At UCLA Extension the American Language Center Teaches Slang with Hip-hop

Jiu Hua Zhang of China and Donald Chung of Taiwan studying conversational English at UCLA's Extension School - PRI | Credit: Josie Huang

  At the UCLA Extension American Language Center in Los Angeles, ESL instructors are teaching American slang with the help of hip-hop music. As reported on PRI.org by Josie Huang in the article, Straight Outta ESL class: Learning English by Learning Slang, many California English language schools are offering street talk courses. The courses use American hip-hop culture to teach slang. Hip-hop has been adopted as a teaching tool because it's fun to listen to and emulate, and due to the fact that slang is always evolving, so teachers have to find innovative ways to keep up. From the article - In many foreign countries, English classes start as early as pre-school. But thousands of students still come to the US to get what they can't get back home: idioms, the catchphrases - the slang. Read Straight Outta ESL class: Learning English by Learning Slang.