LANGUAGE: INNOCENT ENOUGH?

Contributing team

The students: Ishanvi Agrawal, Anushka Yadav, Neha Choudhary, Manya Prakash, Ayushi Kumari, Aditya Raj Dixit, Gargi Tripathi

Teacher-in-charge: Shovan Sarkar

Sunbeam English School, Bhagwanpur, Varanasi.

“Madam and Sir, Where are your books? Today again? How about both of you ‘be out-standing’ students and enjoy the beautiful view outside while we complete with the chapter?”

Did it remind you of just another teacher from your school days? One can imagine laughter echoing in the classroom when the teacher cracked these ‘jokes’. In a classroom, it is a common practice that a teacher cracks a ‘joke’ or uses humorous language to lighten the mood of the class triggering the release of endorphins in our brain. This is possibly why the adequate use of humour by a teacher makes the concepts clearer and the class fun for the students.

However, the words used by a teacher, as the teacher is in a mass influential role, have a lasting effect on the minds of the students. In a neuroscience experiment named ‘Do Words Hurt?’ (2009) Maria Richter and collaborating scientists monitored the subject’s brain responses to auditory and imagined negative words. It was found that negative words or the language, whether spoken, heard or thought cause situational stress and long term anxiety.

Language, very broadly, can be referred to as actions (or the way of doing them), verbal or not, capable of communication. It can be narrowed down to the manner or a specified way of communication. As humans our thought patterns directly shape our perception of the world. Later, it becomes our words or our language and thus our responses to others while communicating. Considering the enormous potency our language holds, this two-edged tool needs to be carefully handled in front of one of the most vulnerable parts of society: the young learners in a classroom.

Cornett (1986) claims that: “…humour is one of the educator’s ‘most powerful resources’ in achieving a variety of beneficial educational outcomes, including such potential effects as controlling problematic behaviour and facilitating foreign language acquisition” (p. 8). 49% of students believe that happy/positive/humorous qualities/behaviours are the most important quality of the teachers (Buskist, Sikorski, Buckley & Saville, 2002).

Nevertheless, it has been observed that in many cases in a classroom situation, the teacher’s insecurity, the trauma of the past or fear come out in the form of their insensitive ‘sense of humour’ which affects the students, individually or collectively.

At the high-school level, the students in a classroom are in their growing stage – along with all the complicated hormonal reactions, lots of insecurities and self-consciousness come up on the surface. It is observed that ‘words’ (intended or unintended) that have a lasting negative impact are personal jokes, targeting a particular group, community or trait of a person. The embarrassment from this creates a disturbance within the child’s conscience which makes them compromise their performance in the class. Furthermore, the person may get ‘tagged’ (e.g. with a nickname or joke) and may be exposed to a prolonged mockery in and after the class. At times, teachers’ inconsiderate remarks, without their immediate effect, can be the reason to start the child’s worst nightmare in the long run.

The use of highly critical and discouraging language by a teacher produces a higher level of cortisol (the body’s outstanding stress hormone. It controls our mood, motivation, and fear.) among the students. According to a Harvard Business Review (Judith E. Glaser and Richard D. Glaser, 2014), this reduces thinking and activates protection behaviours, making them more reactive and sensitive. They often perceive negativity and judgement as greater than what actually exists (Judith E. Glaser and Richard D. Glaser, 2014).

As F. Sionil Jose quotes “The influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom, well into future”. So, the language used by teachers becomes not only an important building block of the child’s vocabulary but also of free-thinking, making perspectives independently and confidently on various aspects. If the teacher responsibly and sensitively creates a safe space for the students to express themselves without being judged or criticised, students learn faster, feel comfortable being a part of diversity, being themselves, being more tolerant, respectful and kind to the fellows and people around them. (Purwati, 2020)

We need to remember that young minds learn more from the people around them. Apart from the parents, they spend more time with their teachers and classmates. There is no scope of denying the fact that the whole classroom setting, including the words of a teacher, creates an indelible impression in their minds. As a result, a classroom led by an empathetic teacher holds greater importance in their lives more than what we realize. In the words of J.K Rowling, “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.” and let the magic be used responsibly.

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