Halloween Jokes for ESL Students

I have a list of silly Halloween jokes. Since I teach ESL to adults, this list of Halloween jokes is not usually an integral part of any of my lessons. However, if we have time during our lesson, and if the moment seems right, I pull out the list.

The great thing about some jokes is that they provide an opportunity to introduce new vocabulary, idioms and slang. For example, one of the jokes is:

Q. Why shouldn't witches lose their tempers?
A. Because they will fly off the handle.

Here's an opportunity to teach my ESL students two new ways to talk about someone becoming very angry:

(1) to lose one's temper,
(2) to fly off the handle

Another joke:

Q. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A. Frostbite.

This allowed me to teach two new vocabulary words to most of my ESL students: (1) frost, and (2) frostbite.

Humor is one of the more difficult things for English language learners to understand. So much of our humor is based on cultural references and wordplay. It's a great way to teach vocabulary and, also, for an ESL student to know that he or she is really making progress (at least in some areas).

Of course, humor is subjective. Even if someone understands everything about the joke, he or she may still not think it's funny. That's another story...

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ESL Speakers and Understanding Humor

One of the more difficult things for ESL speakers to master is humor. Aspects of the English language (or any language, for that matter) that make humor difficult include: different definitions for the same word, different stress on a word can make the meaning different, vocabulary limitation, grammar tenses, etc. Just about all the things that an ESL student must learn to read, write, speak and understand English are necessary for ESL learners to, for example, understand a joke told in English.

However, in addition to the language itself, there are also cultural references that the ESL student must know and understand to be able to understand a joke or other humor.

When an ESL speaker does finally start to understand humor in English, then he or she will know that he or she is making progress.

Of course, I'm not addressing the fact that different people, even speakers of the same language and from the same culture, just may not agree about what is funny.

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Pizza and ESL Teachers-A Joke

I came across another ESL-related joke today.

Q: What's the difference between a large pizza and an ESL teacher?

A: A large pizza can feed a family of four.

Do you have any ESL related jokes? I'd love to hear them. You can send them to me at the email link on the right of this page, or submit them through the comments link.

Thanks!

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English Teachers, Pronouns, and a Joke

I came across an old grammar joke on an English forum I visit regularly (it's listed under "Resources I Use"). A reader asked which is correct: "It is I" or "It is me."

Grammatically, the correct answer is "It is I." Common usage, and therefore the one I use, is "It's me."

Here's the joke:

St. Peter (at the Pearly Gates of Heaven): Who is it?

Voice: It is I!

St. Peter: Go to hell, we already have all the English teachers we need!

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