MIDTESOL Matters Summer 2001

Burke, D. (1999). The Slangman Guide to Street Speak: The complete course in American slang & Idioms, Book 1. Studio City, CA: Slangman Publishing. 

Burke, D. (2000). The Slangman Guide to Street Speak: The complete course in American slang & Idioms, Book 2. Studio City, CA: Slangman Publishing. 

Reviewed by Rene Kreisel 

It can be difficult deciding which vocabulary to include in a textbook on American idioms and slang. Slangman David Burke has chosen well in his entertaining Street Speak series. These two books, which cover a wide variety of idiomatic expressions, are excellent for self-teaching, but could also be put to good use in the classroom.

Lessons follow the same format in both books. Each begins with an introduction of the new vocabulary through pictures and words. Each idiomatic statement is presented in the context of a sentence which is followed by two possible definitions; students are asked to choose the best definition, using the pictures as cues. The next segment of the lesson consists of a dialogue incorporating the new words and the same dialogue translated into standard English. The dialogue is then translated once more into "real speak" (written the way it sounds), a specific feature of American English pronunciation is explained, and students are given some pronunciation exercises. Finally, learners are provided with a variety of written and spoken exercises requiring them to use the new vocabulary. Each lesson in book two also includes a section called "Slangman's Close-Up Look" consisting of idiomatic expressions chosen according to a particular theme, such as "Car and On-the-Road Slang" and "Colors Used in Slang Expressions" and presented in dictionary format. The largest such section, "Body Parts Use in Slang Expressions" contains nearly 400 entries.

Idioms can be funny, so it is appropriate that humor be used to teach them. The illustrations in Street Speak are quite humorous, and thus may help students visualize the expressions better and therefore remember them more readily. Another plus of Street Speak is the non-technical approach to pronunciation: the speech is written the way the way an average American on the street might represent it, rather than with IPA symbols, which some students find confusing. Furthermore, the contexts in which some of the idioms are introduced, such as "At the Airport" and "At a Restaurant" present vocabulary which students are likely to encounter in their lives outside the classroom.

One of Street Speak's weaknesses is the layout—pages are crowded and have too little white space, which can be a strain on one's eyes. A more serious shortcoming, though, is that the exercises provided do not require enough careful thought or creative use of the new language. Answers to many of the questions are too obvious, so students may be able to answer correctly just by choosing an appropriate word form, rather than by knowing the meaning of a particular statement. Moreover, most exercises require students merely to parrot the new vocabulary rather than to use it in original contexts. If it is desired that students include more idiomatic speech in their own communication, teachers who use Street Speak will need to supplement with

activities which better serve that goal. Nevertheless, Street Speak 1 and 2 are useful for students who want to polish their communication skills. Those who complete both books, including learning the items in the close-up sections in book two, will have added more than 1300 expressions to their vocabularies. They are bound to have a better understanding of the informal English they hear in the media and to feel more confident in conversations with native speakers. 

Rene Kreisel is adjunct faculty of ESL at Washington University in St. Louis where she teaches a course in idioms and slang along with English for academic purposes courses. She may be contacted at rdianekreisel@hotmail.com.

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