1. Slang can be expressive, inventive and fun. No-one is trying to stop young people speaking in whatever way they want among themselves. The point is to make sure they can distinguish between their own language styles and standard English. If they can move effortlessly from one to the other, they have a skill you could almost call being bilingual. If they can't, they are seriously disadvantaged.
2. Discussing current slang gets terms out in the open, and that can have spin-off advantages. Slang is often used to mystify. But if you ask for explanations then other young people get to find out too. As a youth worker, you can ask the questions that they were too shy to ask, but glad someone else did.
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