Findings from Phase 1, Stage 1 help make a decision on a collection of the English canned jokes for the proposed authentic materials seen in merging findings (Figure 3.7).
Figure 3.7: Merging findings for authentic materials sellection
Needs for language skill development; Agreement on learning English jokes
Joke types and topics; The best time for jokes on tours;
Ways to tell jokes on tours
Difficulties in
comprehending and telling English jokes
NEEDS
CRITERIA
STRATEGIES
Syllabus of the authentic materials
3.1.2.1. Target situation and learning needs
Results of the cohorts‘ perceptions in questionnaires, interviews and facts from observations were merged to draw out the target situation needs and learning needs of English jokes (Table 3.2).
Table 3.2: Needs of learning humour
(1) Target situation needs (2) Learning needs Why is the language of humour needed?
- The students learn jokes and telling jokes for use in their job of tour guiding.
Why are the learners taking the course?
- The students need to recognize, comprehend and appreciate humour in English jokes.
- The students desire to improve the language skills and knowledge of humour and cultures.
How will the language of humour be used?
- Students will be provided with humour capacity and be able to tell jokes to English-speaking people in their guided tours.
How do the learners learn the humour in English jokes?
- They will read and listen to English jokes and also tell jokes and know how to tell joke appropriately.
- The learning method focuses on the three skills: speaking, listening and reading.
What will the content of language of humour area be?
- Affiliative or self-enhancing humour style is suitable for using in class and the job of tour guiding.
- They can learn the first three simple types of verbal humour: incongruous word,
What resources of the English jokes are available?
- Canned jokes at elementary and pre- intermediate level: short and about 200 words long.
- Jokes can be found from many sources:
reference books, joke books, internets,
sentence and discourse similar to linguistic, cultural and reality-based jokes in the form of funny short stories, riddles and one-and- two liners.
friends'
- The media helps the learning consist of visual aids, cartoons, pictures, hand-outs, newspapers, magazines, audio, video, etc.
- The students have opportunities to tell jokes with foreigners in class androle playactivities such as sightseeing, country, island and city tours.
- The students learn jokes in pairs, groups with real-world and pedagogical tasks.
Who will the learner use the language of humour with?
- The students tell jokes with both native speakers and non-native speakers.
- The students will tell jokes to foreign tourists who have different jobs as experts, doctors, teachers, engineers, students, etc.
Who are the learners?
The students are TG undergraduates who have learn English for tourism and B1 English Level of the NFRSFLC.
Where will the language of humour be used?
The language of humour will be used on tourist buses, at some tourist attractions, at tourist intervals, at welcoming time.
Where will the course take place?
The classes are sometimes indoors and sometimes outdoors.
It can be a training program or integrated with another program.
When will the language of humour be used?
- Language of humour will be used appropriately in speaking time of the travel with foreign tourists.
Whenwill the course take place?
- It can be a full-time course which lasts in one or two credits between 12 and 15 hours.
3.1.2.2. Criteria and strategies for authentic materials selection and teaching
Data from the difficulties in comprehending and telling jokes resulted in criteria and strategies to guide the syllabus of the materials (Table 3.3 and Table 3.4).
Table 3.3: Criteria for selecting the authentic materials
1 Suitability
- Joke topics: properly used in classroom and in tourism - Joke language levels: elementary and pre-intermediate
- Joke length: one-two liners, quizzes, less than 300 word episodes
2 Exploitability
- Culture: holiday, college, work, sport, horse-riding, absentmindedness
- Ambiguities: linguistic and propositional - Ethnicity: locality, religion, tourism
- Source: readings, cartoons, audios, videos, English-speaking natives
3
Readability
- Satisfaction: good for training curriculum; communicative and appropriate for tour guiding
- Variety: various and popular to college students and tourism - High quality: authentic jokes written by and for Engilsh-speaking natives
- Logic: word-based, culture-based and reality-based jokes
Table 3.4: Strategies for selecting the authentic materials
1 Orderliness Recognition–Comprehension–Agreement–Appreciation–Reciting 2 Cognition - Making sense of linguistic, cultural and universal jokes
- Being aware of cultures and social lifestyles - Problem-solving activities
3 Authenticity - Authentic joke texts
- Authentic tasks: Real-life tour guiding situations - Authentic teaching and learning sources: videos, audios
With reference to the needs for learning comprehending English jokes, a system included Recognizing, Comprehending, Agreeing, Appreciating and Reciting as strategies for teaching and learning process. Cognitive learning theory was applied following the Cognitive-perceptual processes in humour (Introduction, definition 7.3 ).
3.1.2.3. Teaching methodology guideline for the proposed authentic materials
A guideline for teaching the proposed authentic materials was formulated from the needs, criteria and strategies. Following is a brief of some essential points.
(1) Teaching methods
Learning cognitive theory influenced the teaching methods by which EFL tour guide students ought to make sure of making sense of the humour in joke texts, each time problem-solving activity should go through with Why-questions and readings on cultures were read as assignment. Thus, the teaching methodologies applied in the intervention were Communicative Language Teaching, Teaching through Authentic Materials, and Task-based Language Teaching (See Appendix 22).
Communicative language teaching was embedded into the teaching and learning process so that there was the interaction between the students and the user of English jokes and collaborative interpretation of the humour of English jokes. An encouragement was taken up for negotiation of the humorous points among the students and his or her partner for comprehension.
Task-based language teaching was put into operation for building learning tasks for linking the relation of cultural features with the joke content. Thus the learners' own personal experience in interpreting the humour in English jokes was enhanced by the activities of sharing jokes with class. The authentic materials were exploited with English jokes written by and for English people through audios, videos, cartoons, pictures and delivered by native speakers as co-teachers in the classroom.
(2) Task stages
The design of a task-based lesson involves consideration of the objectives of a lesson that had a task as its principle components. The materials consisted of six
sessions that followed a general task design for the teaching and learning in the classroom. Each lesson was designed as a task following three phases: pre-task, during task and post task (Ellis, 2006). The factors and procedures for task design are described in Table 3.5.
Table 3.5: Task procedure
Task Factor Procedure
Pre-task * Framing the activity (e.g.
establishing the outcome of the task)
* Planning time
* Number of participants
* Class setting
* Group setting
- The students are introduced to the idea of a balloon discussion and then express their comprehension of the jokes.
- Class is set up with group working:
round table, group of four students - Each joke lasts 5 minutes for an activity.
- Brainstorming the topic During task * Activity
* Learning materials
* Time pressure
* Role-playing
- Students are allowed to complete the task in a set time limit.
- Students can be permitted to keep pictures or cartoon when they explain or deliver a joke.
- Students are allowed to watch a video and discuss and pose questions to discover the culture of the joke.
- Students communicate with a native speaker about the culture involving the joke.
- Students recite the funny point of he jokes.
- Students play role and recite jokes.
Post task * Number of participants
* Learner report
* Consciousness-raising
* Problem-solving
* Repeated task
* Feedback
* Students give remarks on the funny points of the jokes.
* Students select good ambiguities for the jokes.
* Students report the features of linguistic ambiguity, culture or social life of western people.
* Students discuss the simulating acts.
(3) Simulation and discussion
Simulation was applied in each unit when the students comprehended the jokes of the unit and come to the part of Enjoy Yourself. The students were sometimes devided into two groups of ten students and sometimes into three groups. Teacher initiated a situation that was alike the real-life one and brainstorming was carried out in the group so that the students could imagine what they were going to do, who they were going to tell jokes, where and when they were going to be. Then the students played role of tour guide telling jokes and tourists hearing the jokes.
(4) Native speakers and students interaction
The presence of native speakers in classroom of learning to comprehend humour in English jokes was an important element of authentic materials exploitation because it attracts students' attention and inspired them to the lesson. They were genuine users of the English language who mostly understood funny points and could laugh at every of the English jokes. Communicating with foreigners, the students could learn many daily activities which took place in the western society, also improved their speaking and listening skills and above all they could laugh with what the western people laughed in English jokes because they were real evidence for appreciating humour in English jokes. They described the cultural activities on the videos, cartoons and explained the funny points in the jokes.