All teachers understand that for their students to succeed in the classroom, they must feel comfortable and “open” to the material being presented. This is especially true in the language classroom where students need comprehensible input to advance to their proficiency from one level to the next. Humor can be a useful tool when teaching languages because it eases tension and helps create the needed openness on the part of students. Additionally, humor and culture are intertwined, so exploring jokes, puns, and idiomatic is excellent cultural integration. So, if you’re ready for the fun to begin, read on for simple ideas on how to teach humor in the language classroom.
- Jokes and puns
Understanding or creating jokes in the target language involves problem-solving and deep thinking about structure and meaning. For example, the answer to the joke, ¿Cuál es la fruta más cómica? requires students to understand that the word naranja makes the sound “ja” at the end which is the same as “ha,” in English. Here is another example: ¿Qué hace un pez? ¡Nada! This pun uses beginners’ grammar and vocabulary; however, students must understand that “nada” is a homophone, while “nadan” is not. So, the joke doesn’t work if un pez is changed to unos peces. Challenge students by giving them a list of homophones to see if they can come up with puns on their own.
- Riddles
Riddles are engaging puzzles that range from easy to extremely challenging. For the language classroom, be sure to begin with simple riddles to boost student confidence and avoid frustration. For starters, students can think about the answer to the following riddle, ¿Qué corre pero no puede caminar? ¡Agua! For more difficult riddles, consider giving the students multiple choice answers and letting them figure out which answer makes the most sense using critical thinking. A fun one to try is, ¿Qué es lo que más se moja cuando más se seca? Una toalla.
- Idiomatic Expressions
Idioms are phrases with meanings that cannot be understood literally, and when students use them, they sound more fluent. The first step to using idioms, of course, is comprehending them. To start, introduce some idiomatic expression that have a close equivalent in English. For instance, describing something as pan comido is closely related to the expression “a piece of cake.” For other idioms, have students work in pairs to translate them literally first and then see if they can think of a saying in English.
- Explaining Humor
Humor is intrinsically cultural because it often relies on shared history, customs, and linguistic nuances. To help students better understand a joke or riddle, be sure to explain any cultural references or background information first. You can also use illustrations, video clips, or gestures to boost comprehension. Furthermore, it’s essential to compare humor structures in both languages to create connections. Once students are comfortable with how humor is constructed and in the target language, allow them to experiment creating their own jokes and riddles for their classmates.
By Kelli Drummer-Avendano
Also read:
8 Ideas to Foster a Child’s Sense of Humor
April Fool’s Language Learning: 4 Fun and Creative Ways to Tell Jokes and Play Educational Pranks
