Spontaneous Play in the Language Classroom

This book investigates the importance of humour and play in the establishment of individual and group identities among adult language learners on an intensive business English course. The enclosed setting allows the emergent nature of community building and identity projection to be traced, foregrounding the important role of humorous play in these vital social processes. The book will be of interest to students and researchers of applied linguistics, second language acquisition and humour studies.

Treats the language classroom as a cultural context within which to examine the role of humour in the establishment and building of rapport Explores the agency that adult learners exercise in taking ownership of a target language Focuses on instrumental learners who operate in the international world of commercial and business transactions, where English is the lingua franca

Autorentext

David Hann is a Central Academic Staff Lecturer in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at the Open University, UK. His research focuses on the forms and social functions of humorous language play among non-native speakers of English in a language classroom setting.

Klappentext

"Humorous language play is an ever-present, but rarely examined feature of interaction in language classrooms. In this book, Hann traces the life of playful utterances within the talk of students enrolled in intensive, short-term, business language courses. Empirically grounded and richly detailed, Hann's work demonstrates why language educators and classroom researchers should take non-serious language use more seriously."-- Anne Pomerantz, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
This book shows how classroom language learners, even when of low proficiency and from diverse backgrounds, immediately form their own unique micro-culture. David Hann's meticulous analysis of this process delivers important insights into the language classroom, the functions of humour and language play, and the nature of human interaction and society more generally. Written with great elegance and warmth, this is a book of immense significance to understanding all these areas.

• -- Guy Cook, Emeritus Professor of Language in Education, King's College London, UK

  This book investigates the importance of humour and play in the establishment of individual and group identities among adult language learners on an intensive business English course. The enclosed setting allows the emergent nature of community building and identity projection to be traced, foregrounding the important role of humorous play in these vital social processes. The book will be of interest to students and researchers of applied linguistics, second language acquisition and humour studies.
  David Hann is a Central Academic Staff Lecturer in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at the Open University, UK. His research focuses on the forms and social functions of humorous language play among non-nativespeakers of English in a language classroom setting.

  Inhalt
  Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The crucial and underexplored role of humorous play in the second language classroom.- Chapter 3: The language classroom: a hothouse where play can germinate.- Chapter 4: Exploiting frames for fun.- Chapter 5: Evoking frames through associated language.- Chapter 6: A case study: Overcoming failure in the search for common ground.- Chapter 7: Prior talk: a key resource for play.- Chapter 8: Humorous play and its implications for classroom practice.- Chapter 9: Humorous language play: lessons from the second language classroom.