Abstract
In light of studies on informal language teaching (SENEFONTE, 2018) and drawing on Socio-Discursive Interactionism (BRONCKART, 1999), this research aims at presenting a didactic proposal involving a sequence of systematized activities that address informal English through the sitcom genre. Therefore, this study belongs to the area of Applied Sociolinguistics and the field of language teaching/learning and teacher education. The first episode of the show How I met your mother forms the basis for the development of the exercises, which encompass current trends in language teaching and learning. The literature review conducted in this paper reveals the scarcity of studies on the teaching of informal English through sitcoms or any other audiovisual genre, suffice it to prove relevant the debate on this theme. To sum up, this paper is expected to expand the literature on this topic and enable teachers to reflect over their practices concerning language variations.
Highlights
Learning a language goes beyond the study of grammar rules and vocabulary found in most textbooks
It means that the teaching of this variety cannot be neglected, since its knowledge is needed for the most trivial situations in life. This investigation intends to answer the following question: how can informal English be addressed in the classroom? In line with it, the aim of this paper is to present a didactic proposal which encompasses idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs, reductions and other features of informal English through the sitcom genre, providing an authentic material, ready to be used in class, as well as coming up with ideas of activities for teachers to create their own didactic sequences, embracing multiple language skills in an integrated way and other current trends in language teaching/learning
The literature review exposed in the previous section shows the scarcity of research approaching informal English through audiovisual genres in order to propose didactic materials
Summary
Learning a language goes beyond the study of grammar rules and vocabulary found in most textbooks. To communicate in an effective way, it is essential to know how to use such language appropriately in multifarious situations, depending on the place, the relationship between the speakers and the context as a whole (Washburn, 2001). When a language is taught, its standard variation must be included, and its other ‘parts’ (considering that language is a multifaceted phenomenon). It is the school’s role to teach the other varieties of the language, including its informal usage. 2020 | e-36650 can require the use of informal language. It means that the teaching of this variety cannot be neglected, since its knowledge is needed for the most trivial situations in life
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