Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Humorous Play and Its Implications for Classroom Practice

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Spontaneous Play in the Language Classroom

  • 222 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter explores the rhythm and patterning of play found in the case study group. It is noted how play tends to cluster at the beginnings and ends of official activities. It also occurs during periods of revision and reflection. This suggests that the opportunity for reflection is not just important in the learning process but can also be crucial to relationship-building within a group, a process that often involves play. The chapter goes on to explore the ways in which the teacher in the case study allows or fosters play by taking up particular positions. Despite the clear differentiation of classroom roles, the teacher positions himself in such a way as to identify with the learners. The data reveals how the teacher navigates play’s potentially subversive and disruptive nature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aston, G. (1993). Notes on the interlanguage of comity. In G. Kasper & S. Blum-Kulka (Eds.), Interlanguage pragmatics (pp. 224–250). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination. Austin: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). Rabelais and his world. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, R., & Briggs, C. L. (1990). Poetics and performance as critical perspectives on language. Annual Review of Anthropology, 19, 59–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, N. D. (2005). Exploring L2 language play as an aid to SLL: A case study of humour in NS-NNS interaction. Applied Linguistics, 26(2), 192–218. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amh043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, N. D. (2009). Learning about and through humor in the second language classroom. Language Teaching Research, 13(3), 241–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168809104697.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, N. D., & Pomerantz, A. (2014). Reconsidering language teaching through a focus on humor. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 1(1), 31–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berwald, J. (1992). Teaching French language and culture by means of humor. The French Review, 66, 189–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, D. (2007). Second language identities. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bongartz, C., & Schneider, M. L. (2003). Linguistic development in social contexts: A study of two brothers learning German. The Modern Language Journal, 87, 13–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broner, M., & Tarone, E. (2001). Is it fun? Language play in a fifth-grade Spanish immersion classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review, 58(4), 493–525. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.58.4.493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, R. (2004). Language and creativity: The art of common talk. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cekaite, A., & Aronsson, K. (2005). Language play, a collaborative resource in children’s L2 learning. Applied Linguistics, 26(2), 169–191. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amh042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coates, J. (2007). Talk in a play frame: More on laughter and intimacy. Journal of Pragmatics, 39(1), 29–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2006.05.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deneire, M. (1995). Humor and foreign language teaching. Humor—International Journal of Humor Research, 8(3), 285–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eggins, S., & Slade, D. (1997). Analysing casual conversation. London: Cassell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman, R. (2011). Humorous language play in a Thai EFL classroom. Applied Linguistics, 32(5), 541–565. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amr022.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of talk. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. (2000). Politeness, power and provocation: How humour functions in the workplace. Discourse Studies, 2(2), 159–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445600002002002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. (2007). Making humour work: Creativity on the job. Applied Linguistics, 28(4), 518–537. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lantolf, J. (2000). Introducing sociocultural theory. In J. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 1–26). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehtimaja, I. (2012). Teacher-oriented address terms in students’ approach turns. Language and Education, 22, 348–363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2011.02.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R., & Kuiper, N. A. (2016). Three decades investigating humor and laughter: An interview with professor Rod Martin. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 12(3), 498–512. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norrick, N. R. (1993). Conversational joking: Humour in everyday talk.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norrick, N. R. (1997). Twice-told tales: Collaborative narration of familiar stories. Language in Society, 26, 199–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pomerantz, A., & Bell, N. D. (2007). Learning to play, playing to learn: FL learners as multicompetent language users. Applied Linguistics, 28(4), 556–578. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pomerantz, A., & Bell, N. D. (2011). Humor as safe house in the foreign language classroom. Modern Language Journal, 95, 148–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reddington, E., & Waring, H. Z. (2015). Understanding the sequential resources for doing humor in the language classroom. Humor—International Journal of Humor Research, 28(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz, J. R. (2002). Humor as a pedagogical tool in foreign language and translation courses. Humor—International Journal of Humor Research, 15(1), 89–113. https://doi.org/10.1515/humr.2002.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straehle, C. (1993). “Samuel?” “Yes, dear?” Teasing and conversational rapport. In D. Tannen (Ed.), Framing in discourse (pp. 210–230). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, P. (2000). Playfulness as mediation in communicative language teaching in a Vietnamese classroom. In J. P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 115–131). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarone, E. (2000). Getting serious about language play: Language play, interlanguage variation and second language acquisition. In B. Swierzbin, F. Morris, M. E. Anderson, C. Klee, & E. Tarone (Eds.), Second language acquisition: Selected proceedings of the 1999 second language research forum (pp. 31–54). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarone, E. (2002). Frequency effects, noticing, and creativity. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 287–296. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263102002139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dam, J., & Bannink, A. (2017). The first English (EFL) lesson: Initial settings or the emergence of a playful classroom culture. In N. Bell (Ed.), Multiple perspectives on language play (pp. 245–280). Berlin: Walter de Guyter.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

    David Hann

Authors
  1. David Hann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Hann .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hann, D. (2020). Humorous Play and Its Implications for Classroom Practice. In: Spontaneous Play in the Language Classroom. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26304-1_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26304-1_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-26303-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-26304-1

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation