Humor in ELT (Part 1): Benefits, Misconceptions, and Risks
by John Rucynski
In this three-part series, I examine the role of
humor in English language teaching (ELT), starting with a general overview and
progressing to classroom-tested techniques for incorporating humor into your
teaching. In a nutshell, I will attempt to answer the two most common questions
about using humor in our teaching:
I have often joked that if you ask 10 different
teachers why and how they use humor in their classes, you will get 10 different
answers. In the survey
on the role of humor that Neff and I administered to language teachers,
however, we discovered this wasn’t a joke! (See Neff & Rucynski, 2021.)
So, I would like to start this series by providing an overview of the most
common benefits, misconceptions, and risks when it comes to using humor in
language teaching.
Benefits
of Humor
1. Humor Has a Positive Impact on
Classroom Atmosphere and the Learning Process
First, the good news: Learning English is an
exciting challenge that can empower multilingual learners (MLLs) and open doors
to foreign cultures. Learning a language, however, is also a notoriously
difficult process that can take years to master. Our learners often struggle
with a lack of confidence, enthusiasm, or motivation. It is no surprise,
therefore, that the main reason for using humor tends to be affective factors.
This has been voiced in the research (Bell & Pomerantz, 2016), and
these benefits were also confirmed by MLLs in another
survey about humor in the classroom conducted by Neff and I (Neff
& Rucynski, 2017). Humor has the potential to
- bring the teacher and students closer together,
- improve the class atmosphere,
- increase student participation, and
- make learning more fun and memorable.
2. Humor Mimics Real-World Language
Use
Have you ever read English as a foreign language
coursebook dialogues and thought, “People don’t really speak that way”? That’s
because they don’t! In his seminal book
on language play, Cook (2000) argued for a more creative and free
approach to language learning. This not only makes learning more fun, but also
prepares MLLs for the randomness and spontaneity that distinguishes real-world
language use from coursebook language use.
I like to compare language learning to learning to
play a musical instrument. Just as musicians need to learn notes and scales,
language learners need to master grammar rules and vocabulary. To become
proficient, however, musicians and language learners alike need to learn how to improvise.
3. Humor Provides Insights Into the
Target Culture(s)
In my more than 20 years as a language teacher, I
have worked with a lot of students who have studied internationally. Despite
their impressive scores on English proficiency exams, one of the most common
regrets I hear from returning students is: “It was hard to communicate because
I couldn’t understand the humor.” Shively’s (2018) book
on humor use during study abroad shows that this struggle is obviously
not limited to English learners, but also learners of other foreign languages.
An awareness of the humor of the target culture can help MLLs to
- bond with target language speakers,
- improve their cross-cultural communicative competence,
and
- avoid misunderstandings.
Misconceptions
of Humor
In his 2001 article, Tosta argued that the “funny
teacher” is more than just a “clown figure.” Still, two decades later,
misconceptions about what it means to use humor in language teaching persist.
So, let me discuss three of these common misconceptions by explaining what
humor in ELT should not be.
1. Humor Should Not Only Be Teacher
Centered
When I have given presentations about humor, more
than one teacher has confided in me, “I want to use humor in my teaching, but I
don’t have a good sense of humor.” I will state here for the 629th and final (I
hope!) time that you do not need a good sense of humor to use humor in your
teaching. Though there certainly are benefits to having a good sense of humor
(in teaching and in life), using humor in the classroom is more about creating
a safe environment, or safe house, for learners to experiment with
understanding and producing humor in English (Pomerantz & Bell, 2011).
This could entail anything from helping learners understand different forms of
humor in English (to be covered later in this series) to encouraging them to
engage in language
play (see Cook, 2000, again) in funny student-created dialogues or
stories.
2. Humor Is Not Only for Advanced
Proficiency Learners
Though there is always the risk (more about risks
later) that humor will cause misunderstandings in the language classroom, this
certainly does not mean that humor can and should only be used with higher
level learners. In fact, lower level learners who lack motivation to study
English may appreciate a healthy dose of humor in the classroom even more. In
the previously mentioned survey about the role of humor in the classroom (Neff &
Rucynski, 2017), the most common reason lower level learners endorsed humor in
the language classroom is that it made learning English more interesting.
In their volume on humor in language teaching, Bell
and Pomerantz (2016) suggested forms of humor for different proficiency levels.
These range from puns and knock-knock jokes for lower level learners to sarcasm
and self-deprecating humor for advanced learners. It is important to note,
however, that even within specific types of humor, there will be a wide range
of jokes—and teachers need to consider the appropriate level for their
learners. Take the example of popular meme characters. “Condescending
Wonka” employs sarcasm as the humorous device and thus may puzzle
lower level learners. On the other hand, characters such as “Grumpy
Cat” and “Success
Kid” may be more accessible for lower level learners.
3. Humor Is Not Only for a
Laugh
Don’t get the wrong idea. Humor is good for a laugh. The misconception, however, is that a
quick laugh is the only purpose of humor in language teaching. More than one
teacher has told me, “I like to start or finish my class with a joke.” Though I
certainly do not disagree with this use of humor, humor is not something that
should merely be tacked on to start or finish lessons with something fun or
different.
A growing number of teachers and researchers argue
that humor should have a larger role in the English teaching curriculum, with
Wulf (2010) even proposing a humor competence curriculum. In addition to
interpersonal benefits, humor can also be used in the language classroom
to
- improve learners’ cross-cultural communicative
competence,
- provide insights into the target culture(s), and
- raise awareness about social issues in the target
culture(s).
These benefits and uses will be discussed in more
detail later in this series.
Risks
of Humor
Meyer (2000) aptly described humor as a
double-edged sword in communication. The same can be said of humor in the
classroom. While I praise the benefits of humor in every article I write about
humor in ELT, I am always careful to also mention the risks. Humor can have
countless benefits, but it also can backfire in these ways.
1. Humor Can Be
Overused
In life, we often fall back on the “dinner party
rule” about how much food to serve, arguing that “It’s better to have too much
than not enough.” Do not follow this rule when it comes to
serving up humor in your language classes. Though students often have a
negative view of teachers who are overly strict or serious, they may equally
question teachers who are never serious. In my own
research, I have had the opportunity to interview dozens of students about the
role of humor in their English classes. Though these students have almost
unanimously endorsed humor, they have also frequently warned that humor has its
limits and should not be overused.
Though it is difficult to state how much humor is
too much, the important thing to keep in mind is that humor should only be one of many tools in your teacher toolbox. Humor can
indeed improve the class atmosphere and your relationship with your students,
but so can treating students with kindness and patience, designing well-organized
lessons, and clearly explaining language points.
2. Humor Can Be Over Our Students’
Heads
I previously argued that humor is not only for
advanced-level learners, but we still need to be careful about using level-appropriate
humor for our respective classes. So much of language teaching is properly
scaffolding language and gradually building up our learners’ confidence and
proficiency.
One of my early disasters with trying to
incorporate humor into my English classes was including scenes from an episode
of the popular American sitcom Seinfeld. Though I had good
intentions of sharing a part of my own culture and giving my learners a break
from the usual class routine, the random cultural references and in-jokes made
the “material” way too difficult. Instead of happily laughing at this humor
from the English-speaking world, the message I got from my poor students’ eyes
was, “How are we ever going to speak English with real people if this is the
way they talk?”
3. Humor Can Lead to
Misunderstandings
As an American, three popular forms of humor I
instantly think of are:
- joke telling (“Have you heard the one
about….?”)
- sarcasm and other forms of verbal irony
- satirical news
These are also three forms of humor that are
relatively infrequent in my current teaching context of Japan. An essential
part of using humor in your classes is also being familiar with the humor of
your students’ culture. This can go a long way in knowing not only what types
of humor may be difficult for them but also, more importantly, what types of
humor may cause offense. I had thought my first teacher trainer ever was being
overdramatic when he warned us that “everything that comes out of your mouth is
a potential disaster.” But this can be the case even when
it comes to (what may seem to you) simple and natural
humor.
Humor can easily lead to misunderstandings if it is
- too advanced for your students,
- relatively infrequent in the students’ native
culture, or
- taboo in the students’ native culture.
What’s
Next?
At this point, you may rightly be asking, “But how
do I actually use humor in my English classes?” That will be the focus of the
next two articles in this series.
References
Bell, N., & Pomerantz, A. (2016).Humor in the classroom: A guide for language teachers and educational
researchers. Routledge.
Cook, G. (2000). Language play, language
learning. Oxford University Press.
Meyer, J. C. (2000). Humor as a double-edged sword:
Four functions of humor in communication. Communication Theory,
10(3), 310–331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2000.tb00194.x
Neff, P., & Rucynski, J. (2017). Japanese
perceptions of humor in the English language classroom. Humor,
30(3), 279–301. https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2016-0066
Neff, P., & Rucynski, J. (2021). The
English classroom as “warai no ba”: Instructor views on
humor and language learning in Japan. International Journal of
Educational Research Open, 2, 100070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2021.100070
Pomerantz, A., & Bell, N. D. (2011). Humor
as safe house in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language
Journal, 95, 148–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01274.x
Shively, R. (2018). Learning and using
conversational humor in a second language during study abroad. De
Gruyter Mouton.
Tosta, A. L. (2001). Laugh and learn: Thinking over
the “funny teacher” myth. English Teaching Forum, 39(1),
26–29.
Wulf, D. (2010). A humor competence curriculum. TESOL Quarterly, 44(1), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.215250
John
Rucynski has taught EFL/ESL in
Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, and the United States. He is currently
associate professor at Okayama University in Japan. His articles on
humor in language teaching have been published in English
Teaching Forum, HUMOR, and
TESOL Journal. He has also edited New
Ways in Teaching with Humor (TESOL Press) and (with
Caleb Prichard) Bridging
the Humor Barrier: Humor Competency Training in English Language
Teaching (Rowman & Littlefield).
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