Humor can be defined as attempting to create positive feelings of amusement or laughter in others. Humor should be used as a teaching technique because it makes lectures more interesting and encourages student participation and expression of opinions. Understanding humor involves both hemispheres of the brain, with the left hemisphere identifying details in jokes and the right hemisphere comprehending and appreciating humor. While humor varies depending on the type of class, it should allow students to feel part of the class and can help reach nervous students and encourage critical thinking.

2. By
Maryam Eskandarjouy
Professor I. Madoyan
First year M.A student
24 November 2012

3. Definition
Humor will be defined as “the attempt to create positive
feelings of amusement and/or laughter in another person.”

5. Humor as a Source of Enjoyment
Humor should be used as a teaching technique because it
makes lectures more interesting and it encourages students to
take part and express opinions. Telling jokes encouraged
students to talk to their teachers and to take part in classroom
discussions/debates.

6. It Is a Cognitive Activity
The understanding of humor seems to be a cognitive activity
that makes use of the entire brain. Humor appreciation uses
both hemispheres in the brain;

8. The left hemisphere, which is responsible for language competence
and logical thought, identifies and recognizes details within the
joke, whereas the right hemisphere, which is more emotional and
interconnected, is responsible for comprehending and appreciating
humor. Humor is also a vital component of encouraging critical
thinking in students.

9. The extent to which one uses humor varies with the type of class one has. When
used properly, humor ought to allow students to feel as part of the class.
It’s a skillful way of reaching out to those students who are too afraid or nervous to
attempt expressing themselves in their second language. For children humor should
be used in small units and frequently to increase attention, for adults, humor shows
little benefit on immediate information acquisition, although humor that is unrelated
or irrelevant to the educational message can be detrimental to learning.
Humor, however, may help in long-term retention of information and in making the
learning experience more pleasurable for older students.

11. As human beings, we have the ability to laugh at others and ourselves, to make jokes, to
add humor to situations which are seemingly without humor, and to be absurd. Humor is
part of everyone’s experience, and those who have no sense of humor would probably not
admit it. Humor has also been used in education. Teachers and educators of all levels and
disciplines have praised the ability of humor to aid the learning process, to help students’
understanding of key points, and to relax students in moments of anxiety and increased
tension.

13. One of the main difficulties surrounding the issue of humor
in education is the multidimensionality of humor. Humor is
at once cognitive, emotive, and psychological.
Differences among people’s personalities, experiences, and
ideas lead to different concepts of what is funny.

15. Someone says "When I enter the classroom, I want to change the
entire atmosphere into one where everyone has fun with the material-even if the material is complex," whereas some educators
unfortunately believe their role is too serious to engage humor or
they look at humor as merely a disrupting factor. However students
believe that it has a positive psychological effect on their learning.

16. Finally I acknowledge that you listened to me
and shared your ideas.