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02/21/2015Mitsutoshi Inaba ?Profanity1. StudentsThe following lesson is designed for ESL students of conversation + aural skill class of the AEI type institution in the U of O Campus. They are mostly in their early twenties, and their native tongues include Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Thai, and Indonesian. Their proficiency level is from intermediate to advance. The class consists of 20 students––10 male and female each. The major focus of the class is to develop their fluent communication skills. 2. Goals of the lessonStudents will be able to recognize the effects of profanity––how typically swearing/cursing work and its range from a comical expression to a serious insult. Students will be given a task––analysis of two scenes of the film High Fidelity (2000) in order to identify unwritten rules of profanity. The lesson is based on my personal bitter experience in learning the effect of profanity in a hard way. Profanity is one of the most problematic and confusing pragmatic areas for young ESL learners. They are exposed to opportunities to hear it quite frequently. TV programs on cable channels such as HBO and Showtime and many popular films that are targeted for young adult audiences contain a full of swear words. Even in the real world, their native speaker colleagues of the same age and sometimes even professors of the subjects they take use curse words when talking in private. On the other hand, when the learners of ESL use it without knowing appropriate and tolerable situations, they will be involved in serious trouble unexpectedly. It is very difficult for them to understand the boundary, i.e. socio-cultural norm. It is not unusual that they cannot notice the actual effect of the swear expressions until they are in trouble. The lesson will contribute to their respectful and safe pragmatic ability.Empirical rationalMercury points out the importance and usefulness of teaching taboo language. "There is much for ESL students to learn about the social forces behind swearing in English and among English speakers. It is useful still if students only learn to understand, for practical reasons, why a speaker would choose to use obscenities and when she or he would choose not to." (Mercury, 1995, p.29) Mercury's reasoning is based on her own experience. "A female senior highschool EFL student asked me about 'bad words' in her weekly diary. She need to understand what these words were used for, and why many American actors used them in movies. She inquired if it was acceptable for her to use them as well . . . I had to explain that some language in the movies is taboo language in many real-world situations, and it would be likely to reflect badly on speakers who would choose to use it." (ibid, p. 31.) Although the Mercury's paper is dated, the example she presented is still not unusual to date. As mentioned earlier, ESL/EFL learners hear curse words directly or indirectly all the time. Because the meaning of such expression is diluted for its constant use and its potential to cover very wide range of emotions, it is confusing for them to recognize the socio-cultural function and impact. 4. MaterialsDVD High Fidelity, script of the selected scenes (see attached), two-page worksheet (see attached), PowerPoint, chalk/white board. Plus, ask students to bring highlighters beforehand while preparing some for students who forget. * For the purpose of the lesson, I use the words such as "fuck" and its variations as they are. 5. Lesson (50 minutes)TimeType of ActivitiesProcedureMaterials2 minsWarm-up,Introduction to today's task1. T greets to the Ss. "Laughing Exercise" for relaxation and activation for T and Ss. T introduces the agenda of the day––"profanity," i.e. swear/curse words. " T warns Ss. "Since we will be dealing with swear words today including "fuck," please be open minded. The purpose of the lesson is to deepen our understanding how these words work in our culture. If you are coming from some kind of religious background and feel uncomfortable about the topic and expressions we will deal with, I will not force you to stay here. Please take off." PP7 minsExplanation and Discussion2. T leads a discussion with Ss. Ask students their experiences in hearing swear words and expressions, such as "oh shit," "damn it," and "fuck" and its various variations. Who said it when and where, and what he/she meant by, how they heard it (TV, movies, or in their real life).Ask students their experiences in using such words––to whom when and where, and (more importantly) what happened––the effects of the expressions. Ask students what it means by "fuck." Ask students their knowledge of the word "fuck"––what they know and how they know it. Definition from :verb (used with object) 1) to have sexual intercourse with. 2) Slang. to treat unfairly or harshly. verb (used without object) 3) to have sexual intercourse. 4) Slang. to meddle [interfere] (usually followed by around or with). interjection 5) Slang. (used to express anger, disgust, peremptory rejection, etc., often followed by a pronoun, as you or it.) noun 6) an act of sexual intercourse. 7) a partner in sexual intercourse. 8) Slang. a person, especially one who is annoying or contemptible. 9) the fuck, Slang. (used as an intensifier, especially with WH-questions, to express annoyance, impatience, etc.) (Underlined letters may need to be explained.)"For many people, the word "fuck" is extremely vulgar, considered improper and taboo in all of its senses. Yet various forms of the word, primarily in its non-literal, slang senses, have increasingly crept into casual use, not only as spontaneous expletives of shock, horror, or anger, but also as verbal tics and common intensifiers, mere indices of annoyance or impatience or even pleasant surprise: 'Where are my fucking keys?' 'What the fuck is taking so long?' 'This is fucking awesome!' Nevertheless, the term is best avoided altogether in "polite company." (bald faced by instructor)But the reality is "we still hear it all the time." Many people typically know it is bad but they don't know how bad it can be. There seems to be some kind of rules but not very clear. A part of our task today is to figure out the rules of profanity. PPPP15 minsObservation and Analysis 3. T introduces the activity: analysis of two scenes of the film High Fidelity. Synopsis [from Wikipedia]: The film centers on Rob Gordon (John Cusack), a self-confessed music lover with a poor understanding of women. After getting dumped by his current girlfriend, Laura ( HYPERLINK "" \o "Iben Hjejle" Iben Hjejle), he decides to look up some of his old partners in an attempt to figure out where he keeps going wrong in his relationships. He spends his days at his record store, Championship Vinyl, where he holds court over the customers that drift through. Helping Rob in his task of musical elitism are Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black). Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things musical, they compile "top five" lists for every conceivable occasion, openly mock the ignorance of their customers, and, every so often, sell a few records.4. T divides the class into 5 groups of 4 people. T gives Ss handouts––transcription of the two scenes (see separated pages). Watch the following scenes with the script and subtitle to get the feeling––"Championship Vinyl" (4'20'') and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" (2'15").First time just pay attention on characteristics of the discourse community: T says to Ss "I will ask you later to describe who each character is, though it may take some of your imagination––where they are located, their age group, their fashion, social status, financial status, academic background, their marital status, and most importantly the relationship of Rob, Dick, and Barry. With your highlighter highlight the words that include "fuck," its variation "fucking . . .," "ass," its variations such as "asshole," and "shit" and its variations, such as "bullshit." WATCH THE SCENESAsk students about the general idea about the scenes and characters. Rob is the record store owner in Chicago. Dick and Barry are employees of the store. Beyond such a professional relationship, they are pretty equal. They are close friends––i.e. buddies––who share the same hobby, music . Barry talks rough, and he looks he can be a bully. Rob also swears a lot. Make sure if they have underlined swearing expressions.Explain some of the words in the lines they are likely not to be familiar with––including "record store," "The Smiths," "singles," "deleted," "Frank Zappa," "re-released," "Stevie Wonder," and "coma."5. T gives Ss directions––"we will watch the same scenes again." T asks Ss to flip the worksheet. This time pay attention on the followings:Their conversational style over the courses––how they talk to each other and how they sound to you. Over the courses, they gradually change the way they talk. Describe how they change in terms of: a. tone b. emotion c. body language, including facial expression d. distance between speakers e. other curse words than "fuck" and its variations.When each character uses swearing words––particularly "fuckin' . . ." what does he mean? In the script, identify the moments when the word "fuck" and its variations start to have stronger effects. What is happening to them? WATCH THE SCENES AGAINPPWorksheet-1ScriptDVDWorksheet-2Script DVD5 minsSummarizing observation5. T asks each group to summarize the observation based on the questions. Worksheet10 minsAnalysis6. T asks Ss about the script with underline. UNDERLINED FROM SCENE 1a. BARRY: Holy Shiite! What the fuck's that?b. BARRY: That's unfortunate, because it sucks ass. c. ROB: It's fucking Monday afternoon. d. BARRY: BULLSHIT!! ROB: How can it be bullshit to state a preference?e. ROB: Since you brought that bullshit tape in.f. BARRY: . . . You just had to fuckin' ruin it.Conversational StyleThe style is somewhat rough but comical. It is an indication of their intimacy (solidarity). They are having a conversation like a catch without interfering with each other. While they are bickering and Barry expresses his anger and frustration a bit, but they are having fun overall. They are far from the point that they have a serious fight. Transition of emotionIn the beginning the emotional level of Rob and Dick is very low. Barry changes the whole dynamics. After Rob turns off the music, Barry becomes upset. He is expressing his disappointment over the plan he had, but he is not really flying off the handle yet. Syntactic and semantic functionsIn " What the fuck's that?" the word "the fuck" is used instead of "in the world," "in the devil," or "the hell." In "fuckin' Monday afternoon" and "fuckin' ruin it," they can be replaced with "already" and "really" or "badly" respectively. They are stressed and show frustration and disappointment but not overly serious. Other expressions, such as "Holy shiite," "sucks ass," and "bullshit" refer to exclamation, criticisms, and saltiness towards the musical taste that Barry could not accept. In this scene, it is very important that curse words are not directed to any character but only to modify objects––musical taste (Belle and Sebastian), "Monday," and action "[to] ruin" particularly. Though they sound rough and vulgar, this is how they talk. In their circle, in which each character has a nearly equal relationship, this is a normal way to communicate. Similar communication style happens often in students' life. SCENE 2g. CUSTOMER: FUCK YOU!h. ROB: Barry, I'm fuckin' broke, man. i. BARRY: Are you defending that ass-muncher? . . . That's the worst fuckin' sweater I've ever seen. It's a Cosby sweater.j. ROB: Fuckin' asshole! Hey, hey. Will you shut up? Will you?k. BARRY: You're fuckin' maniac. I swear to God. If you tore this thing. . . it's vintage and I would fuckin' sock your nose. You'll pay big. Conversational style and transition The customer with a trench coat speaks softly in the beginning, but because of Barry's very disrespectful manner, he ends up saying "Fuck you." He is parodying Barry. This is an expected response to Barry's attitude. When he said "Fuck you," he really meant it. He was expressing sheer anger. He said it as he was leaving the store, while Barry was in the counter. It seems that the man was making sure his physical safety from Barry who could be potentially violent. After the man left the store, the characters started to talk softly, but in the course especially when Barry brought up Laura, Rob's ex-girlfriend, Rob became seriously mad. They nearly had a serious fist fight. Syntactic and semantic function"Fuck you" by the customer with a trench coat is a grammatically "command sentence" consisting of a verb and an object––both words are irreplaceable. Semantically it is a very serious expression to hurt someone emotionally. This expression is possibly to terminate the relationship. In fact, most likely the man with a coat will never come back to the store, though no one seems to care. Other expression "ass-muncher" is refer to a man with a coat. Notice, he is not there anymore."Fuckin'" for the worst fuckin' sweater" is a modifier, similar to "fuckin' Monday afternoon." But Barry's intention is to make fun of Rob sweater in a disrespectful way––"worse than the worst sweater. ""Fuckin' asshole" by Rob to Barry is also a serious expression. Rob is directly referring to Barry. "Asshole" is a powerful word to insult someone and "fuckin'" in this case is an intensifier for that, such as "super." Barry's response "fuckin' maniac" functions the same way. It is also a very powerful, serious insult. WorksheetPP4 minsSummarizing outcome7. T asks each group to write: "What do we learn? What are the unwritten rules of profanity? Worksheet6 minsInstruction8. T asks each group their findings about profanity. There are levels of intensity in swear words––comical expression to extremely harmful, disrespectful insult.The level of intensity can be recognized with other factors, such as situation, tone of voice, body expression, emotion, and most importantly intention. All of these factors are generally recognizable, because we do not communicate only with words. Generally it is not acceptable to use curse words, especially in public.On the other hand in a "buddy" circle, people tend to use swear words a lot, but usually the usage is limited to describe or modify objects, e.g. "fuckin' Monday afternoon." In relation, they do not usually refer to members of the circle. Sometimes people lose control of good judgment when they are very angry and express their emotions with curse words. It can be referred to someone who is not there--speaking ill of his/her back.PP1 minWrap-up9. T reflects the agenda of the day - "profanity." "Laughing exercise" for closure. PPBibliographyMercury, R-E. (1995). Swearing: a "bad" part of language; a good part of language learning. TESL Canada Journal,?Vol. 13, Issue 1.02/21/2015Pragmatics Lesson Plan––HandoutsMitsutoshi Inaba ?HIGH FIDELITY (2000) We will be watching the following scenes twice: SCENE 1"Championship Vinyl" (4'20'') and SCENE 2 "I Just Called to Say I Love You" (2'15"). You will be provided scripts of both scenes. Before we watch the scenes, please read the following. 1) Your first task is to understand the general feelings of the film and the characters––Rob, Dick, Barry. While watching the film, pay attention on the followings: their location, age group, fashion, financial status, academic background, their marital status, and most importantly the relationship among Rob, Dick, and Barry. 2) In relation to 1) please describe what you see and feel from each character. ROBDICKBARRY3) With your highlighter highlight the words that include "fuck," its variation "fucking . . .," "ass," its variations such as "asshole," and "shit" and its variations, such as "bullshit." We will watch the scenes again. This time pay close attention to the followings:1) Their conversational style over the courses––how they talk to each other and how they sound to you. 2) Over the courses, they gradually change the way they talk. Describe how they change in terms of: a. tone of voice b. emotion c. body language, including facial expression d. distance between speakers e. other curse words than "fuck" and its variations.3) When each character uses swear words––particularly "fuckin' . . ." what does he mean? 4) In the script, identify the moments when the word "fuck" and its variations start to have stronger effects. What is happening to them? SCENE 1 (Chapter 3/30 –– 6:13-10:30) [Rob works on the street.]ROB: [TO VIEWERS] I own this store called Championship Vinyl. It's located in the neighborhood that attracts the bare minimum of window shoppers. I get by because of the people who make a special effort to shop here . . . Mostly young men . . . who spend all their time looking for deleted Smiths singles, and original, "not rereleased" underlined, Frank Zappa albums.[Rob unlocks the door and gets in the record store. He flips a switch causing the fluorescents to sputter.]ROB: [TO VIEWERS] The fetish properties are not unlike porn. I'd feel guilty taking their money, if I wasn't . . . well, kind of one of them.[Dick gets in.]ROB: 'Morning, Dick.DICK: Oh, hi. Hi, Rob.ROB: Have a good weekend?DICK: Yeah, OK. Um, I found the first Licorice Comfits album over at Vintage Vinyl––the one on "Testament of Youth" Never released here, Japanese import only.ROB: Great. Great.DICK: I'll tape it for you.ROB: No, that's okay. Really.DICK: 'Cause you liked their second one, you said, Pop Girls. Etc. The one with Cheryl Ladd on the cover. . . Oh you never saw the cover, though. You just had that tape I made you.ROB: Yeah, I haven't really absorbed that one yet.DICK: Well. . . I'll just make it for you.ROB: Okay.[CUT TO: RECORD STORE - LATER]ROB: What's this?DICK: It's the new Belle and Sebastian. You like it?[The door flies open and Barry gets in. He is imitating distorted guitar solo. ]BARRY: Holy Shiite! What the fuck's that?DICK: It's the new Belle and Sebastian.ROB: It's the record we've been listening to and enjoying, Barry.BARRY: That's unfortunate, because it sucks ass. . . Yours, I assume?["Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Weaves. Barry plays it very loud and scream to the music.]ROB: TURN IT OFF. BARRY!BARRY: IT WON'T GO ANY LOUDER!ROB: Turn it off![ROB TURNS OFF THE MUSIC.]BARRY: OK, buddy, uh. . . I was just trying to cheer us up. So, go ahead. Put on some old sad bastard music. See if I care.ROB: I don't wanna hear old sad bastard music. I just want something I can ignore.BARRY: Here's the thing. I made that tape special for today. My special Monday morning tape for YOU, special. ROB: It's fucking Monday afternoon. You should get out of bed earlier.BARRY: Come on, dude. Play it. Don't you want to hear what's next?ROB: What's next?BARRY: Play it.ROB: Say it.BARRY: "Little Latin Lupe Lu."DICK: Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels?BARRY: NO!! [BELL RINGING] The Righteous Brothers.DICK: Oh well. Never mind.BARRY: No, not "never mind." You tell me right now. What's wrong with the Righteous Brothers?DICK: Nothing. I just prefer the other one.BARRY: BULLSHIT!!ROB: How can it be bullshit to state a preference?BARRY: Since when did this store become a fascist regime?ROB: Since you brought that bullshit tape in.BARRY: Oh, man, that's great. That's the fun thing about working in a record store. You get to play crappy pop you don't wanna even listen to. I just . . . I thought this tape was gonna be a fuckin' . . . conversation stimulator, man! I was gonna ask you for your top five records to play on a Monday morning and all that. You just had to fuckin' ruin it.ROB: We'll do it next Monday.BARRY: No. I wanna do it now.ROB: [TO THE VIEWERS] I can't fire them. I hired these guys for three days a week . . . and they just started showing up every day . . . that was four years ago. SCENE 2 (Chapter 5/30 ––14:46-16:30)CUSTOMER: I'm looking for a record for my daughter, for her birthday. "I Just Called To Say I Love You." Do you have it?BARRY: Yeah, we have it.CUSTOMER: Great. Can I have it then?BARRY: No, you can't.CUSTOMER: Why not?BARRY: Well. it's sentimental tacky crap, that's why not. Do we look like the kind of store that sells "I Just Called To Say I Loved You?" Go to the mall. CUSTOMER: What's your problem? BARRY: Do you even know your daughter? There is no way she likes that song. Oh-oh-oh . . . is she in a coma?CUSTOMER: Oh, okay, buddy. I didn't know it was "Pick On the Middle-Aged Square Guy Day. " My apologies. I'll be on my way.BARRY: Bye-bye.CUSTOMER: FUCK YOU!ROB: Nice, Barry. Really, really nice. It just was top class. BARRY: Rob. "Top Five Musical Crimes Perpetrated by Stevie Wonder in the '80's and '90's." Go. Sub-question. Is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter-day sins? "Is it better to burn out than to fade away?"ROB: Barry, I'm fuckin' broke, man. Barry: He was gonna buy one record which we didn't even have and then leave and never come back anyway! ROB: That's not the point. What did he ever do to you?Barry: He offended me with his terrible taste.ROB: It wasn't his terrible taste. It was his daughter's.BARRY: Are you defending that ass-muncher? Come on, Rob. You're going soft in your old age, Jesus. Now all of a sudden I'm offending your golf buddy. I'm gonna tell you something for your own good, Pal. That's the worst fuckin' sweater I've ever seen. It's a Cosby sweater. A Cosby sweater! Did Laura let you leave the house like that? Wo, wo!ROB: Fuckin' asshole! Hey, hey. Will you shut up? Will you?Dick: Break it up. BARRY: You're fuckin' maniac. I swear to God. If you tore this thing. . . it's vintage and I would fuckin' sock your nose. You'll pay big. ................
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