Abstract:

Introduction:
Despite having being neglected by language teaching research until relatively recently, humour has been considered to be a crucial component of communicative competence (Vega, 1990).The use and comprehension of humour in a Foreign Language (FL) may constitute a difficult task even at advanced stages of FL language learning (Bell, 2011; Vega, 1990). Even though they are significantly scarce in conversational data (Bell, 2009), canned jokes have been recommended by several research as a useful strategy to enhance learning (Deneire, 1995; Medgyes & László, 2001; Medgyes, 2002; Schmitz, 2002). Within this framework, this study examines the degree of joke comprehension in secondary school students of English who have Spanish as first language (L1).

Methodology:
24 students (age range: 13-14 years, 10 male, 14 female) participated in the study. All students had been started studying English since pre-school, but had received no extra English lessons in private language schools or elsewhere. None of them reported to have spent more than two weeks in an English-speaking country. The group was divided into group A and group B. Both groups had the same number of students and the same gender ratio. A series of English jokes was used as part of the experiment. A total of 20 jokes were used in the present study, and the vocabulary contained in those jokes was taught in the previous lessons to avoid lack of comprehension due to vocabulary problems. Group A received a written version of the jokes, whereas the same jokes were presented performed by the teacher in group B. After each joke, several quantitative questions were asked along with to qualitative questions regarding comprehension and humorous effects. Both groups took 45 minutes approximately to complete both questionnaires. In group B, one minute was given to the students after each joke was performed to give students sufficient time to complete each question.

Results:
Students in group B reported increased degrees of comprehension as well as positive humorous effects. No significant differences were found in female and male subjects related to those previous variables. Discussion: the results suggest that even for rigid humorous texts, performance by the teacher may increase both humorous effects and comprehension and may be encouraged as an effective measure to increase positive affect in the classroom over the implementation of purely written jokes, even in the case of canned jokes who are very often read when their audience is a native speaker of the language.

References:
[1] Bell, N. D. (2011). Humor scholarship and TESOL: Applying findings and establishing a research agenda. TESOL Quarterly, 45(1), 134-159. doi:10.5054/tq.2011.240857
[2] Bell, N. D. (2009). Learning about and through humor in the second language classroom. Language Teaching Research, 13(3), 241-258. doi:10.1177/1362168809104697
[3] Deneire, M. (1995). Humor and foreign language teaching. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research,
[4] Medgyes, P. (2002). Laughing matters: Humour in the language classroom Ernst Klett Sprachen.
[5] Medgyes, P., & László, M. (2001). The foreign language competence of hungarian scholars: Ten years later. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE, 84, 261-286.
[6] Schmitz, J. R. (2002). Humor as a pedagogical tool in foreign language and translation courses. Humor, 15(1), 89-114.
[7] Vega, G. M. (1990). Humor competence: The fifth component.

Keywords:

Foreign Language Learning, Humour, Jokes, Receptive Skills.