Versions
- 2024-06-26 (2)
- 2024-06-26 (1)
Keywords
language learning
playful learning
innovative practices
humour-integrated education
How to Cite
Abstract
There has been a notable surge in the studies on humour in the language classroom in the past two or even three decades. This burgeoning literature seems to have already entered the threshold of a field of study. In this article, humour-integrated language learning (HILL) is put forth as an umbrella term for diverse attempts to employ pedagogical humour in language education. HILL principally refers to a diverse suite of methods, tools and techniques where humour serves as a means (and/or an end) in language learning. It is envisaged that this paper can a) open a window on (L2) pedagogical humour in its diverse manifestations, b) underscore the potentiality latent in L2 humour to inform and influence language learning, c) present a more insightful, coherent picture of the attempts to use humour in language learning, and d) outline further developments and future directions in humour-informed research and practice within language education. This article also aims to broaden the borders of HILL by making connections between pedagogical (L2) humour and other relevant notions and approaches such as playful learning, creative pedagogy, critical pedagogy, technology-enhanced language learning (TELL), etc.
References
Alves-Oliveira, P., Arriaga, P., Xavier, C., Hoffman, G., & Paiva, A. (2021). Creativity landscapes: Systematic review spanning 70 years of creativity interventions for children. Journal of Creative Behavior, 56(1), 16-40. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.514.
Attardo, Salvatore. (2020). The Linguistics of Humor: An introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Banas, J. A., Dunbar, N., Rodriguez, D., & Liu, S-J. (2011). A review of humor in educational settings: Four decades of research. Communication Education, 60(1), 115–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2010.496867.
Bell, N. (2011). Humor scholarship and TESOL: Applying findings and establishing a research agenda. TESOL Quarterly, 45, 134-159. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.240857.
Bell, N. (2012). Comparing playful and nonplayful incidental attention to form. Language Learning, 62(1), 236–65.
Bell, N. D, & Pomerantz, A. (2016). Humor in the classroom: A guide for language teachers and educational researchers. Routledge.
Bremner, N. (2021). What is learner-centered education? A quantitative study of English language teachers’ perspectives. Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal (TESL-EJ), 25(2), 1-29. https://tesl-ej.org/pdf/ej98/a9.pdf.
Cekaite, A. & Aronsson, K. (2005). Language play: A collaborative resource in children’s L2learning. Applied Linguistics, 26(2), 169-91.
Chen, C-H, Chen, H-C., & Roberts, A. M. (2019). Why humor enhances creativity from theoretical explanations to an empirical humor training program: Effective “ha-ha” helps people to “a-ha”. In S. R. Luria, J. Baer & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Creativity and humor (pp. 83–108). Elsevier Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813802-1.00004-1
Cook, G. (1997). Language play, language learning. ELT Journal, 51, 224–231.
Cook, G. (2000). Language play, language learning. Oxford University Press.
Cremin, T., & Chappell, K. (2021). Creative pedagogies: a systematic review. Research Papers in Education, 36 (3), 299-331.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper Collins Publishers.
Daniels, H. (2016). Vygotsky and pedagogy. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315617602.
Davies, C. E. (2015). Humor in intercultural interaction as both content and process in the classroom. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 28(3), 375–395.
Deneire, M. (1995). Humor and foreign language teaching. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 8(3), 285–298.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Forman, R. (2011). Humorous language play in a Thai EFL classroom. Linguistics, 32(5), 541–565.
Giroux, H. (2021). Critical pedagogy. In U. Bauer, U.H. Bittlingmayer & A. Scherr (Eds.) HandbuchBildungs- und Erziehungssoziologie. Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-31395-1_19-1.
Hadley, E.B., & Newman, K.M. (2023). Prioritizing purposeful and playful language learning in pre-k. Read Teach, 76, 470-477. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2161.
Hall, E. (1973).The silent language. Anchor Press/Doubleday. (Original work published 1959).
Heidari-Shahreza, M.A. (2018a). A proficiency-based analysis of EFL learners’ humorous language play. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 28, 406–423. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12212.
Heidari-Shahreza, M.A. (2018b). A cross-sectional analysis of teacher-initiated verbal humor and ludic language play in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1430474.
Heidari-Shahreza, M.A. (2018c). Focus on form and fun: EFL learners’ playful language-related episodes (PLREs). TESL-EJ Journal, 22(2), 1–15.
Heidari-Shahreza, M.A. (2020). Humor-integrated language learning (HILL): Teaching with and about humor. In J. Rucynski & C. Prichard (Eds.) Bridging the humor barrier: Humor competency training in English Language Teaching (pp. 79-106). Lexington Books, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Heidari-Shahreza, M.A. (2021a). When a nation breathes through humor: A sociolinguistic perspective on Iranian jokes about America. Society, 58(4), 301–307.
Heidari-Shahreza, M. A. (2021b). Humor in the language classroom: Pedagogical benefits and practical considerations. TESOL Journal, 12(2), 1-5.
Heidari-Shahreza, M. A. (2022). Rising from the ashes of academic burnout: Beneficial effects of humor in adult education. Adult Learning, 33(3), 138–141.
Heidari-Shahreza, M.A. (2023). Humor beyond human; Eco-humor as a pedagogical toolkit for environmental education. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 39(4), 550–562. https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2023.8.
Heidari-Shahreza, M. A. (2024a). Light and delight: Playful learning as an ideology and methodology in adult education. Adult Learning, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595241237554.
Heidari-Shahreza, M.A. (2024b). Language learning playware: A playful learning approach to ELT materials development. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2024.2327486.
Heidari-Shahreza, M. A. (2024c). Playful creativity in TESOL: Toward humor-integrated language learning (HILL). Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal (TESL-EJ), 27(4), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.27108a2.
Heidari-Shahreza, M. A. (2024d). When language is play: Looking into linguistic creativity through language play. Creativity Journal: Theories, Research & Applications, 11(1), 18–35. https://doi.org/10.2478/ctra-2024-0002
Heidari-Shahreza, M. A., & Heydari, S. (2019). Humor-integrated language learning (HILL): A teacher's and student's perspective. TESOL Journal, 10 (1), 1–4.
Hempelmann, C. (2008). Computational humor: Beyond the pun? In V. Raskin (Ed.), The primer of humor research, Humor Research 8 (pp. 333–360). Mouton de Gruyter.
Homer, B. D., Raffaele, C., & Henderson, H.(2019). Games as playful learning: Implications of developmental theory for game-based learning. In J. L Plass, R.E. Mayer & B.D. Homer (Eds), Handbook of game-based learning, MIT Press.
Jacobs, M. G., & Renandya, W. A. (2019). Student centered cooperative learning: Linking concepts in education to promote student learning. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7213-1.
Johnes, J., Portela, M., & Thanassoulis, E.(2017). Efficiency in education. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 68(4), 331-338. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41274-016-0109-z.
Lantolf, J. P. (1997). The function of language play in the acquisition of L2 Spanish. In W. R. Glass & A. T. Pérez‐Leroux (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on the acquisition of Spanish (pp. 3–24). Cascadilla Press.
Leow, R. P. (2023). Noticing hypothesis. In H. Nassaji & M. DelliCarpini (Eds.), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0086.pub2.
Long, M. (2016). In defense of tasks and TBLT: Nonissues and real issues. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 5-33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190515000057
Martin, R. A., & Ford, T. E. (2018).The psychology of humor: An integrative approach (2nd Edition). Elsevier Academic Press.
Macfarlane, B. (2015). Student performativity in higher education: converting learning as a private space into a public performance. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(2), 338–350.
Neff, P. & Dewaele, J-M. (2023). Humor strategies in the foreign language class. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 17(3), 567-579. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2022.2088761.
Nilsen, D., & Nilsen, A. (2018).The language of humor: An introduction. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108241403
Oshima, K. (2018). Functions of humor in intercultural communication and educational environments. In A. Curtis & R. Sussex (Eds.), Intercultural communication in Asia: Education, language and values (vol. 24, pp. 205–222). Springer. Multilingual Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69995-0_10.
Pomerantz, A., & Bell, N. (2011). Humor as safe house in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 95, 148–161.
Pressley, T. (2021). Factors contributing to teacher burnout during COVID-19. Educational Researcher, 50(5), 325–327. https://doi.org/10.3102/ 0013189X211004138.
Prichard, C. & Rucynski, J. J. (2020). Humor competency training for sarcasm and jocularity. In Rucynski, J. & Prichard, C. (eds.) Bridging the humor barrier: Humor competency training in English Language Teaching (pp. 165-191). Lexington Books, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Prichard, C., & Rucynski, J. (2022). L2 learners' ability to recognize ironic online comments and the effect of instruction. System, 105, 102733, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102733.
Proyer, R. T. (2017). A new structural model for the study of adult playfulness: Assessment and exploration of an understudied individual differences variable. Personality and Individual Differences, 108, 113122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.12.011.
Proyer, R. T., Tandler, N., & Brauer, K. (2019). Playfulness and creativity: a selective review. In S. R. Luria, J. Baer, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Creativity and humor (pp. 43-60). Elsevier.
Qin, K., & Beauchemin, F. (2022). “I can go slapsticks”: Humor as humanizing pedagogy for science instruction with multilingual adolescent immigrant learners. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 71, 304-322. https://doi.org/10.1177/23813377221114766.
Rezaei, N. (2021). Integrated science: Science without borders. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65273-9.
Richards, J. C. (2013). Curriculum approaches in language teaching: Forward, central, and backward design. RELC Journal 44(1), 5-33.
Saslow, J., & Ascher, A. (2010). Top Notch 1: International English for today’s world. Pearson Education.
Shively, R. L. (2013). Learning to be funny in Spanish during study abroad: L2 humor development. The Modern Language Journal, 97(4), 930–946. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12043.x
Shulman, L. S. (2005). Signature pedagogies in the professions. Daedalus, 134(3), 52–59. https:// doi.org/ 10.1162/ 00115 26054 622015.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wagner, M., & Urios-Aparisi, E. (2011). The use of humor in the foreign language classroom: Funny and effective? Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 24(4), 399-434.
Wanzer, M. B., Frymier, A. B., Wojtaszczyk, A. M., & Smith, T. (2006). Appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor by teachers. Communication Education, 55(2), 178–196.
Waring, H. Z. (2013). Doing being playful in the second language classroom. Applied Linguistics, 24(2), 191–210. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams047.
Whitton, N. (2018). Playful learning: tools, techniques, and tactics. Research in Learning Technology, 26, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2035.
Whitton, N. (2022). Play and learning in adulthood: Reimagining pedagogy and the politics of education. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13975-8.
Wulf, D. (2010). A humor competence curriculum. TESOL Quarterly, 44, 155-169. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.215250
Youn, S. J. (2020). Interactional features of L2 pragmatic interaction in role-play speaking assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 54, 201-233. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.542.
Ziv, A. (2010). The social function of humor in interpersonal relationships. Society, 47, 11-18.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2024 The European Journal of Humour Research