Rationale and Background

ESL/EFL teachers often encounter student questions or usage of the word nigger in the English language classroom. Throughout this article, to avoid writing this offensive word I’ll refer to the ethnic slur by its euphemism, “the n-word,” unless a linguistic analysis is necessary. For those of you unfamiliar with its history, the n-word originated from the Spanish word negro and was used to dehumanize Africans who were enslaved by Europeans and taken to the Americas. Since that time, this insult has been used to belittle African Americans. As a White American, it’s difficult for me to write this word and uncomfortable for me to talk about with my students. Discussing this contentious word appears daunting, yet addressing its history, nuances, and meanings enables our students to better understand one of the most complex, emotionally loaded words in American English. If English language learners (ELLs) use this word without adequately understanding its nuanced meanings, such as the difference between nigger and nigga when said by African Americans, they could easily offend others. Essentially, teaching the sociocultural meaning of authentic language enables ELLs to communicate effectively in diverse environments (Al Azri & Al-Rashdi, 2014).

I was inspired to create this multimedia lesson after having taught EFL for 4 years at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. While teaching B2 students (intermediate level, or independent users, on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, or CEFR) my first 3 years of working in Colombia, I had incorporated a number of social justice education activities addressing racism and discrimination within an Intercultural Communications course and within an extensive reading project. Because B2 students’ language skills enable them to access authentic materials, it’s possible to engage with them in critical analysis. Because A1/A2 ELLs (basic users) are not yet able to do so, addressing complicated issues, such as racism, can be challenging. I found beginning students would say the n-word in class to test their boundaries, as 18-year-olds often do. Because ELLs hear this word in rap songs and movies, they don’t understand how complicated its usage is and don’t know its violent history. In the past, I’d try to explain how upsetting it was for me to hear them say this word but never felt like they truly grasped the severity of the word nor the possible negative perception Americans could have of them if they said the n-word to them or in front of them. (This is even more true for EFL students than ESL students within the United States, e.g., as EFL students are not in an English-speaking environment and therefore miss out on contextual clues or daily interactions which could inform them of authentic language use.)

Furthermore, because Spanish-speaking students have similar sounding words (negro, negra, negrita, negrito) without the dehumanizing connotation of their English counterpart, their native language and culture were adversely affecting their understanding of the n-word. That being said, I did see a connection between the nuanced uses of the American English n-word and the Colombian Spanish slang for gay men (marica, mariquita, maricon), which means fag or queer. When analyzing discrimination and power dynamics in other contexts and cultures with ELLs, I find it equally as important to turn an analytical eye to their own culture and language to see similarities between power dynamics and discrimination.

In this article, I’ll describe a 50-minute lesson plan, designed for A1/A2, or beginning/basic level, EFL university students. Because I was in a Spanish-speaking environment and working with low-level students, a number of Spanish language translations are listed on the worksheet, which you can find at andJustice4all, a social justice language education website. If you are working with students whose native language is not Spanish, you’ll need to modify the worksheet to fit your particular student population. If YouTube is difficult for you to access, the two video clips used for this lesson can also be found here. Please note that both videos contain additional profanity, aside from the n-word, so they may not be suitable for all audiences.

Lesson Plan

The lesson begins with asking students to define the n-word and its variant nigga, to explain who can and cannot say it, and why I don’t want them to say either word. We then watch a 5-minute clip by Franchesca Ramsey, an African American comedian and vlogger, about the n-word. (On the worksheet and answer key I created for this lesson, I give tips to teachers about scaffolding the material for beginner students, such as reading the questions first, watching the video in smaller sections that correspond with each question, etc.) Students answer questions about the origin of the word, how the meaning changes depending on if the speaker is White or Black, and why some people, like myself, use a euphemism.

Next, we watch a 2-minute clip from the film Dope. (The version of the video clip posted in my Google Drive folder has been edited so that the drug reference at the beginning has been removed.) This particular scene deals with two African Americans, one Latino, and one White friend talking about the n-word and its meanings depending on the speaker. Because the Latino teen is darker, it’s more likely that he’s considered part of the “in-group” as a person of color who can say the n-word without others considering him racist. Many of my students came from wealthier Colombian families and are light-skinned, resulting in their rejection of this division based on skin color. Because I had lived and worked in Colombia for almost 4 years, I knew that the idea of who was (and wasn’t) allowed to say the n-word wouldn’t be understood by many of my students, as societal division and hierarchy in Colombia is based more on class than on skin color. (There is, of course, a connection throughout Latin America between skin color and class as European colonizers had lighter skin than indigenous people and African slaves. To this day, those of the wealthier classes often have lighter skin as their European ancestors possessed more money and power. This is not a fact many of my Colombian students liked to admit to as they consider themselves mestizo, or mixed-raced.) I instructed students to wait to discuss this unequal access to saying the n-word until the end of the lesson as I had the marica comparison in mind.

The class continues by looking up definitions in Urban Dictionary to compare the usage of the n-word and nigga. I then give them the example of Larry Wilmore, an African American comedian who hosted a dinner party for Barack Obama, then the President of the United States. Wilmore called Obama “my nigga” as a term of endearment. Lastly, we compare the use of the n-word to Spanish words based on skin color, like negro, negra, negrita, negrito, and those based on sexuality, like marica, mariquita, maricon.

Student Response

When I taught this lesson, this final discussion was a moment of realization for many of my students. They agreed that these terms have similar complicated meanings and uses depending on the relationship between the person saying it and the person the word is directed at. For example, when family members call them negrito or negrita, it is considered a sign of affection. Yet, AfroColombian students have told me that they are made fun of by their peers if they have big lips or naturally curly hair (i.e., what are known as African physical features).

In terms of the ubiquitous use of marica on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, students pointed out that maricon was considered more offensive than marica, demonstrating to them that the ending of a word (–a vs. –on in Spanish and –a vs. –er in English) can have great importance. (The usage of marica is comparable to that of using gay as an insult to mean stupid in the ‘80s and ‘90s in the United States.) Moreover, they talked about how they call their friends marica but don’t say it in front of their grandparents.

To sum up, students understood that personal relationships and tone of voice impact the meaning of words, in Spanish and English. Having frequently heard students saying marica in class, I had wanted to broach the topic of how offensive this word is but was always brushed off and told it wasn’t an insult in Spanish. As language teachers, we recognize the power imbedded within words, so I knew that some Colombians, and other Spanish speakers, were offended by this word. It was important to start a conversation about marica and how hurtful it was for gay people to hear it used so casually and frequently. Exploring the n-word with my students resulted in impactful cross-linguistic comparisons.

Conclusion

Addressing the n-word within an ESL/EFL classroom can be an uncomfortable, anxiety-producing experience for teachers. But, if English language educators don’t teach their students the violent history of the word, the complicated relationship between who says it and what it means when they do, and native speakers’ perceptions of them if they choose to say it, who will? I believe it is my duty as a language teacher to have difficult conversations with my students to try and help them understand the language they are learning and using. Thus, dialoguing with ELLs about the n-word empowers them as socially aware language users (Chan, 2016).

References

Al Azri, R. H., & Al-Rashdi, M. H. (2014). The effect of using authentic materials in teaching. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 3(10), 249–254. Retrieved from http://www.ijstr.org/final-
print/oct2014/The-Effect-Of-Using-Authentic-Materials-In-Teaching.pdf

Chan, E. (2016). Student voices inform practice: Perceptions of linguistic and cultural discrimination. In C. Hastings & L. Jacob (Eds.), Social justice in English language teaching (pp. 133–144). Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.

Kendra Staley is a lecturer at the International English Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. She earned her MATESOL from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, and has taught ESL/EFL for more than a decade in the United States, Guatemala, Indonesia, China, Colombia, and Turkmenistan. Her teaching and research interests include curriculum development, intercultural communications, social justice within language teaching, and the use of social media in language acquisition.