Understanding what teens are talking about has been bothering parents and teachers for ages. One clever high school teacher in Massachusetts found a solution that has people on Twitter saying they’re “willing to pay money for it.”
James Callahan of Lowell High School created a spreadsheet of all the colloquial (口语的) terms his students have used since September along with his attempt to explain them in plain language, and people on social media are enjoying themselves.
On Monday, one of Callahan’s students posted a photo of a four-page document the sociology teacher created, titled the “Callahan’s Generation Z Dictionary.”
In the alphabetized green-colored column on the left, the professor typed out phrases like “sis,” “spill the tea,” and “snack.” In the yellow column on the right, he attempt to explain each phrase using a formal translation of what the students say.
The student told USA TODAY that she referred to Callahan as a professor in the tweet because “the word teacher didn’t seem dignified enough to describe him.” She also said that students get college credit for taking the introduction to sociology course.
Within 24 hours, the tweet received over 300,000 likes and 93,000 Retweets.
Some of the people who responded to the tweet applauded the professor’s interest in teenage culture, other made their own contribution to the list. “Yeet” was a popular suggestion — It’s a versatile word that can be used as an exclamation, a verb, or even a noun, according to the Urban Dictionary.
“The typical teacher-student relationship involves a rigid power structure, but in my experience, I’ve found that students are more engaged and perform better if I am able to reach them where they are,” Callahan said.
“Language is changing all the time, and every generation creates their own vocabulary bank of slang,” Callahan said, The students created it, I am sort of just the archivist (档案管理员)!
4. What does the underlined word “it” refer to in Paragragh 1?
A.Twitter. | B.Solution. |
C.Understanding. | D.Attempt. |
5. How does one of Callahan’s students describe him as?
A.Simple. | B.Interesting. |
C.Admirable. | D.Hardworking. |
6. What are people’s reactions after the dictionary was posted online?
A.They express their surprise. | B.They help translate the words. |
C.They create move vocabulary. | D.They take quite a fancy to it. |
7. What is the purpose of Callahan’s efforts?
A.To improve students’ learning efficiency. |
B.To help students get college credit. |
C.To learn a new popular language. |
D.To take up a new profession. |