using humor and language play in the classroom to...
TRANSCRIPT
UsingHumorandLanguagePlayintheClassroomtoEnhanceEnglish
LanguageLearningAmericanEnglishWebinarSeries
Introduc)on
DavidChiesa StephenSkalicky
DepartmentofAppliedLinguis)csGeorgiaStateUniversity
Atlanta,GA,USA
Didyouunderstandthatjoke?
Howdoesafarmercountaherdofcows?
Withacow-culator!
Pre-WebinarPollQues>ons
1. Doyouconsideryourselftobeafunnyteacher?
2. Canhumorpromotelanguagelearning?3. Canbeginnerlearnersbenefitfromhumorin
thelanguageclassroom?4. Haveyouevertriedtousehumorinyour
languageclassroom?
Overview
• Definehumorandlanguageplay
• Describetheore>calreasonsforusinghumorandplayintheclassroom
• Provideexamplesforimplemen>nghumorandplayintothelanguageclassroom
WhatisHumor?
“…humorisabroadtermthatreferstoanythingthatpeoplesayordothatisperceivedasfunnyandtendstomakeotherslaugh,aswellasthementalprocessesthatgointobothcrea9ngandperceivingsuchanamusings9mulus,andalsotheaffec9veresponseinvolvedintheenjoyment
ofit.”(Mar)n,2007,p.5)
WhatisHumor?
1. Thethingthatisfunny2. Thepersonwhocreatesthehumor
3. Theresponseshearershave:– laughter– smiling– morehumor
Humorisaverybroadconcept!
Whataresomereasonswhyteachersmightusehumorintheclassroom?
Func>onsofHumor
• Makingstudentsfeelcomfortable
• Establishingandmaintainingrela>onships
– betweenteacherandstudent– betweenstudentandstudent
• Copingwithdifficulttopicsandsitua>ons
• Stressreliefandrelaxa>on• Forfun
TypesofHumor
• Narra)ves– scriptedstorieswithhumorousendings
• Puns– humorusingwordswithdoublemeanings
• Riddles– humorouslinguis>candculturalpuzzles
Raiseyourhandifyouarefamiliarwithanyofthesetypesofhumor.
Narra>ves
• Veryshortstorieswithhumorousendings
• Scriptedandplannedinadvance
• Typicallyendwithapunchline– thefinalphraseorsentenceofajokeorstorythatcausesthehumor
Narra>ves
• Amanwalksintoalibraryandsaystothelibrarian,“I’llhaveacheeseburgerandfries,please.”
• Thelibrarianresponds,“Sir,thisisalibrary.”
• Themanthensays,“Oh,I’msorry.”Hethenwhispers,“I’llhaveacheeseburgerandfries,please.”
Puns
• “Punsareaspecialformofhumorbasedondoublemeanings.”
• Punscontaindoublemeaning• Doublemeaningoftwowordsthat– soundverysimilar– soundthesame– lookthesame
(Lems,2013)
• Askunkfellinariverandstanktothebo]om.
• Q:Whatkindofflowergrowsonyourface?• A:Tulips!
• Q:Whatkindofbirdisfoundataconstruc>onsite?
• A:Acrane!
STANKsoundslikeSANK
(twolips)
Riddles
• Riddlesareculturalandlinguis>cpuzzles
• Theanswertoariddleisfunnybecause– itisunexpected– itrequiresseeingsomethingdifferently– itmayinvolveusingwordsdifferently
Riddles
• Whatisbrownands>cky?– As>ck!
• Whathasaface,twohands,butnoarmsorlegs?– Aclock!
WordPlay
• Playingwiththeformormeaningofwordsandphrases
• Form– wri]enappearance– sound
• Meaning– ambiguousmeaning– mul>plemeanings
(Cook,1997)
Playingwithlanguagepromoteslanguageknowledgeand
learning
WordPlay
• Narra>ves– playwithmeaning(thisisalibrary)
• Puns– playwithforms(tulipsandtwolips)
• Riddles– playwithmeaning(s>cky=likeas>ck)
Humor,Play,andL2Learning
• SocioculturalTheory– LevVygotsky– Socialac>vitypushesdevelopment
Raiseyourhandifyou
haveheardofVygotsky.
SocioculturalTheory
• Differenttypesofpeopletointeractwith– someonemorecapable– someoneequallyascapable– someonelesscapable– andyourself
Itisthroughalloftheseformsof
interac>onthatlearningcanhappen
SocioculturalTheory
• Playleadstodevelopment– “inplayachildalwaysbehavesbeyondhisaverageage,abovehisdailybehavior;inplayitisasthoughhewereaheadtallerthanhimself”
• Inotherwords…– playingallowspeopletoengageindifficultlearningtasks
• Humorandplayisanaffordance(orpossibleuse)– itallowsforlearningincertainsitua>ons
(Vygotsky,1978,p.10)
ForExample:ALeaf
Aleafoffersdifferentaffordancestodifferentorganisms:
• crawlingonforatreefrog• cuengforanant• foodforacaterpillar• shadeforaspider• medicineforashaman,andsoon.…
Humor,Play,andL2Learning
• Interac)on– languagelearningoccurswhenlearnersareinterac>nginmeaningfulconversa>on
• Nego)a)ngMeaning– workingtobeunderstood– workingtounderstand
• ModifyingLanguage– changingwhatwassaidtohelpunderstanding
LearnerCannotUnderstand
• Stephen:Excuseme,Dave,butareyoufreerightnow?
• Dave:AmIfree?Whatdoesthatmean?• Stephen:Dave,areyoubusyrightnow?• Dave:Oh,no,I’mnotbusy!
Stephen’schangesallowedcomprehension
LearnerCannotBeUnderstood
• Dave:Idowantfoodforea>ng.• Stephen:Whatareyousaying?• Dave:Iamhungry.• Stephen:OK,let’sgoeat!
Davemustchangehisoutputtobeunderstood
HumorandL2Learning
• Encouragesinterac)onandsocialac)vity– helpsinteractwithdifferentcapabili>es– studentsaremorecomfortable
• Promptsnego)a)on– conversa>onisrealis>candmeaningful– explainingandunderstandinghumor– considerdifferentformsandmeaningsofwords
Whataresomepossiblechallengeswhenusinghumorin
theclassroom?
Challenges
1. Humoristoopersonal2. Humormightoffendsomeone3. Humorisnotseriouslanguage4. Humorrequiresculturalknowledge5. Humorisonlyforadvancedlearners
AddressingChallenges
• Howdoeshumorfitin?– Humordoesnothavetobethegoalofthecourse– Usehumortohelpmeetyourcoursegoals
• BackwardsDesign– Wheredoyouwanttogo?– Howdoyougetthere?– Howdoyouknowyouarethere?
BackwardsDesign
• Beginning:Learnerswillbeabletoexchangegree>ngsandintroducethemselvestoothers
• Humorcanbeaneffec>ve“icebreaker”– makesini>alintroduc>onsmorecomfortable– givesstudentssomethingtouseoutsidetheclass
FourWaysofUsingHumor
1. Iden>fyingHumor2. ComprehendingHumor3. ProducingHumor4. RespondingtoHumor
(BellandPomerantz,2016)
Iden>fyingHumor
• Purpose– Buildstudents’abilitytorecognizehumor– (maynotunderstandhumor)
• How– Analyzescriptedexamplesofhumor– Askstudents:howishumorbeingsignaledinthisexample?
Knock-KnockJokes
• Originatedinthe1920s,duringtheperiodofAmericanhistorycalledProhibi9on
• “Speakeasys”
• Patronshadtohaveacodetogetin– Omentheywouldgotothedoorandknocktwice.– Theoperatorwouldask,“Who’sthere?”
Raiseyourhandifyouknowwhataknock-knockjokeis.
Knock-KnockJokes
• FixedStructure– Knock,knock– Who’sthere?– noun– nounwho?– Punchline
Goodforyoungerandlessproficient
learners
Knock-KnockJokes
• Knock,knock!• Who’sthere?• Cowsays.• Cowsayswho?• Nosilly,acowsaysMooooo!
Example2
• Knock,knock!• Who’sthere?• Boo!• Boowho?• Don’tcry,it’sjustme.
Example1
Whenlearnershear“knock,knock”,theyknowtoexpectsomethinghumorous
Theycanbuilduponeachother
• Nose…Nosewho?• Inoseanother“knock-knock”joke.
Knock,knock…Who’sthere?
• Ears…Earswho?• Earsanother“knock-knock”joke!
Knock,knock…Who’sthere?
• Chin…Chinwho?• Chinup!I’mnotgonnatellyouanymore“knock-knock”jokes.
Knock,knock…Who’sthere?
Knock-KnockJokes
• Teacherscanusethemastransi>onsbetweenstories,ac>vi>es,ortasks
• Sharedhumor– buildsrapport– an>cipatesfun– capturesa]en>on
ComprehendingHumor
• Purpose– Studentscanbothiden>fyandunderstandexamplesofhumor
• How– Teacherprovidesbackgroundknowledgenecessarytounderstandexamplesofhumor
– Teacherpromptsstudentstoconsidermeaningofcertainwords
PunComprehensionAc>vity
1. Teachlearnersdifferenttypesofpuns– punsthatsoundverysimilar– punsthatsoundthesame– punsthatlookthesame
2. Askstudentstoiden)fypuntypes– ifnecessary,highlightkeywordsinthepuns– studentsexplainwhatcauseshumorinthepun
3. Askstudentstoexplainthedoublemeaninginthepun (Lems,2013)
Pun PunType?Ques>on:Howdoyoustopachargingbull?Answer:Takeawayitscreditcard.
Looksthesame
Soundsthesame
Soundsverysimilar
Iprac>cemyhandwri>ngbecauseit’stherightthingtodo.
Looksthesame
Soundsthesame
Soundsverysimilar
Howdoesafarmercountaherdofcows?Withacow-culator!
Looksthesame
Soundsthesame
Soundsverysimilar
Pun PunType?Ques>on:Howdoyoustopachargingbull?Answer:Takeawayitscreditcard.
Looksthesame
Soundsthesame
Soundsverysimilar
Iprac>cemyhandwri>ngbecauseit’stherightthingtodo.
Looksthesame
Soundsthesame
Soundsverysimilar
Howdoesafarmercountaherdofcows?Withacow-culator!
Looksthesame
Soundsthesame
Soundsverysimilar
Pun ExplainthePunQues>on:Howdoyoustopachargingbull?Answer:Takeawayitscreditcard.
Meaning1: Meaning2:
Iprac>cemyhandwri>ngbecauseit’stherightthingtodo.
Meaning1: Meaning2:
Howdoesafarmercountaherdofcows?Withacow-culator!
Meaning1: Meaning2:
Pun ExplainthePunQues>on:Howdoyoustopachargingbull?Answer:Takeawayitscreditcard.
Meaning1:
running
Meaning2:
purchasing
Iprac>cemyhandwri>ngbecauseit’stherightthingtodo.
Meaning1:
to write
Meaning2:
to be correct
Howdoesafarmercountaherdofcows?Withacow-culator!
Meaning1:an animal
(cow)
Meaning2:a device
(calculator)
Whatlanguageskillsarebeingusedinthisac)vity?
Coopera>veLearningandHumor
WakeUpandGotoSleep
ClassroomSetup
Student1Asleep
Student2Asleep
Student4Asleep
Student3Asleep
Step1.Allstudentsstart“asleep.”Theyareclosingtheireyeswith
theirheadsdown.
TeacherGroup1
ClassroomSetup
Student1Awake
Student2Asleep
Student4Asleep
Student3Asleep
Step2.Teachertellsstudent1to“wakeup.”Thatstudentlooksandmemorizesawordtheteacherisshowing.
Teacher(Student1’sword)
Group1
ClassroomSetup
Student1Asleep
Student2Asleep
Student4Asleep
Student3Asleep
Step3.Teachertellsstudent1togobacktosleep.
TeacherGroup1
ClassroomSetup
Student1Asleep
Student2Asleep
Student4Asleep
Student3Asleep
Step4.Teacherrepeatssteps1-3witheachstudent,usinganewword
each>me.
TeacherGroup1
ClassroomSetup
Student1Awake
Student2Awake
Student4Awake
Student3Awake
Step5.Allstudentswakeupandformasentencewiththeirmemorized
words.
TeacherGroup1
ForExampleStudent1:DaveandStephen
Student3:are
Student4:thebest
Student2:teachers!
Answer:DaveandStephenarethebestteachers!
Riddles
1. Manystoriesarebuiltaroundriddles
2. Riddleshavebeenusedtoeducate,totestproblem-solvingskills,andprovokediscussion
3. Chooseriddlescarefully–goodlead-inandcanserveascomprehensionques>onsaboutastory (Baltuck,1993,p.110)
FairyTaleExample
• FairyTales– culturalstorieswithlessons
• ThreeLihlePigs– threepigseachbuildahouse– oneisbrick– oneiss>ck– oneisstraw
• Awolftriestoblowdownalltheirhouses– onlythepigwhospent>meusingbrickkeepshishouse
Whatdidthefirstli]lepigsayamerthewolfblewdownhishouse?
Student2:the
Student1:straw!”
Student3:“That’s
Student4:last
“That’sthelaststraw!”
Whatdidthefirstli]lepigsayamerthewolfblewdownhishouse?
ProducingHumor
• Purpose– Developlearners’abilitytoproducehumor– Gainmorelanguageskillsandknowledge– Growdifferentwaysofusingsecondlanguage
• How– providestudentswithtopicsorframestocreatehumor
• Narra)ves– teachingnarra>vesallowsproduc>on
JokeComple>onAc>vity
1. Teachergivesstudentspunsthataremissingasingleword
2. Studentsaregivenseveralop>onstocompletethejoke
3. Theyareaskedtochoosethewordthatwillcreatehumor– followup–askstudentstoexplainwhytheir
answerisfunny
JokeComple>onAc>vity
(Earnest,2008)
JokeComple>onAc>vity
Knock-KnockJokeInterac>on
1. Providestudentswithexamplesofknock-knockjokes
2. Thenprovideemptyframesofknock-knockjokes
3. Studentsworkinpairstothinkofnouns+whothatwillcreateafunnyknock-knockjoke
4. Studentsthentelltheirjokestoeachother– mostlikelywillhavetoexplaintheirjokestoeach
other
Instruc)ons:Canyouandyourpartnerthinkofanounthatwill
makeajokewhencombinedwithwho?
Considerboththesoundandthemeaningwhen
thinkingofajoke.
Nowshareyourknock-knockjokes
withyourclassmates.Bereadytoexplainyourjokeifothersdon’tunderstand!
RespondingtoHumor
• Purpose– Growlearnerabilitytopar>cipateinhumor
• How– Providesitua>onsforlearnersto(safely)engageinahumorousdiscussion
– requiresiden>fying,comprehending,andproducing
• ChecktheNingforexamples
AUnitonHumorExample:BusinessEnglish
• Businessesusepunsinadver>sementstoa]ractcustomers
• Curricularunitonrecogni>onandproduc>onofpunsandwordplayinadver>sing– askstudentstofindexamplesofpuns
– askstudentstocreatepunsforfic>onalproducts
OverviewCheck
• Definehumorandlanguageplay
• Describetheore>calreasonsforusinghumorandplayintheclassroom
• Provideexamplesforimplemen>nghumorandplayintothelanguageclassroom
ThankYou!
• Theconversa>onisnotover!• Welookforwardtocoveringmorehumorandlanguageplaytopicsinourpost-webinarNingdiscussion!
References• Baltuck,N.(1993).Crazygibberishandotherstoryhour
stretches:Fromastoryteller’sbagoftricks.Hamden,Connec>cut:LinnetBooks.
• Bell,N.&Pomerantz,A.(2016).Humorintheclassroom:Aguideforlanguageteachersandeduca9onalresearchers.NewYorkandLondon:Routledge,TaylorandFrancis.
• Cook,G.(1997).Languageplay,languagelearning.EnglishLanguageTeachingJournal,51(3),224-231.
• Earnest,R.(2008).Justkidding:Jokesforkidsbykids.LuluPublishing.
• Lems,K.(2013).LaughingAlltheWay:TeachingEnglishUsingPuns.InEnglishTeachingForum(Vol.51,No.1,pp.26-33).USDepartmentofState.BureauofEduca>onalandCulturalAffairs,OfficeofEnglishLanguagePrograms,SA-5,2200CStreetNW4thFloor,Washington,DC20037.
ReferencesCon>nued• Mar>n,R.(2007).Thepsychologyofhumor:Anintegra9veapproach.Boston,MA:ElsevierAcademicPress.
• vanLier,L.(2000).Frominputtoaffordance:Social-interac>velearningfromaecologicalperspec>ve.InJ.P.Lantolf(Ed.),Socioculturaltheoryandsecondlanguagelearning(pp.245-259).Oxford,England:OxfordUniversityPress.
• Vygotsky,L.S.(1978).Mindinsociety.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress.