Teaching vocabulary is a big challenge for teachers, and also a huge difficulty for students is to remember the vocabulary items. The main purpose of this study is to create an enjoyable learning and teaching environment to help students revise certain vocabulary items and make students have fun by being creative. In that, memes are trendy…

This paper aimed at examining and comparing the effects of different humor-based strategies (joke, pun, and limerick) on vocabulary learning of EFL learners at intermediate and advanced levels. To this end, 120 EFL learners in a private institute were asked to serve as the participants of the study. They were then divided into two groups according…

The focal point of most investigations into classroom discourse tends to be on the institutionally sanctioned and legitimized on-task exchanges between teachers and students with particular attention to the I-R-F (initiation-response-follow up/feedback) structure. Liminal spaces of interaction such as during the small talk just before the 'lesson…

The recent improvements in technology and their integration in language learning have played a facilitating role in vocabulary acquisition. Quizlet, an online teacher-/student-friendly tool, is one of the leading applications in vocabulary acquisition. Along with the effectiveness of visualization in acquiring vocabulary, humor has been also…

This article proves statistically the effectiveness of humour in the teaching of English and German to Spanish students of foreign languages. The referred lexicon is particularly troublemaking because of the difficulties that such vocabulary poses for Spanish learners of not-Latin-originated languages. The approach followed is a quantitative and…

For many students learning English as a second/foreign language is an uninteresting, dull experience. Quite often teachers present words, sentence patterns, and grammar rules in a very mechanical manner. As a result, people come to think of the teaching of grammar and vocabulary as a monotonous job. But a resourceful, imaginative and creative…

Culture is an indispensable dimension of human life and also foreign language teaching and learning process; and as a part of the current trend, diverse cultural elements are covered in recently published English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebooks. These cultural elements are not limited to the target culture but they cover local and…

Kids love jokes--and teachers and SLPs love fast and easy ways to improve students' phonological awareness. That's why every elementary and middle-school SLP and educator needs this playful, effective activity book, packed with jokes and riddles that increase students' awareness of the phonemes that make up words. The perfect way to avoid "drill…

The authors, former middle and high school English teachers, review the rationale for using humor and fun in the classroom and provide detailed descriptions for teaching practices and activities that confer enjoyment and learning for language arts students. Although fun activities, these methods foster vocabulary development, grammar instruction,…

Four doctoral students and their professor contemplate the value of play in their high school and college classrooms. They discuss their experiences teaching children's books, student illustrations, and excerpts from magazines and newspapers that convey the intricacies of the English language through homonyms, homophones, homographs, and polysemy.…

Stacey Brown energizes high school students with "brain-twisting" writing prompts, word games to hone vocabulary and spelling skills, and art to show complex ideas. Additionally, reading aloud to her class models fluent reading, expands students' vocabularies, builds community, and stimulates student-led discussions about the novel. (Contains 1…

In attempting to assess the effects of humor on vocabulary instruction, an intervention strategy was implemented which sought to compare the results of such instruction with those produced from vocabulary instruction delivered in a traditional, non-humorous vein. To this end, the intervention proceeded thus: an experimental group of seventh-grade…

Presents an innovative approach to teaching vocabulary to high school students. (FL)

Presents a short description with examples of the use of cartoons as a motivational and instructional technique for vocabulary study. (AEA)

Describes how one high school English teacher uses puns on a regular basis to augment his vocabulary reviews. Argues that doing so aids in developing students' vocabulary, since it compels students to pay closer attention and gives many students a chance to display their creative-thinking skills. (SR)