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I am not an ESL student, however, I do believe teaching slang and idioms are very important for ESL students, even though many TEFL or TESOL teachers may think otherwise. ESL students, in the long run, will benefit largely from learning slang and idioms. We all know that language is constantly changing, and this includes colloquialisms such as slang and idioms. No one is devoid of this atmosphere of change; therefore, we must all evolve together with language. Slang can sometimes be very controversial concerning language learning. Some people even go as far as to say that slang is not part of the language at all! But what exactly is slang? According to Dictionary.com, slang is "very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid and ephemeral than ordinary language". Nowhere in that definition did it say that slang is not part of the language. Also keep in mind that with the rise of technology and the smartphone, people are inclining more and more into using slang and idioms in their text messages and in their daily living habits. This is only going to increase more and more as technology advances. Look at the life of an average ESL student, for example. A particular student applies to English school because he wants to learn English so that he can travel the world and see different places. He gets accepted into the school and earns a scholarship. Years go by and he is now almost ready to graduate. He has learned the formalities of the English language, he has studied grammar and vocabulary. He is excited because he is finally going to be able to fulfill his dreams of traveling around the world! And then, the day came. A few months go by and the student is standing in New York of all places. His face is expressing confusion and frustration. He is beginning to feel angry with himself. But, why? It is because he was never taught slang nor any common idioms from New York. Now he finds himself struggling to communicate with people because of this solitary reason. If ESL teachers would teach slang and idioms such as those encountered by our example student, he wouldn't have been so confused and neither would countless others who have gone through the ESL program. Why then is slang, most of the time, not included in coursebooks and created material? Well, simply because it is informal by nature and it is not something that most people would consider necessary for the mastery of the English language. Even if it was taught in ESL schools, by the time the student graduates, that slang will have already been replaced with different idioms and different colloquialisms, which is due to the ever-changing nature of language. Another reason for teaching slang and idioms in ESL is that there are entire cultures or ethnic groups that speak nothing but slang and idioms native to their group. You cannot understand them fully without comprehending their slang. Although slang is not a necessity, it is important to be familiar with as many of the terms as one can possibly learn. After all, you never know what we may be speaking in the future.
