Page 43 . . . You want your students to genuinely communicate with each other in socially acceptable ways, and at the same time become more aware of cultural traits. Even when the explanation of cultural and sociolinguistic skills is explicit, the students are usually left practicing formulaic speech with other members of the class whose reactions are not representative of the L2 speakers and often not even natural. What is needed in a classroom is a reaction that is real because it is spontaneous. In a classroom setting made up of students from the same linguistic and cultural background, a laugh or a groan is at least a more immediate and sincere response to a speech act than the granting of an invented request or the acceptance of an unowned apology.
Funny stories are part of our linguistic heritage and even follow certain recognized scenarios.
Have you heard the one about the. Tell them that they should practice their jokes on different members of the class, trying to improve their delivery each time. Story jokes At higher levels, the above activity can be followed up with story jokes. Get a set of 6-12 funny stories, roughly one or two paragraphs in length. It's best to avoid ethnic, sexual, and political genres, of course.