Jokes are Very Important!

Dear friends, it is always very important to laugh. Now maybe more than ever! It's good for our health, both physical and mental. It's good for us and it's good for those around us. What's more, telling jokes it's also very good for improving our English.

Jokes are not used in English classrooms as much as they should be, maybe even not at all, if I dare say. That's a pity because they help us relax, learn new words, phrases and structures and then help us relate them all with specific situations. And that's how we acquire a new language - when we know exactly what we are supposed to say in given situations. It's also a well known fact that we learn or remember something faster when we enjoy it.

I use jokes when I teach all the time. First, I tell my students a joke or two to warm up and help them relax, then I use the same jokes to analyse some of the interesting grammar structures or expressions within them. Then I give them more examples of those structures to practice and finally more real life situations to use them. As you can see, one little joke can be extremely useful. This is a very useful tip for teachers but also for language learners because they can practice on their own anytime, anywhere.

One more very important reason for taking everything I said into consideration: jokes CANNOT be translated literally, at least most of them can't. Jokes are all about meaning, specific structure, mentality and humor of certain groups of people. You cannot translate it into your own language just like that or vice versa. This is very important because then you cannot use the structure of your own language and just translate it literally, you MUST use the structure of your target language. We all know that one of the biggest problems there are when it comes to fluency is not thinking in your target language but rather translating from your mother tongue to your target language. That's where you waste time, lose fluency and become insecure and you take for ever to find the right word...I guarantee that it works.

Even the beginners can use this tip. What do you have to lose? The worst thing that could happen is that you may have some fun and laugh. Worth the risk!

Here are some jokes for you. I hope you'll enjoy them. Stay safe and don't forget to be happy!

Joke 1:

Have you heard about that new restaurant called "Karma"? There is no menu, you get what you deserve.

Joke 2:

Why do the French like to eat snails so much? Because they can't stand fast food.

Joke 3:

There are people who are a living proof that total brain failure does not always lead to physical death.

Have you found any interesting structures or phrases? Givi it a try and have fun!