In your previous post,you mentioned teaching is a serious business.

It IS! However life itself is very serious,is it not?.Yet humour plays a very huge part in our everyday life.Very few people walk around never smiling or joking,and saying 'life is a serious business so I should never joke'.

So it follows that just because teaching is a serious business it doesn't mean we have to constantly be hard and po-faced in the classrooms.Some people say, you have to be crazy to teach esl.If we never laughed or smiled I think we'd all go around the twist ,and the students too!

I'd like to point out that I am a teacher(although all my students might not agree),not a Comedian or Entertainer(many students would agree with that one,though!).However,I'm also not the sergant Major authoritarian type school master.

I fit somewhere in the middle of the two above extremes ,and I think most esl teachers do as well.
I agree with TAO ,I feel that humour can be likened to an important indispensable tool that a craftsmen would never go to work without.This tool relaxes students,opens up their minds and gets their attention.I think everyone will agree if we find anything amusing and fun it gets our attention and focus much more easily than anything else.

When an Elementary School teacher does something as simple as impersonating a Chicken, it more than anything else helps the students to remember what a Chicken is.Whan they laugh at something they often remember it.

It's obvious that we have many factors to consider when teaching esl.For instance our approach will differ according to, for instance age,grade,ability,nationality,wether the students are motivated or generally unmotivated and numerous other factors.This means a teacher of esl has to be flexible and unrigid in his or her approach.

Of course all teachers have different personalities and ideas.We are not clones and I think none of us want to be!

That's why I thinks it's important for us to respect each others uniqueness and be willing to share and learn from each other without being dogmatic in regards to teaching esl.Our personalities are such a large part of us that it's almost impossible to leave them outside of the classroom.

I think it's this human factor that helps me appreciate the role of humour in the classroom particularly in regard to children.Children are by nature very playful and energetic,so instead of supressing this energy ,why not control and channel it and use it to focus childrens vigour into active participation in the classroom activities? I feel the end justifies the means!

I often do this by playing games.It's amazing how many unattentive ears and silent mouths can be amazingly transformed into razor sharp hearing and a classroom full of students who are going crazy to speak the target language.I find this particularly effective with Chinese teenagers because they are fiercely competitive! I'm not saying games should be used all the time ,but used in the right way they can be very effective!

Every time I enter a Middle School classroom I have a topical ,structured lesson plan.I do exercise authority in the classroom.The students know I'm there to TEACH ENGLISH!.I strive to find the right balance in the classroom,taking into consideration the different factors I mentioned earlier.

Humour plays a huge part in life.In turn a large amount of humour is expressed through COMMUNICATION.So it follows that the esl classroom is a natural breeding ground for humour,particularly an oral English and listening class!.Why not use that to our advantage?

Humour has the ability to invigorate us and make us feel good about life.If we often use it in a correct and balanced way in the classroom, then both students and teachers will enjoy their 'work',and will grow and prosper in the classroom together!