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英語(yǔ)論文范例-The Application of Humor in Senior English Teac
英語(yǔ)論文范例-The Application of Humor in Senior English Teaching
In the precious part, we have analyzed the function of humor in senior English teaching. It can increase motivation, reduce anxiety and create harmonious relationship between teachers and students, but how to apply humor to senior English teaching? In this part, the author explains specifically the application of humor in senior English teaching from the perspective of teaching material, teaching method and classroom language.
2.1 Choosing Humorous Teaching Materials
After we understand humor and its function in English class, we should incorporate humor into our lessons. As we know, teaching material is the basic element of teaching and the carrier of specific knowledge, it is the object of study. Therefore, the choosing of teaching materials affects a lot the effect of teaching.
Humorous materials related to the textbook are an indispensable part of our lessons. Humor helps to gain students’ attention and keep their interest in the material presented. Humorous material can add variety to the class, provide a change of pace, and reduce the tension that many learners feel during the learning process. Also, many researchers claim that humor facilitates learning through its impact on attention and memory. Studies show that participants who were exposed to a series of lectures containing course-specific humor demonstrated increased retention of the same material with the infusion of humor. Furthermore, it is physically impossible to laugh and snore at the same time. Take one case for example, when we talk about the importance of learning a second language in class, the following examples can be adopted:
There was a cat, glaring like a tiger eyeing its prey, outside the hole of the mice. The mice were too scared to slip out. One day, on hearing the barking of dog, a mouse, out of curiosity, rushed out to see what was going on. Instantly, that cat caught the mouse. Unwillingly, to submit to its view, the mouse questioned, “How could it be you when I heard the dog barking”, caressing the mouse in its paws, the cat replied softly, “Dude, how can you survive nowadays without acquiring two languages.” (Net 1.)
After hearing this humorous story, the students burst into laugher and the discussion of the importance of second language learning was heated due to the participation of many students who are elated by the humor.
2.1.1 Using Jokes to Provoke Interest in the Topic
Humor can be used as a pre-reading activity to warm up a class in the topic under discussion. Take Senior English for China Book 6.Unit 9 A Red Light for Scofflaws which is about minor crimes in the United States for example. Nowadays there is an amazing variety of scofflaws. Infractions include double-parking, running red lights, drunk driving, speeding, and freeway violence. To prepare students for this topic the teacher can use two different jokes: “why were you speeding?” asked the traffic cop. “Well, officer,” came the reply, “my brakes are bad and I wanted to get home before I had an accident”.( Wang＆Wang 2006)
The motorist provides a funny and paradoxical excuse for his excessive speed. It is ridiculous that he was so aware of the potential for an accident, at the same time, he was so unaware of how dangerous it is to drive a car whose brakes are not in proper order. By the using of jokes, the students will remember clearly the survey information that on many interstate highways, 83% of the drivers exceed the federal speed limit.
A father was driving home with his young son. Suddenly the boy asked, “What is the meaning of the word ‘drunk’, Dad?” His father replied, “Look, there are two policemen standing over there. If I look at them and I see four policemen, then I am drunk.” The boy said, “But, Dad, there is only one policeman there!” ( Wang＆Wang 2006)
The father saw two policemen where only one existed. The father is drunk by his own definition. However, he seems to be unaware that he is, in fact, drunk. This increases our concern for the safety of his son and the would-be victims of the father’s drunken driving. The father’s irresponsible behavior in the joke help to explain why drunk driving in America kills over 17,000 people annually and injuries over 250,000.
There are a vast number of Chinese students who believe the United States is a paradise in which everything is perfect. These jokes, though short and simple, enable the students to adapt a more balanced viewpoint toward the American culture, which in return helps the students to understand language points involving cultural issues. English humor can play an important role in helping comprehension and understanding when the normal explanation and description fails or is incomplete.
2.1.2 Choosing Humorous Topic for Discussion
When the teachers explain to the students the concept of gender association in English. They can introduce the joke “Gender-based language”.
The teacher states how hurricanes at one time were given feminine names and how ships and places were usually referred to as “she”. The students may raise their hands and ask, “What gender is a computer?”
The teacher may not certain which it is. So he can divide the class into two groups, males and females, and ask the students to decide whether a computer should be masculine or feminine. Both groups are asked to give four reasons for their recommendation.
The groups of girls conclude that computers should be referred to masculine because:
1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of date but are still clueless.
3. They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the time they are the problem.
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a little longer, you could have had a better model.
The boys, on the other hand, decide that computers should definitely be referred to feminine because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even you smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half you paycheck on accessories for it.
Here I propose the use of humorous material in written and oral form as input in language classrooms. However, we do not exclude other forms of humor such as the use of personal anecdote or story related to the topic, some form of verbal comedy or a brief humorous comment on national or world event. In these instances, the instructor should to be spontaneously humorous and should not confine himself to the oral or written material.
2.2 Choosing Humorous Teaching Method
Teaching method is the combination of ways and methods the teachers and students used in the process of teaching in order to achieve the common teaching goal and to finish the common teaching task. It includes two parts, the way of teachers teaching and the way of students’ learning. Some of the most recognized methods in nowadays-English teaching are grammar-translation approach, direct approach, audio-lingual method, community language learning. However, what the author refers to here is the narrow sense of teaching method, that is, the method of explaining the difficult words, phrases and grammar rules.
2.2.1 Using Humorous Example
As we know, reference books offer so many examples that teachers can prepare lessons conveniently. However, lots of the places and person in the examples are strange to the students. If the examples were changed to familiar person or places, students would be attracted. The example seems to happen around the students, so they can remember them for a long time（陳艷松 2004）.
E.g. when the teachers explain the difference between “except” and “besides”, they can give these examples.
(1) In the classroom, you are students except me.
(2) Besides me, there are 72 persons in our class.
E.g. “more…..than” is used to make a comparison between different aspect of the same person or thing. The teachers can give these examples.
(3) Deng Xiaoping is more alive than dead.
(4) Mr Peng is more a friend than a teacher.
E.g. When the teachers explain the difference between “used to do” and “be used to doing”, they can give the students two examples like this:
(5) Wang Junli used to be a millionaire.
(6) Dengmiao is used to living on the moon.
After hearing such kind of examples, the atmosphere suddenly get activated and the students follow to make similar examples. Through these examples, the students all get a deep impression on these two phrases.
E.g. When the teachers explain the new word “promise”, they can cite such an example:
(7) Father: Didn’t you promise to be a good boy?
Ben: Yes, father.
Father: And didn’t I promise you no spending money if you were bad?
Ben: Yes, father. But since I have broken my promise, you can break yours.
After hearing this, the student all burst into laugher, at the same time, they know how to use promise to be, promise sb sth, break one’s promise. This is far better than merely tell the students how to use them with some formal examples.
E.g. When the teachers explain were in subjunctive mood, the teacher can make up the examples like this:
(8) Wang Tao is my boyfriend, he is studying in Shanghai. I love him very much. If I were a bird, I would fly to him.
(9) If I were rich, I would buy a car. But as a teacher, I am too poor to do that.
(10) I wish I were taller and stronger
E.g. when the teachers explain the phrase the more…the more, they can cite such an example:
（11） A: Why don’t you study hard?
B: The more we study, the more we forget.
The more we forget, the less we know.
The less we know, the less we forget.
The less we forget, the more we know.
So, why we study?
2.2.2 Giving a Situation
In order to create a happy environment for students, teachers can put the content of the text into certain situations and design some interesting stories. The feature is putting word, action, motion together. By this way, the teachers can invoke students’ enthusiasm for English.
As we know, the present tense can express the future actions (the difference between the present tense and the present progressive). The present tense of transitory verbs describes the transitory action at present, that is, momentary actions. The present progressive, indicates the durative action at present.
The teachers can give these examples:
(12) The car stops (the present tense describes the transitory action).
(13) The car is stopping (the present progressive describes the duration action).
In order to explain clearly, the teacher can give two situations: (1)A man is driving his car along the street, a boy who rides a bike dashes off in front of his car from crossing road. He has to stop his car immediately. He says angrily: “you want to die”. (2) A man is driving his car along the street. He smells the delicious taste of chicken far from 100m away. He decides to buy it. He reduces the speed, and then stops the car in front of the shop.
In addition, when the teacher explain the difference between “-ing” participle and “-ed” participle. The teacher often tells the students: “-ing” participle act as predicative, it is active meaning. It indicates the property and feature the subject has. While “-ed” participle act as predicative, it is passive meaning. It indicates the influence the outside world has on the subject. In contrast, a humorous teacher will give the students such a situation: Once there was a young man who loved a girl very much. One day he showed his affection to the girl with flowers in his hand and kneeled down in front of this girl. Unfortunately, this girl did not love the man, so she said to the young man, “You are interested, but you are not interesting”（刑殿普 2005）.
Through this, students can be clear about the difference of these two participles. It impresses the students a lot.
2.3 Using Humorous Classroom Language
Classroom language is the language the teachers use in the process of teaching and in the organization of classroom teaching. It is the major instrument between the communication of teachers and students. The teachers rely on classroom language to explain knowledge, while the students acquire knowledge by the understanding of it. Therefore, it is of great importance. According to the requirement of New Curriculum Standard, the teachers should use more vivid and humorous language to activate classroom atmosphere so as to promote understanding and facilitate memory.
2.3.1 Humor on Classroom Management
Humor can also be used to communicate issues related to classroom management. Teachers can correct bad behavior in a humorous way, without unduly embarrassing any class members. Humor has been used successfully to explain classroom rules and foster understanding and rapport between the teacher and the students. Humor in the classroom is not the answer to all classroom management issues, but it is an excellent preventive measure and can often diffuse tense situations.
Most teachers become annoyed when students talk during class or their cell phone rings during a lecture. By the using humorous language, the teacher can stop the disruptive behavior and maintain a positive classroom atmosphere. Instead of saying something like, “This is the rules for our students and I expect you to follow them”. Instead, the teachers can use humorous language.
For example, when the teacher notice a students who doesn’t listen to him and the students is watching a bird outside. Therefore, the teacher can pause and have a sigh intentionally: “Gosh! I feel very grieved that I am not as attractive as a little bird.” The whole class burst into laugh, when this naughty student understood it, he also laughed, but with flush, “I am sorry”. So from this we can see the glamour of humorous language. It not only reminds the students that they should concentrated in the class, but also protect the self-respect of the students.
2.3.2 Impromptu Humor
In the class, there are many unexpected situations. Teachers should change the plan and use humor according to the specific situation. For example, when a teacher was explaining the phrase on the move, he cited the example: Americans are always on the move. At that moment, the upstairs students were moving their chairs that caused great noise. Therefore, the teacher gave another example: The class upstairs is also on the move. The students all laughed happily.
2.3.3 Humorous Comment on Students’ work
Homework is an important process in language teaching. From the exercise that the students have done, teachers can know how well the students grasp the knowledge. Teachers can use some humorous language to give comments. For example, the teachers can write in the student’s composition like this: Your composition is both good and original. However, the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good. It will not only point out the defect in the exercise, but also encourage the students to work harder.
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