"Like" This

[BlueCougar]

As a teacher, why not simply TELL your students things, instead of showing them movies? Might help them overcome their MTV-induced ADD.

[deathbymessenger]

This is rad. keep on teaching! Would have loved a teacher like you!

[lokiwolf44]

Oh god I hope this wasn't made by a real teacher.... those poor kids. And the example...'she was like, "that's a really great car."'? That's SLANG. Don't use it in your essays, please! By the by, I'm seventeen. If this is common sense for a teenager, surely a supposed teacher would know better?

[isbourne]

Did you notice that Mali uses "like" twice? He first uses it to mean "as if": It has become uncool to sound like you know what you are talking about. You should consider another example or ask what he means the second time he uses it.

[1215marmartinez]

I love this guy, everything he does...just great!!!!

[keyspoet]

More power to you for using entertainment to teach language function to your students. Creativity in the classroom is always a welcome thing. Taylor Mali would be proud. ;-)

People - give the lady a break. Teaching is hard work, often unappreciated, and a lot more challenging than what many of us go through on a daily basis.

For those of you cutting her down, it simply shows a lack of creativity - and manners - on your part.

[neoisme]

irrelevant and a waste of my time!

[ipfwbetsy]

What's wrong with this post is that instead of clarifying your point, you just made it much more confusing. Your examples didn't match your explanations. If I were your student I'd be very confused.

[a1q2s3]

Ha-ti-ans LOL

[two1two7]

So, for future reference, the reason Taylor Mali uses the word "like" so much in his sentance is because that is his Slam poem making fun of the usage of that word. He's proving YOUR point.

[lynnie481]

Yes, I understand the point that Mali is making in the video. I am well aware of all of his videos as well as his books. I made the video to present to my seventh grade class. I was making a lesson plan that compared formal and informal speech. i included the video as part of the class. I also showed Obama's Inauguration speech in order to compare the language (not the content).

[meaning1]

Stupid video. This will in no way influence idiots to use the word correctly. If it were up to me, I would shoot anybody who used the word "like" incorrectly. Mainly teenage girls.

[lynnie481]

This may be a stupid video for you; however, my seventh grade pre-teens are still struggling with their language that lacks actual meaning.

[meaning1]

It's due to the lack of aspiration and the hope-depleted society that we live in. Whilst the diligence of other nations grows, our own country succumbs to the 'joys' of slang and abbreviations; which, to an extent, is fine, but when it is considered appropriate in any sense, you know that it has become a detriment. I realise I may come across as tweedy or prudish, but I am only just turned 19, and care for language. Teenagers need one big, efficacious KICK.

[Tastentier]

@meaning1

Did bit ever occur to you that language constantly evolves? There is no correct languagebecause it changes all the time. A hundred years ago, people would have cringed upon reading your phrase "in no way". The word "like" has been evolving into a so-called quotative construction since the seventies and is now widely being used as such. In thirty years from now, you will hear college professors tell their students that Churchill was all like "we shall fight them on the beaches".

[meaning1]

@Tastentier

Language does evolve, and so do the rules that shape its structure and meaning. If you look back to periods when there were vast grammatical differences, those differences were accepted at the time. I do, however, accept that eventually the use of the word 'like' may change; however, currently, it is the grammatically incorrect thing to say in a certain context. You cannot just deem it 'ok' because at some point it MAY be regarded as correct.

[Tastentier]

@meaning1

It doesn't matter in the slightest what people regard as correct. It only matters what is widely used. Dictionaries don't dictate language -- it's exactly the other way round. Spoken language evolves and dictionaries have to try and keep up. Eventually they do adapt, but at that point the spoken language has already undergone further changes.

[meaning1]

@Tastentier

Just because something is "widely used", it does not change the fact that it opposes the current laws of language. While laws change, they still have to be followed while they are in place. If these principles meant nothing and were to be dispensed with, then why do schools still continue to teach children 'correct' English, which you claim is apparently not true?

[Tastentier]

Also, there is no single spoken English language. I should have used the plural form. English differs by country, federal state, city, and even by class. Yes, there still are classes and always will be. It's a matter of education and/or income. The lower middle class speaks an entirely different English than the upper middle class, even within the same town. There are no rules that dictate how people speak, the rules are merely an attempt to find a consensus that does not exist in practise.

[meaning1]

@Tastentier

Are you kidding me? You're suggesting that there are no objective rules and that it is simply about 'coming to a consensus'? That is absolutely and entirely WRONG. Yes, language evolves and so do the rules that define it; however, that does not mean that, because the rules are transient, that people can be correct in whatever way they deem appropriate. If somebody wrote an essay using slang, abbreviations, split infinitives, tautologies etc, it would be marked down.

[meaning1]

@Tastentier

And, while regionalism and nationality affect dialect, pronunciation etc, it does NOT have any sort of bearing on what is actually grammatically correct. In America, for example, English differs in myriad ways...HOWEVER, if you look at professional writing by people in universities and other professions, standarised English (aside from some spelling differences) are the same! Just because language changes, it does not mean there are not current rules to follow at the time.

[uvarianna]

@meaning1

And how would you teach tolerance, I wonder?

[meaning1]

@uvarianna

Why should we be tolerant of these errors? If we overlook flaws such as these, then what does that say about Western civilisation, when we can't even uphold basic grammatical principles.

[uvarianna]

Oh, you're so right. Why don't you just shoot everyone? Grand idea. Language, luckily, has not been shot, and is still alive--living and changing. However, that's beside the point. The point is, tolerance of humanity is more important than perfect grammar. You may be flawless in your grammar skills, but are you perfect in every aspect of life?

[meaning1]

@uvarianna

I have stated that language changes; the rules do change. However, currently, the rules in place oppose the way many people use the word 'like' today. Also, I didn't literally mean that I would shoot somebody who did not have flawless grammar - we are all prone to mistakes. Though, that doesn't mean that it isn't a bit ridiculous when people can't understand basic grammatical rules and apply them to their writing.

[ibelieveinyouandm]

Hahaha Like totally like thanks for like posting this video. I liked it like life.