Creative manipulations of language have long been recognized as important aspects of second language development. Research has largely examined playful language within adult foreign language classrooms; however, less attention has been given to the pragmatic use of humor among adolescent multilingual learners of English. Drawing on oral…

This study aimed at bringing together the notions of language play and focus on form (FonF) through a cross-sectional investigation of playful language-related episodes (PLREs). PLREs, as a remarkably under-explored aspect of second language (L2) learners' focus on form, peer interaction and language play, were analyzed in an Iranian EFL context…

Teachers' cultural backgrounds can result in challenges in establishing positive teacher-student relationships in cross-cultural settings. The context for this study is based on the everyday practice of teachers and students in the classrooms of diverse Australian schools, where issues of cross-cultural teacher-student relationships have been…

Using the framework of conversation analysis, this study investigated the interactional workings of laughter in task-based interactions. The analysis was drawn from 160 cases of pair work interactions, collected in 2nd-semester Japanese-as-a-foreign-language classrooms. The pair work activities examined in this study are mostly grammar-focused,…

Adult learners of tomorrow will face many challenges that will make it harder to attend classes. The demands of daily living will continue to multiply. Therefore, flexibility is among the keys to providing a quality learning experience for adult learners. This means teachers must constantly innovate to keep the class content fresh and their…

Satirical news is a type of humorous media that mixes parody and satire to critique contemporary figures, events, and situations (Ermida, 2012; McClennen & Maisel, 2014; Peters, 2013). In addition to satirical television news programs like The Daily Show, satirical news websites such as "The Daily Mash," "The Onion," and…

The effects of the incorporation of instructor humor in both the traditional and online classroom settings was examined. Students react to instructor humor in positive ways that demonstrate both increased engagement with the material and increased information recall following the use of instructor humor in lecture. Challenges of instructor and…

Humorous literature for children has been around since Randolph Caldecott first started writing and illustrating picturebooks. In the article, the authors try to understand what makes picturebooks funny and discuss ways to use humor in the classroom. Many examples of humorous picturebooks are cited to provide teachers with resources for their…

With the recent shift from negative psychology to positive psychology in the field of second language acquisition deeper understanding regarding the transfer and construction of positive emotions within classroom interactions is needed. Inspired by the concept of emotion contagion in the field of psychology, the purpose of this study was to…

There is a growing and inexplicable trend among professors to voluntarily fade into the online pedagogical background and allow someone--or something--to do the teaching for them. The professoriate should be concerned about three kinds of online courses that require minimal preparation: YouTube courses, PowerPoint courses, and publisher courses.…

This article presents an innovative technique for teaching the principles of experimental design in a way that is entertaining and engaging for students. Following a lecture on experimental design, students participate in an experiment in which the teacher uses a funny segment from a movie to test the influence of implicit social norms. Randomly…

In writing this review, I draw on the experience of David Greenwood ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 10:5-16, 2015) whose ethnographic study sheds light on his growth as a faculty member who has taught in various settings that are quite different from the culture that he grew up with. I extend his thoughts on ecological mindfulness to encompass a…

There has been little research into how children use language play in writing. The unprompted language play of 36 children was investigated through their writing of a short advertisement. The sample comprised three attainment sub-groups from a larger repeat-design study of persuasive writing in the 9-11 age-range. The writing was analysed using…

Higher education students are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of being successful in oral academic presentations (OAP) in their academic endeavors. For English as a second language students in English-medium institutions, it also provides them with opportunities for language socialization. However, succeeding in the delivery of an…

We all know that they do it, but what do students laugh "about" when learning science together? Although research has shown that students do use humor when they learn science, the role of humor in science education has received little attention. In this study, undergraduate students' laughter during collaborative work in physics has been…