As an educator, I appreciate diversity and learn from others who are different than me. However, as an English professor, I am more impressed with people who speak properly. Often, I judge a person's intelligence based upon their ability to speak and use proper grammar. I love the English language. "My bad" is bad. Ebonics or leaving off the end of words like "I'm away on vacay" isn't proper English in my book.
Yet, speaking in the vernacular is considered hip. I taught ESL last summer at a local university. Students came from all over the world to stay in San Diego for three weeks and learn English. The students learned formal English. But, they also learned hip expressions from watching TV. I understand language isn't static and words have denotations and connotations. Language evolves over time. But, for now, I'll choose to say "Pardon me" rather than "my bad".
The book I find most helpful in teaching English is English Grammar For Dummies. The Dummies series is great and very precise and easy to follow. This book can be found at http://www.amazon.com/
There's a lot of internet sites that you have to pay for or sign up for a free trial to use to help teach English grammar. One free one that I would suggest trying is: http://www.englishlearner.com/tests/test.html
Another site I absolutely love that includes fantastic games and learning exercises is:
http://quia.com/
In order not to pay to use Quia, just scroll down to the bottom right hand side of the page and click on the subject you wish to learn. Then follow the prompts to choose the precise game or learning exercise you'd like to try.
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