1、本科毕业设计（论文）题 目： Humor-A Dynamic Performance in English Class英语教学中的幽默方法应用学 院： 四川文理学院 专 业： 英语 学 号： 44 学生姓名： 罗 敏 二零一一年八月AcknowledgementsUpon the completion of this thesis, I would like to express my hearty appreciation to all those who have granted me invaluable help. First, I am deeply indebted to Mr.
2、Zhang Fayong and Ms. MuJing, my supervisors, for their engagement and guidance and help while this thesis was being written. I should also convey my sincere gratitude to my classmates, Miss He Baofeng, for her warm support to this paper. Last but not least, special thanks should also go to my parent
3、s, without whose support I should never have fulfilled my studies in this university.AbstractAs we know, most of the college students acquire and master systematical knowledge of English language only via having the English course; whats more, English is the basic obligatory course in university in
4、china. However, many a student find English class so boring and so difficult to learn that they take little interest in English; therefore, they make little progress in English learning. So how to make students English-learning become relaxing and exciting has always been a heated topic in the forei
5、gn language teaching research field. Obviously, many research studies have regarded humor as a good way for English teachers to employ so as to inspire students to think, to imitate and to be creative.Key words: humor, English teaching, principles, functions 摘要目前，英语是中国大学生学习和掌握这门语言的必修科目。然而，很多大学生发现英语课
6、堂非常的枯燥和乏味因而他们失去了对英语学习的兴趣；因此，他们在英语上很难获得进步。所以如何使英语课堂变得轻松而又有趣一直是外语教学研究的重点课题。当然，很多研究已经将幽默作为英语老师用来激发学生思考，模仿，并变得富有创造性的好方法。在这篇论文中，将通过对幽默的理解，幽默可能表现形式的探讨来激发学生的学习英语的兴趣，提升老师在英语课堂中的个人魅力以及形成良好的课堂氛围的幽默方法。同时本文还针对幽默的使用原则以及它在英语教学中的功能进行了阐述。本文并不仅仅是为了呼吁人们能够对幽默在英语中的重要作用有一个很好的理解，同时，希望这篇文章能够给英语教学带来一点新鲜感和教学帮助。关键词：幽默；英语教学；原
7、则；功能Contents1. Introduction错误！未定义书签。2. Demonstration22.1 Definitions of humor22.2 Applications of English class humor32.2.1 Establish the ingenious analogy32.2.2 Use body language错误！未定义书签。2.2.3 Use self-ridicule错误！未定义书签。2.2.4 Take advantage of homophonic method52.2.5 Make full use of context72.3 The
8、 principles of humor in English class72.3.1 The principle of elicitation82.3.2 The principle of moderation错误！未定义书签。2.3.3 The principle of naturalness错误！未定义书签。2.3.4 The principle of practicality错误！未定义书签。2.3.5 The principle of elegance错误！未定义书签。2.4 The functions of humor in English class错误！未定义书签。2.4.1
9、Stimulates the students interest112.4.2 Vivifies the classroom atmosphere122.4.3 Harmonizes teacher-student relationship132.4.4 Improves students personality133. Conclusion错误！未定义书签。Works Cited1Bibliography错误！未定义书签。ivHumora Dynamic Performance in English Class1. IntroductionAt present, English teachi
10、ng is a very important course in college teaching. Most of the college students acquire and master systematical knowledge of English language only via having English course. And the CET4 and CET6 have been acting as two invisible swords on the shoulders of college students. Nowadays, more and more e
11、mployers regard English as a measure of capacity of university graduates. We must break the traditional model of teaching because the teachers and students are to be friends- learn and work together, so that teachers and students can learn from both sides and achieve maximum results with little effo
12、rt. But how to make English classes become lively, interesting and sustain students motivation effectively? For my part, humor is one of the ways of effective teaching. Although the classroom should be a solemn place, it also should be a place full of laughter. A teacher can not only reflect the wit
13、 and agility through his humor, but also can make the classroom atmosphere become lively, thereby narrowing the distance between teachers and students, enhancing students interest and confidence in learning a foreign language. Therefore, teachers should try to use humorous language to attract the at
14、tention of students so that they can learn English better in a relaxing environment. This funny way of teaching can make students accept a lively ideological education, keep the knowledge in mind, and master them in an unconsciously way. With the development of society, language teachers will inevit
15、ably continue to improve their teaching to meet the requirements of new times and new situations, especially in the case of the same teaching material, more should be changed in the old unscientific methods of teaching concept. Because the teachers need to enable students to master the language and
16、to maximize the ease of learning and using, in this way, the students will be trained to meet the new demands in todays society.Humor is one of the most interesting, powerful and significant arts. How to apply this art to our English teaching class? What are the principles of it while adopting the a
17、rt? What are the functions of this art if it is properly used in the classroom teaching? This thesis aims at a tentative analysis of the above-mentioned questions.2. Demonstration 2.1. Definitions of humorBefore answering what is teaching with humor, lets first take a careful look at some understand
18、ings, definitions and interpretations of “humor” from various countries and regions. Table 1: Definitions from different resources. Various resourcesDefinitions refer to humorMerriam-Websters Unabridged DictionaryThat quality in a happening, an action, a situation, or an expression of ideas which ap
19、peals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous.Oxford English Dictionarya. That quality of action, speech, or writing, which excites amusement; oddity, jocularity, facetiousness, comicality, fun. b. The faculty of perceiving what is ludicrous or amusing, or of expressing it in speech, wri
20、ting, or other composition; jocose imagination or treatment of a subject.Longman Dictionary Of Contemporary EnglishThe quality in something that makes it funny or the way that a particular person or group find certain things amusing.WikipediaHumour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive ex
21、periences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.Modern Chinese DictionaryHumor refers to the interesting, funny and meaningful words.Taiwans Chinese Great DictionaryHumor is the one which ridicules with a tone of speech and the irony meaning.Ci HaiHumor is interpreted as a kind of art practice.
22、Its main aesthetic features are characterized with a relaxed, joking and a profound laugh and manifested as the serious and comical attitude that the awareness takes toward the aesthetic object.Correspondingly, from the perspective of teaching, one important special education expert named Hersholt,
23、in his The Art of Teaching defines the humor as a necessary quality and capacity for a good teacher. He specializes in the systematic study of teaching humor (Jiang 168). Unfortunately, he doesnt make a more acceptable definition. Humor, however, is still popular among the educators, domestic or abr
24、oad, because it has the high esthetic appeal and the remarkable teaching effect. I believe that if you want to define something, you must grasp the essential characteristics of it. Otherwise, you may always give the one-sided definition, incomplete or inaccurate. In short, on the basis of the saying
25、s of the numerous schools, I believe that teaching humor is to use some interesting, meaningful, and wise means to teach students the knowledge, the development of capacity. And it is a teaching art form to develop the sense of humor and optimism of students.2.2. Applications of English class humor
26、Today, most teachers and scholars are advocating the use of teaching humor and nearly no one can deny that humor plays an important part in English teaching. There are many, many different applicable ways of class humor and every teacher has his own ways of using humor, so it brings about different
27、kinds of effects. Here are some of the more common ones. 2.2.1 Establish the ingenious analogyIn Longman, you can see the definition: a comparison between two situations, processes that seem similar, or the process of making this comparison. (Longman 57) To make it short, through the vivid metaphors
28、, abstract things can be understood easily so that the students could understand and remember things easily.For example, we all know about Einstein and his theory of relativity. One day, when a group of young students asked him what the theory of relativity is, he answered: “when you sit with a nice
29、 girl for two hours，you think it is only a minute but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute，you think it is two hours. That is relativity.” (Jiang 168)Through the ingenious analogy, the complex theory could be so clear and easy for the students to understand. After hearing this story, everyone wi
30、ll feel the humorous comparison between the beautiful girl and a hot stove. Due to the vivid comparison, the students can get a brief understanding of relativity which is a theory based on the principle that all motion is relative. How wonderful the analogy is! So our English teachers may as well ex
31、plain one certain complex sentence or concept to their students by telling some interesting stories about the famous.2.2.2 Use body language Body language refers to the facial expressions, head movement, eye rotation and gestures of this kind of non-linguistic means. Teachers take advantage of body language to provide students with information or give directions, which helps to trigger students learning enthusiasm and attract their attention on what they have learned. Thus the whole class will be very interesting. I remember one said that once in the classroom, the foreign language teach
