you forever"
- people overwhelmed with emotion crying and hugging
- an old couple that has built up an incredible enduring love and caring through decades of mutual experiences and commitment
- a word used in an exaggerattedly sappy way to express sarcastic dislike or unenthusiam *someone hands her friend a ball of lint from the ground and says "here, I made this for you". Her friend, exaggerattedly fighting back tears says "I-I don't know what to say, I will cherish this forever"
What does "cherish" really mean then?
'To cherish' is to feel a mixture of unconditional love, appreciation, respect, admiration, loyalty and spirituality. The type of deep emotion and longing that one only feels for someone/something that is very close to oneself - someone/something that one "has" or "holds". You wouldn't cherish a piece of paper, but you would cherish a beautiful poem written by someone you love.
In the last item, however, appears another understanding about the word: If this word is used outside of a few particular contexts, it has the opposite effect - it sounds like sarcasm or inappropriate sappiness, it shows an abnormally intense and inappropriate emotional reaction to something.
A crop just implies vegetables or food stuff being grown on a farm.
There, folks, we have the reason that that sign is funny. It's sub-meaning is communicating something along the lines of "Love this grass. Adore it with every ounce of passion that is in your heart. Love it so much that you wouldn't even think to walk on it". The fact that the sign says this with 100% conviction and a straight face only serves to make it more funny. You know that the sign isn't being sarcastic, it honestly wants you to cherish the grass and not step on it.
HHA. HA. HHHAAAA.
Through this butchering, what we can see is that it sucks to be the guy that wrote that sign - or this sign.
All these guys want is for people to not trample the grass nor push over the tables - unfortunately neither of them will be taken that seriously. The worst part is that they will have no idea why. Its like an inside joke about them that everyone gets but them.
If you ever learned another language you will definitely relate to being in that situation.
"I live ensam, I've been going into the city and stuff, but most of the time I'm ensam"
*get pitying looks*
*awkward silence*
3 days later...
"Yeah, so I was ensam most of today"
"you do know that ensam means 'lonely' not 'alone' right?"
"...WHAT!??"
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This is the reason that speaking casually in class is important. "Casual talk" needs to be in the TL and it must be authentic. Furthermore, the switch from "casual" to "official" talk should
be very clear, the students should be aware of it. A possibility is that "official talk" is used in certain discussions only, while casual is used in others - and the teacher announces which type will be used. If teaching the two different types of speech is too much in one class (especially at lower levels) then casual should be taught first.
Casual -> official is the way that you learned your first language. You were already very fluent in your language by the time your language arts teacher told you that you were doing it all wrong in 3rd grade.
Watching (most) television and movies, reading (a lot of) contemporary fiction, and listening to (a good amount of) music and radio will most definitely expose you to real everyday language.
Ideas for exercises:
1) There are various audio clips from native speakers with different accents casually telling a story. Students have to guess what region the speakers are from.
