USING HUMOUR IN

A LANGUAGE
CLASSROOM

Mirna Vidaković
Faculty of Economics, Subotica, Serbia
1. Define your word, define your world
Define the following:

RUNNING LATTE
UNBRELLA
1. Define your word, define your world
RUNNING LATTE: showing up late to work
because you stopped for coffee along the
way.

I told them I got stuck in traffic, but really

I was running latte.

UNBRELLA: An umbrella turned inside

out by forceful wind.

It won't keep you dry but if you want to,

you can stand under my unbrella-ella-
ella.
 Urban dictionary - Define your world
The definitions on Urban Dictionary are
URBAN DICTIONARY meant to be those of slang or ethnic
culture words, phrases, and phenomena
not found in standard dictionaries. Most
words have multiple definitions, usage
examples, and tags.

http://www.urbandictionary.com
• http://ec.europa.eu/publications/arc
hives/young/01/txt_whatme_racist_
en.pdf

• Humorous and informative pamphlet

that can be used to address
discrimination on grounds of sex,
race, ethnic origin, religion or belief,
disability, age or sexual orientation.

• daily papers, magazines
• www.gocomics.com
• and issues in the news
www.cartoonstock.com
Cartoons are powerful teaching tools and can
•Tell a complex story in a few images
•Provide comment and provoke thought on events
•Give an example of vocabulary related to current
trends and fads
•Provide easily identifiable characters to form the
basis for sketches
•Show culture in action with the ways that men or
women are behaving and are expected to behave
•Comment on and illustrate a whole range of issues
like racism, teenage relationships, sexism, ageism,
family relationships.
Lavery, 2011
Advertising slogans
What do these slogans advertise?

1. The byte into an apple.

2. Every bubble’s passed its fizzical.
3. Get your tingue in a twost.
4. You’ll find there’s no Camparison.
5. Earth – that’s what you would eat if you lived on Mars.
6. Social networking since 1873.
 Advertising slogans
1. The byte into an Apple. (Apple computers)
2. Every bubble’s passed its fizzical. (Corona)
3. Get your tingue in a twost. (Typhoo)
4. You’ll find there’s not Camparison. (Campari)
5. Earth – that’s what you would eat if you lived on Mars. (Mars)
6. Social networking since 1873. (Heineken)

• How many meanings do they convey? What are they?

• How is that achieved?

• Which slogans do you like the most? Why?

 Metaphors
“Metaphor is such a powerful
conceptual tool, it is only to
be expected that it is widely
used in advertising, where
one of the main aims clearly
is to establish connections
between different areas of
experience, either for the
purpose of transferring
features or for creating an
effect that attracts attention.
(Lundmark 2005 :40).
 We know drama

“A dramatic surprise on a quiet square“

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw

•What is the promotion for?

•Why has this sort of promotion been used?
 We know drama

Would you push the button?

 Advertisements
What can we do with ads:

•study language
•study and discuss culture, society,
values
•analyze ads as a piece of visual art
•use ads to develop all language skills
•use them to enhance students’ • www.adsoftheworld.com
motivation and creativity • www.coloribus.com
• www.advertlog.com
• www.advertnews.com
Through the looking glass

• Rare voluntary species for extinction applies

• of ebooks Rise children’s traditional threatening Google skills
• Starbucks first to coffee world’s “hands-free” launch
• New glasses you never real have mean to see facebook a person
again
• person event attends concert attempting Young without to record
entire on mobile rock phone
• launch McDonalds for eaters to “Unhappy Meal” binge
• discuss some interesting ideas that have come up
• vote on the most amusing story
• discuss the link between the title and the story with the real life
events or situations

• discuss the language of headlines

• investigate the language of news

“Using Newspapers in the Classroom”, Paul Senderson

www.newsbiscuit.com “Articles and features range from satirical

www.theonion.com takes on current affairs, to various silly
www.njuz.net and bizzare ideas”
Humour :
• is a good vehicle for providing authentic
cultural information
• builds bridges between cultures
• practices language items in genuine contexts
• brings students closer together
• releases tension
• develops creative thinking
• provides memorable chunks of language
• reinforces previously learned items
• generates a happy classroom
• enhances motivation
• enriches textbook-based courses
• introduces a refreshing change from routine language-learning
procedures
“Laughing Matters” by Péter Medgyes (2002)
Thank you for your attention.

vmirna@tippnet.rs