SLANG VS. STANDARD: NAVIGATING THE INFLUX OF SOCIAL MEDIA ENGLISH AND REGISTER AWARENESS IN MODERN EFL CLASSROOMS

Abstract

This paper examines the sociolinguistic and pedagogical challenges posed by the rapid influx of social media English, internet slang, and colloquialisms into the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. Driven by platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, modern language learners are heavily exposed to informal linguistic registers. Consequently, a significant cognitive and functional error emerges: the inappropriate integration of transient internet buzzwords (e.g., rizz, lowkey, slay, ghosting) into formal, academic, and high-stakes examination contexts (such as IELTS or CEFR assessments). This study deconstructs the mechanics of this lexical transfer from a sociolinguistic perspective, analyzing how the boundaries between formal and informal registers dissolve in the learner's cognition. Rather than advocating for an outright pedagogical ban on informal language, this paper introduces a structured framework based on "Register Awareness" and stylistic code-switching. It provides concrete classroom methodologies, contrastive lexical analyses, and objective assessment metrics designed to help educators transmute digital slang into a precise tool for teaching contextual appropriateness.