Humor e língua estrangeira: explorando os gêneros humorísticos no ensino de inglês

Abstract

The aim of this work is to observe to what extent the humorous discourse is explored in didactic books; check which text genres are presented in these books and analyze the objective of the activities based on texts and scenes of humor. Our study begins with some considerations made by two important theorists, showing that there are other intentions beyond the one of provoking laughter. Then, we present the contributions that the use of humor can provide to foreign language classes, defending that humor can be incorporated into English lessons since elementary levels, taking into account the existence of three types of humor: universal, cultural and linguistic (SCHMITZ;2002). Besides, we highlight the differences between types and text genres and point out the main features of some humorous genres, such as: the comics, the comic strip, the political cartoon, the cartoon and the joke. Moreover, we examine didactic books of two different methodologies in order to verify how humor is incorporated into these books. In addition, our research presents the results of a test made by students to investigate which type of humor is the most transparent for them. Finally, we share the English teachers` views on the utilization or not of humorous genres in their classes