Page 14 - 彩虹橋 第四十四期家長通訊

Learning With Fun
Learning With Fun
Learning With Fun

By Mr. Boris Choy

There is a growing consensus that positive emotions can not only motivate students to learn but also make the
actual learning more effective. Emotions like “fun” can help learners retain more information, while negative
feelings like stress or boredom can hinder learning. While learning languages can create wonderful feelings of
discovery and understanding, it can just as easily cause learners to feel intimidated or discouraged. When this
happens, I can understand why students shrink away from the target language or turn inward on themselves.
That is why it is so important to harness positive emotions like joy, delight, pride, and excitement to build a
relaxed and encouraging environment.
I find that one of the best ways to put students at ease is through the use of humour. Not only is humour a
particularly effective way of alleviating stress, but it is also extremely accessible and adaptable. Language
teachers can consider humour when they select materials for their students. Funny storybooks or memorable
characters might be a less direct way of addressing learning objectives,
but they can connect with students much more effectively. Humour can
transcend some barriers created by language proficiency because it can
be appreciated on different levels and to different degrees. In other words,
students may not understand all of the content, but they can still recognise
and appreciate humour by its context. Funny stories can also attract
attention and mitigate tension, conditioning students to be more focused
and engaged in learning. Additionally, the dopamine released from laughter
motivates students and helps with knowledge retention. In the long term,
these kinds of stories can motivate students to read more and even impel
them to practice reading independently.

Choosing tasks that allow for humour or subversion can also benefit student
learning. Enabling students to give funny answers or depict comedic
situations encourages imagination and some degree of rule-breaking,
fostering creativity, open-mindedness, and critical thinking. Furthermore,
students feel more motivated to share their work with their peers so they can
laugh together.

Teachers can also incorporate humour into little interactions with students.
For instance, a teacher might deliberately suggest ridiculous answers to
their own questions or pronounce a tricky word in a comically incorrect way.
They might use exaggerated tones or confused facial expressions to appear
silly or goofy in front of their students. This would not only break the tension
and encourage students to laugh, but it would also help students feel less
frightened of giving their own “wrong” answers. By reframing the stress in a
positive light, teachers can minimise some fear of embarrassment and make
looking silly feel less catastrophic.
Another way to maximise “fun” in the classroom, is to raise the energy level
of learners, curtailing boredom and lethargy. The most direct means of
doing this is to get students out
of their seats and physically
active. Music can be a fantastic
tool in these situations because
it stimulates learners’ senses differently, heightening their
listening and attention. From there, students might exhibit intuitive
responses to the mood, tempo, and dynamics of songs, finding
themselves moving with the music.

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