Thursday, November 27, 2008

Going Local

So class is dry (or drying up). Life is being sucked out of everyone. Immediate counter-boredom serums include: stories, images, physical activity, etc.

One item in 'etc.' : Speaking in a vernacular language, the more colloquial the better.

Make the switch from, "Advertising must be targeted at market segments", to "Plan to get the FU-YOH out of your clients!" and a huge percentage of students rev back to life.

Slowly sing a popular folk song (in the original language) and you'll sense the class hum back from the dead.

Mimick an everyday exchange in the market between, say, a Chinese 'aunty' and a Malay nasi lemak seller, and you'll be back in business in no time.

If contextualisation is the key to teaching (and it probably is), then local dialects are sure to put the syok back into learning. Itulah best.

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