Tackling Taboo Topics when Teaching
This piece explores a few taboo topics and how to address them when teaching EFL.
Get on your soapbox
Politics is a tricky one. Some people do not want to share with you who they voted for or which party they support, so bear this in mind. A politics discussion Q&A activity like this: https://speaking24.com/conv/politics.html can be useful, especially for civil servants and people who deal with ministers. For intermediate students and above it can pose a challenge too, so it is worth covering. Nevertheless, tread carefully and try not to let your personal feelings shine through, even if you strongly believe something. It could be that you are discussing what has happened in the world at the beginning of the lesson, and you wish to comment on what public opinion is, i.e. what the ramifications of a hard Brexit may be for companies in another European country, or whether Trump will be a good President or not, for example; this is where you should be sensitive to other opinions and at least hold back before stating yours. See the paragraph entitled Education Education Education for more on politics in class:
https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/using-general-knowledge-classroom-daniel-israel?trk=mp-reader-card
Sex up the lesson
The first thing that comes to mind is a cultural discussion where a humorous comment about a stereotype regarding the Brits could be mentioned: no sex please we’re British and how reserved and prude the British can be. There is more on this in the Cross Culture paragraph from the same article on general knowledge (see previous paragraph).
When demonstrating vocabulary, embarrassing words, terms or ambiguous comments often come up. It could be that a wrong preposition is used like this innocent mistake from a Dutch student: I came in Holland in 1984, which would work better when reworded as I arrived in the Netherlands in 1984. When explaining the mistake, it may be best just to say: ''this means something rude in English, which I am not going to go into''. Perhaps this is prude and rather British of the writer to suggest. Otherwise, you can give them the other meaning and expect your face to go as red as a lobster for a while.
A couple of other examples with Dutch learners that have come up and give an indication of how you could be caught off guard include: in a British vs American English task: explaining the first word of the following terms: bum bag vs fanny pack as the posterior vs female genitalia, and during a 3rd conditional exercise going through the context: if he hadn’t slept around, we wouldn’t have stayed together after its result should have been: we would have stayed together. Most recently, the word Botox /?b??t?ks/ was mispronounced buttocks /?b?t?ks/ by a Spanish student. In such cases of ambiguity or explaining context, it is perfectly OK to use a bit of humour if appropriate.
Scared to Death?
Not the easiest, but this topic may rear its ugly head in your lessons. If you are an eternal optimist and fear death, for example, then you will probably avoid it like the plague. You can always use humour and try and make light of the situation, but sometimes there is no other way than to discuss something related to it, i.e. euthanasia is one issue that can be debated and is topical enough to include in a discussion. Most students have agreed that it is better to have the option if somebody is of sane mind and wishes to end pain or suffering, though there are numerous grey areas that complicate matters. During the activity, you can try and weigh up the pros and cons so you can oppose your student’s position. Once again, it is always best to use facts and public opinion (gathered beforehand) rather than a more subjective approach.
Legalise it
The legalisation of drugs and prostitution as talking-points are quite specific to the Netherlands, for example, and may well find their way into conversation. Again, they are meaty topics for debate; this is where it is often safe to get your learner to speak up first, before you retort. For the former, when discussing this issue quite seriously, for those who this applies to, try not to personally catalogue your drug use when in your teens, as this is unprofessional and inappropriate. For the latter, this may make some students uncomfortable, so be sensitive and pay attention to whether this is the case, and if so, then move on to something that is more acceptable. In countries where the position on drugs drastically varies, be extremely careful as penalties can include the death penalty, for example, and depending on the learner, and in both cases; he/ she may have far more extreme views than yours.
Damned if I do and damned if I don’t
Religion is probably the riskiest subject to take on, but it will come up at some point; here are some ideas that should help. Remain objective and keep to the facts. If you know something for sure that is not contested by any religion, and you do not feel that you will offend your student, then give it a go. When asked a question about the religious practices of your religion, then, so long as you know what you’re talking about, play on the safe side and stick to the ceremonial aspects. It is true that various scriptures from different religions contradict each other, so steer clear of comments like: it was written in X or Y. Avoid making remarks about other religions but your own, unless you are a qualified expert on another religion, for example, and follow the above advice.