Amanda Gillis-Furutaka, Jennifer Green

Co-sponsored by JALT Mind, Brain and Education SIG

Abstract: This workshop will be divided into three sections, what goes on in our brains, how profanity is learned by EFL learners, and profanity’s place in the EFL classroom.First, what goes on in our brains and our bodies when we swear, and why has swearing always been an integral part of the English language? We will talk about how we process taboo words and how words become taboo. Second, despite the importance of profanity to English, there are limited opportunities for EFL learners to learn how and why it is used in light of its notable absence in EFL education. Nevertheless, our students are aware of swear words, and we will discuss as teachers how we have seen students struggle to learn this language. Finally, we will share approaches and materials that we have been using and plan to use in our classrooms and discuss how the differences between English and Japanese taboo language can be addressed with university students. Our own Jennifer Green is joined by Amanda Gillis-Furutaka from the JALT Mind/Brain SIG.

Bio: Amanda Gillis-Furutaka is the current President of the JALT Mind, Brain, and Education SIG and a professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, where she has been teaching and researching since 1992. She has written and presented on a variety of fields related to language and education (bilingualism, international and Japanese schooling, reading in a foreign language, using music in the language classroom), but these days her main focus is on how the brain learns and applying the findings of brain science to the language classroom. She was drawn to the topic of profanity when she went in search of answers to her question about why profanities sometimes burst from her mouth unbidden when she is generally politely spoken. She is looking forward to sharing with you what she has learned.

Jennifer Green is an assistant professor at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University, and is an officer of both JALT Sendai and the Tohoku branch of JACET. She has been encouraging students to explore under-discussed topics in the classroom with sensitivity during her nine years as an educator of English in Japan. She takes a special research interest in taboo language and its place in language learning. After witnessing Japanese learners actively try to learn English profanity, she looked into the research on the topic and found it to be lacking. She then decided to make it her quest to share what she could find and to research further into the topic herself.