I am far from an expert on humour and would never claim to be.I'm still a relative babe in ESL with so far just two and half years experience.

All I can relate is what for the most part works for me.I also think that in an ideal or perfect world, not a lot of humour would be necessary in the classroom, but the society that we live in today is a breeding ground for short attention spans.That's possibly why rich kids ,whose parents can afford the latest gadgets,(mp3's,computer games, dvds etc.) are often harder to teach.

The best humour is spontaneous.Most of what I use is not pre-planned.A simple illustration of an animal or a man running upstairs in the form of gestures or mimicking can provide comic relief, as well as being an effective teaching aid.

I always use gestures in class, and used creatively they can be very humourus to not just Chinese children but adults as well!Everyone can relate to gestures especially if you put across everyday funny situations.

For instance in the previous Middle School where I taught I was trying to explain to the children what a bill or check(cheque) is in a restaurant.The students couldn't understand as I tried to get them to think of what a customer has to do after they've eaten their meal, but before they leave the restaurant.

I gestured as if I'd just finished a meal in a restaurant and was about to pay for my meal when shock horror, I realise I've left my wallet at home .So I illustrate a man frantically searching his pockets for money,and realising he hasn't any with him ,then looking around furtively ,before making a mad dash for the door.

This had the class in stitches,but also helped virtually all the children to instantly know what I meant!Very enjoyable for everybody,and I thought a much better memory aid for the students than just throwing the Chinese word at them.

This was something I thought of on the spur of the moment ,but then used for all subsequent classes where I was teaching that word.

This is of course hardly ground-breaking stuff.I'm sure many teachers use similar and often even better examples.

Sometimes If I'm talking about the word song or sing ,I sing for a few seconds,sometimes a few words of a Chinese song I know.I find this helpful in building a rapport with my students which I feel is essential.It's true we're not there to make friends with the students but there's a lot to be gained in being friendly to them.

I also mimic Bruce Lee a lot in class.Although this popular kung fu star died more than thirty years ago virtually every Chinese child I've taught in Elementary and Middle School know who he was, (if you mention his Chinese name) and enjoy my poor impersonations of him.

I go into a Bruce Lee fighting stance when a child is not paying attention, i.e doing other homework or talking in class and this light-hearted reaction usually stops the negative behaviour without me shouting or getting angry.

Again hardly ground-breaking and maybe not to everyones cup of tea.As for censoring just use common sense with children(nothing blue)just like anywhere,and take into consideration that often even Chinese adults don't like blue humour in public!I also generally stay clear of religon or politics.

I've just thought of something else I do sometimes.If I ask a Chinese child for their English name and they say Bill for example,I might do an impersonation of Bill Clinton or something.

When I ask some children for their English name, sometimes they might respond with 'Bu shi!',meaning '...don't have..',but I often pretend to take this to mean their name is Bush, and launch into a poor impersonation of the American President.

I try not to make the mistake of joking and fooling around in class to much.I use humour to ADD to my class to make it more presentable and palatable,to get the students to relax and to open and focus their minds.

Although humour is an important tool the real meat of my lessons are the lesson plans.My humour is simply used as a channel to get each lesson across to the students.

Of course it doesn't always work,I have my fair share of days where it all falls apart and I think what the hell am I doing here,but I guess that's part of the life of an ESL teacher!

I'm sorry if anybody thinks the above is inane or a load of twaddle but we all have our different ideas and approaches and anyway for the most part it works for me.

I realise I still have a lot to learn and just like others I'm trying to find better ideas,appproaches and ways to improve my teaching.

Best wishes to all ESL teachers everywhere!