ESL News: ESL Class Incorporates Slang

This article by David Britto of the Daily Pennsylvanian discusses a  learning strategy used in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. This class embraces informal English with slang, idiom and other overlooked components of English. Here is an excerpt of the article:

While most would easily call the presidential election a ‘big deal,’ foreign students may be stumped by these kinds of idioms.

Thankfully, one English as a Second Language program, that is celebrating its 15th anniversary at Penn, helps internationals cross the language barrier.

‘SLANGuage,’ a free ESL class hosted by The Christian Association at Penn, aims to educate students about idioms and slang language that they might not learn in a more formal English language course.

According to William Kelly, the founder of SLANGuage and the Coordinator of International Programs at the Christian Association, the ESL course is designed to allow foreigners to interact more successfully with Americans.

The full article can be read here.