ABSTRACT

Humor in the Classroom provides practical, research-based answers to questions that educational researchers and language teachers might have about the social and cognitive benefits that humor and language play afford in classroom discourse and additional language learning. The book considers the ways in which humor, language play, and creativity can construct new possibilities for classroom identity, critique prevailing norms, and reconfigure particular relations of power. Humor in the Classroom encourages educational researchers and language teachers to take a fresh look at the workings of humor in today’s linguistically diverse classrooms and makes the argument for its role in building a stronger foundation for studies of classroom discourse, theories of additional language development, and approaches to language pedagogy.

chapter 1|21 pages

Language, Communication, and Education 1

chapter 2|28 pages

Humor and Language Play

chapter 3|19 pages

Understanding Classroom Talk

chapter 4|31 pages

Playing It Safe

chapter 6|23 pages

Teachers and Humor

Weighing the Risks and Benefits

chapter 7|13 pages

Teaching With Humor

chapter 8|18 pages

Teaching About Humor

chapter 9|17 pages

Researching Humor and Language Play