3406. Humor in the Classroom Is Necessary!


When teaching adults we can allow us teachers some sense of humor in the classroom. 

Also with kids, of course. 

At the beginning of last school year I started to teach grown-ups at another school. 

I started firm, cordial though. I started in English all the time of the lesson or closely, but I tried to be cordial anyway. Anyway… I noted they were so tense, so much that I realized I must break the ice. 

Speaking all the time in English – the target language – may be so tense and demanding for the students. So one day I told them in Spanish – our mother tongue – that we were not going to pass public examinations – “oposiciones” in Spanish – and they had a small laugh, also me... 

Well then, it meant a transition or turning point. Since then our relationships have been much closer or cordial, and we both students and I make up a working team. 

Sense of humor is necessary, plus some smiling. Also with kids, but only when the class routines and discipline are set up in the classroom, I would say. / Photo from: paddle-and-trek Alaska Shore Tours. Breaking the ice...

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