Humor and Teaching Foreign Languages

Transcription

1 Humor and Teaching Foreign Languages Andrew P. Zapf This paper was completed and submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master Teacher Program, a 2-year faculty professional development program conducted by the Center for Faculty Excellence, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, Abstract: This paper discusses the benefits and risks of using humor in the second languagelearning classroom. Humor is a tool that has physiological and social benefits to the students as well as instructional application for students. However, humor can be misused, misapplied, and misinterpreted with some risk of spoiling the above-mentioned benefits. Overall, humor is a component of life and language is one vehicle with which humor must be understood by language students and utilized for comprehension, retention, and cultural awareness. What do you call a person that speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person that speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person that only speaks one language? American. The stereotype of Americans is a foundation of this joke also speaks to a significant barrier facing American language students. Are Americans even supposed to learn second languages? Is it impossible to learn other languages if you do not begin in childhood. The answer to these questions are Yes and No, respectively, but even having to ask and answer them adds additional pressure on the American language student. Further frustrating second language learning, or L2, is the gap in physical ability and mental agility and language comprehension and output. A brilliant, college-age student can be absolutely frustrated by their immensity of the task of describing of building a sandwich in a second language. I hope that the joke at the beginning of this paragraph made it easier for you, dear reader, to wade into this essay. Just as humor set the stage for this essay, humor has been shown to be a component of learning in a structured academic environment and the unstructured school of life. This essay will review some of the literature on the use of humor and laughter in a discussion of the American L2 classroom and L2 acquisition, writ large. The American L2 Student: There is no standard university-level language student in America. Americans grow up in monolingual, bilingual, and trilingual homes. Some learn multiple languages in structured academic environments, and others learn entirely colloquially

2 without the aid of grammar study. Generally, speaking the American language student has not had to acquire a second language in the American school system. Language requirements at the high school and preparatory school-level provide a language introduction, but not fluency. Except at specialty schools that teach all subjects entirely in a target language, the American L2 student perceives language progress as stilted by competing academic interests, lack of immersion, and slow progression. At the university level, students under pressure to perform to their highest, to justify their tuitions, or to maintain scholarships, can turn hostile towards language learning. The aforementioned target language sandwich-building exercise undermines the validity of their brilliant and groundbreaking thesis. L2, therefore, becomes intimidating. It challenges their identity as academic scholars and complex thinkers. Inability to express oneself as completely and elegantly as possible increases the stress associated with L2. This essay will examine the literature describing the benefits, drawbacks of using humor in a L2 classroom and as a tool for instruction of the language itself. The reader may understand much of what this essay discusses as common knowledge application of humor, or at least a logical extension of making daily life interesting. However, the reader should also take way the idea that humor can be a deliberate process incorporated into lesson planning, student-teacher relationships, and as an instructional tool. The Student and the Environment In addition to a students internal application of stress, the L2 environment can be intimidating, especially at higher levels of academic study. Surrounded by equally qualified university students, different learning styles 1 allow students to comprehend a different paces or unsynchronized leaps. In the 1999 movie The 13th Warrior, Antonio Banderas character an Arab diplomat travels with Viking warriors across Europe. Over many weeks or months of campfires listening to his travel companions, Banderas can address them fluently. His character acquired the language through complete immersion (and with clever film editing) made a giant leap in ability advancing from unacquainted with the language to fluent in measurable on- 1 Learning styles or learning preferences is a topic worthy of its own discussion, but in this context I use it to note that students adapt to the different methods of language instruction at different rates because of their learning styles. 2

3 screen time. 2 An intimidated, struggling L2 students may wonder when their 13th Warrior moment will come. In some ways, the presence of other students learning at a different, possibly faster, pace may add to the stress of learning. Generally speaking, it is presumed that the classroom environment has far more benefits for the L2 student than any perceived disadvantages. There will always be a benefit to full language immersion in a native environment with native speakers, but the classroom is often the learning environment that L2 students have. The classroom creates a physical space where normal rules of grammar accuracy do not apply. Teachers and other students act as guides, offering support and encouragement, and explaining the unknown. This essay deals with humor as a tool for language instruction in the classroom. It does not address the role of humor in everyday life and the unplanned events of life that contribute to language learning. As any device, humor s usefulness operates on a spectrum. Humor can be a great tool of a mindful teacher, but it also can act a devastating weapon against the effectiveness of a classroom objective or learning environment. However, humor is a core ingredient of life and cannot be omitted from language learning; therefore, it is up to the language instructor to wield it skillfully. Humor as a Tool Humor touches on all aspects of language. It can be complicated or simple, depend on context of the speech or the actual words themselves. Using humor in the classroom Humor also helps explain cultural norms, which become critical for advanced level language acquisition. 3 Humor has a social role for students and an academic role for teachers. Masoud Azizinezhad and Masoud Hashemi, in an article for Procedia Social and Behavioral Science, wrote that beyond the health benefits of humor, humor in classrooms helps keeps students interested, motivated, and protects students from feeling exposed or vulnerable. Furthermore, they claim that the reduced tension within the classroom has shown to increase retention of what is learned, foster a constructive attitude towards mistakes, and stimulate both creative and critical thinking during a 2 The 13th Warrior. Dir. John McTiernan. Perf. Antonio Banderas and Dennis Storhøi. Touchstone Pictures, DVD. 3 Nancy D. Bell, "Learning about and through Humor in the Second Language Classroom," Language Teaching Research 13.3 (2009):

4 language classroom. 4 Additionally, if the environment is more jovial than not, the physical benefits of laughter are well recorded by science. 5 While not directly applicable to cadets at the United States Military Academy, where class attendance is mandatory, Elham Kavandi and Reza Kavandi in their study of high school language learners discovered that classroom humor also the rate of absentee decreased and most of the students showed more respect toward their teacher. 6 However, research on the relationship between teachers and students shows that there is a positive relationship between teachers humor orientation, or use of humor, and their perception as being assertive and competent probably because the skills necessary for humor demonstate responsiveness to the needs of the audience. 7 For instructors, Marc Deneire, of Michigan Technological University, writes that intellectual humor has a role in the actual instruction of language, beyond the establishment of a comfortable classroom environment. The use of puns, phonological, morphological, lexicon, and syntax all provide opportunities to use intellectual humor to teach language. However, language instructors must also consider that perception of culturally defined schemata may determine if some humor is intellectually funny or considered in bad taste. 8 The human brain has many different mechanisms for remembering information. Often repetition of language concepts is the necessary vehicle for memorization, but sometimes the association of a grammar or vocabulary concept with a pun or joke allows the student to retain the specific lesson immediately. As with many subjects taught in schools, language has real-world applications for each student. Language acquisition has the distinct advantage of being the most frequently accessed academic skill of daily life. Every day human beings communicate, even students, and they use 4 Masoud, Azizinezhad and Masoud Hashemi, "Humour: A Pedagogical Tool For Language Learners," Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences 30, 2nd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and Guidance (2011): Robert R. Provine, Laughter : A Scientific Investigation, n.p.: New York : Viking, 2000, pp Elham Kavandi and Reza Kavandi, "The Effect Of Using Humor On High School Students' Grammar Performance And Motivation," Theory & Practice In Language Studies, 6.7 (2016): Wanzer, Melissa Bekelja, and Ann Bainbridge Frymier. "The Relationship Between Student Perceptions Of Instructor Humor And Students' Reports Of Learning." Communication Education 48.1 (1999): Marc Deneire, "Humor And Foreign Language Teaching," Humor: International Journal Of Humor Research, 8.3 (1995):

5 different verbal and nonverbal means to convey meaning and go about their normal activities. Language is at the very heart of daily life and classroom instruction cannot divorce itself from that reality. Nancy Bell and Anne Pomerantz wrote that language instruction should look beyond the fiction that language is a standard form of grammar rules and vocabulary. In actuality, they claim, that students should understand language as variable, dynamic, dialogic and situated and seek to become communicators with language skills as components of communicative repertoires. 9 In fact, the write that humor has an extremely significant role in language acquisition because of the prevalence of non-serious communication in many scenarios from daily life. Non-serious communication is thought of as extra and thus can be developed at a later date and outside of the classroom. Yet, playful discourse can have an equally important role in communicating practical, mundane information. Skill in using humor can make navigating certain social situations much smoother. Many facethreatening situations are made less so when the threat is framed as play. Humor is regularly used to manage refusal sequences, to do indirect critiques, or to respond to teasing or bullying. The ability to join in humorous discourse eases an individual s entry into a new social group. It is also crucial to recognize that although we have been discussing this in dichotomous terms, discourse is not either serious or non-- serious, and the ability to construct and detect utterances that are half-- joking is important to interaction. All of these things are implicated in our pedagogical goal of expanding emergent bilinguals communicative/ interpretive repertoires. 10 Besides the obvious benefit of easing tension within a classroom environment, humor is a tool in daily life that teachers should not and cannot separate from the understanding of a language. Humor as a Weapon Like the Greek fable of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun on wings of wax and fell to his death, humor in the classroom requires a careful balancing act. Humor can be a tool of joy and ease, but it is also a tool wielded by bullies to intimidate their victims or the culprit for many 9 Nancy Bell and Anne Pomerantz, "Reconsidering Language Teaching Through A Focus On Humor," Euroamerican Journal Of Applied Linguistics And Languages, 1.1 (2014): Nancy Bell and Anne Pomerantz, "Reconsidering Language Teaching Through A Focus On Humor," 42. 5

6 awkward situations. Research and anecdotal evidence suggests that humor can also be disruptive and counterproductive to the L2 student. David Sudol, a high school language teacher, wrote a piece on the dangers of humor. He wrote that humor could set a negative tone if used inappropriately, becomes hijacked by the students, or damages the teacher s standing in the classroom. Telling jokes or funny anecdotes send signals to students that learning is not happening or learning has finished for the day. Playing the clown or playing Shakespeare s fool may lead students to think the teacher is incompetent, unable to answer simple questions, or a misinformed buffoon. Teasing or sarcasm toward students can be misconstrued as offensive or bullying. Sudol places the blame on students for not being aware enough to know the humorous and serious can coexist. 11 Humor itself may be a topic of instruction before it students and teachers can use it in the classroom like drivers training courses prior to licensing. Humor s success in the classroom is also dependent on the acceptance by the students. There are, of course, risks involved in using playful or humorous talk as a focus for language instruction. Chief among these is the fear that learners will not get the joke and that the teacher will suffer some loss of face and/or credibility, or even that some learners will see humor as inappropriate for the classroom and resist its implementation. 12 Mishandled or misinterpreted, humor can damage the standing and authority of a teacher, may dominate language learning as the dominant feature of a class losing control of the class, and label the teacher as someone that is non-serious and unworthy of learning from. 13 The learning environment is not free of existing social schemata despite the clinical nature one could approach the language classroom. Whether viewed as a positive or a negative, gender norms and perceptions exists between students and teachers that effect the learning environment. Research on the effectiveness of humor in the classroom shows that male and female teachers have different reactions from male and female students. 14 While the use of 11 Sudol, David. "Dangers Of Classroom Humor," English Journal, (1981): Nancy Bell and Anne Pomerantz, "Reconsidering Language Teaching Through A Focus On Humor," Elham Kavandi and Reza Kavandi, Joan Gorham and Diane M. Christophel, "The Relationship Of Teachers' Use Of Humor In The Classroom To Immediacy And Student Learning," Communication Education, 1 (1990): 59. 6

7 humor may be an attractive mechanism for conveying knowledge and linguistic context, the perception and social construct within the classroom poses its own risks. Revisiting Marc Deneire s work, within the instruction of a language itself, there are also pitfalls to using humor to teach language meaning and knowledge. Intellectual humor is the only type of humor that is acceptable for this task. The types of humor entirely detrimental to the classroom environment are sexual, ethnic, and political humor. These three categories are counterproductive because each topic offers distractions from the actual language and acceptable school environment that any language learning benefit is negated. Additionally, due to the tendency for language learners to begin second language acquisition with single word comprehension and an imposition of own cultural schemata onto foreign language text, this can lead to distortion of meaning where a language learners failure to understand humor can exasperate this distortion. Humor may be limited to reinforcing language knowledge rather than acquiring initial knowledge. 15 Humor s Usefulness Quite directly, S. Mohan Raj in his article titled: "Role Of Humour In Second Language Teaching And Acquisition." That humor is certainly a pedagogical tool because there is universal humor, culture-based humor, and linguistic humor, which are all effective at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of language acquisition. Additionally, humor contributes to social learning of a language, which is a lifelong process and cannot be taught. 16 Humor is vital to the language of learning because it provides the very tools to express oneself in normal and awkward daily circumstances; language is the backbone of all other academic pursuits and the ability to understand and empathize with a second language community becomes impossible without the application of humor somewhere in the learning process. If anything, the use of 15 Marc Deneire, "Humor And Foreign Language Teaching," Humor: International Journal Of Humor Research, 8.3 (1995): Mohan Raj, S. "Role Of Humour In Second Language Teaching And Acquisition." Language In India 16.4 (2016):

8 humor in the classroom can make the instruction memorable and inspire the student to pursue language solely for the benefit of laughter. To drive this point home, here are a sample language and culture based tools : A famous Chinese diplomat attended a gala reception in Washington. A senator trying to make polite conversation asked: What nese are you? Chinese, Japanese, or Javanese? To which he replied: Chinses, and you? What kee are you? Monkey, donkey, or yankee? 17 Q: What is the difference between stabbing a man and killing a hog? A: One is assaulting with intent to kill and the other is killing with intent to salt. 18 What is not clear yet is whether the risks of bad humor are greater than the teaching absent of humor entirely. Here again, the reader may assume that the entire absence of humor is logically detrimental to the learning environment. The risks of humor may never truly be known to science. The dynamics of each teacher and student, their individuality and character can never be replicated entirely. As Heraclitus said, No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it s not the same river and he s not the same man. Each language instructor will have to make a judgement of the usefulness and risks of each classroom and the L2 students contained therein. This assessment of risks and humor s usefulness in the classroom replicates exactly the decisions a person makes in the real world on the application of serious and non-serious language. Maybe humor is unavoidable. 17 John Robert Schmitz, "Humor As A Pedagogical Tool In Foreign Language And Translation Courses," Humor: International Journal Of Humor Research, 15.1 (2002): Ibid.,

9 Bibliography Azizinezhad, Masoud, and Masoud Hashemi. "Humour: A Pedagogical Tool For Language Learners." Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences 30.2nd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and Guidance (2011): ScienceDirect. Web. 22 Dec Bell, Nancy D. "Learning about and through Humor in the Second Language Classroom." Language Teaching Research 13.3 (2009): ProQuest. 9 Apr Bell, Nancy, and Anne Pomerantz. "Reconsidering Language Teaching Through A Focus On Humor." Euroamerican Journal Of Applied Linguistics And Languages 1.1 (2014): MLA International Bibliography. Web. 22 Dec Deneire, Marc. "Humor And Foreign Language Teaching." Humor: International Journal Of Humor Research 8.3 (1995): PsycINFO. Web. 22 Dec Gorham, Joan, and Diane M. Christophel. "The Relationship Of Teachers' Use Of Humor In The Classroom To Immediacy And Student Learning." Communication Education 1 (1990): 46. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Dec Kavandi, Elham, and Reza Kavandi. "The Effect Of Using Humor On High School Students' Grammar Performance And Motivation." Theory & Practice In Language Studies 6.7 (2016): Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 22 Dec McKeachie, Wilbert and Marilla Svinicki. Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Mohan Raj, S. "Role Of Humour In Second Language Teaching And Acquisition." Language In India 16.4 (2016): Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 22 Dec Provine, Robert R. Laughter : A Scientific Investigation. n.p.: New York : Viking, 2000., USMA Library Catalog. Web. 5 Jan Schmitz, John Robert. "Humor As A Pedagogical Tool In Foreign Language And Translation Courses." Humor: International Journal Of Humor Research 15.1 (2002): MLA International Bibliography. Web. 22 Dec Sudol, David. "Dangers Of Classroom Humor." English Journal (1981): 26. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Dec The 13th Warrior. Dir. John McTiernan. Perf. Antonio Banderas and Dennis Storhøi. Touchstone Pictures, DVD. Wanzer, Melissa Bekelja, and Ann Bainbridge Frymier. "The Relationship Between Student Perceptions Of Instructor Humor And Students' Reports Of Learning." Communication 9

10 Education 48.1 (1999): 48. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 22 Dec