We have all heard of the proverbial formula: ‘Learning by doing!’ It is one of the classic building blocks in the learning process together with the power of positive affirmation. But why not add to the acquiring of information, the element of fun?
Take a look at what the medical field has discovered about the benefits of laughter. It:
- Lowers blood pressure
- Increases vascular blood flow and oxygenation of the blood
- Gives a workout to the diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles
- Reduces certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline
- Helps the pituitary gland release its own pain-suppressing opiates
- Increases the response of tumour – and disease-killing cells such as Gamma-interferon and T-cells
- Defends against respiratory infections–even reducing the frequency of colds–by immunoglobulin in saliva.
- Improves alertness, creativity, and memory.
And last but not least: laughter increases memory and learning.
In a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humour during instruction led to increased test scores. Laughter is not only an action it is an emotion. According to Mark Gungor in his book The Tale of Two Brains, when you take an event and connect it to an emotion, it is burnt into your memory and is thus stored more effectively into the brain.Humour and creativity work in similar ways, says humour guru William Fry, M.D., of Stanford University – by creating relationships between two disconnected items, you engage the whole brain.
I teach English as a Foreign Language and have adopted into my teaching approach the benefits of laughter and fun and have discovered the success this brings into the classroom and into the learning process. Language isn’t an ‘exact’ science involving only the four basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening; it also crosses over deeper into the right hemisphere of the brain where the emotional realm of confidence and self-esteem are found. I have experienced that by having fun in the classroom students not only learn better but they feel more relaxed, have more confidence and are more involved, thus proving William Fry’s theory of engaging the whole brain.
Of course I am not the only one to have ‘stumbled’ across the success of involving fun in EFL classes (or any other classes for that matter) with interactive games, ice breakers, videos, songs, role play, mime, dance and even stand-up comedy to achieve my goal. Whether it is going over the past simple or learning parts of the body, the principle of ‘having fun’ always applies!
As the saying goes, ‘It’s easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar!’ Here are just a few examples of an endless list of organizations and initiatives in all fields of life that continue to prove that fun and laughter meet with success every time: the Fun Theory believes that the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better is by making it fun to do. They were able to persuade people to choose using the stairs over the escalator. (Check out their video using the link below).
In the medical field the Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe are offering courses in the art of being a clown due to the amazing health benefits and success of laughter.
In the world of business, The Humor Project provides courses to help people get more ‘smileage’ out of their lives and jobs.
I am not saying we should replace a well prepared, informative and methodically structured class for an out of control and unprepared pandemonium of fun and games. But why NOT add the powerful element of humour to ‘burn’ that learning into our brains and have fun in the process?
Bibliography
- The Tale of Two brains, byMark Gungor
- Laughter is the best medicine by Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Centre for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Centre and a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
- Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe
- Piano stairs, TheFunTheory.com Rolighetsteorin.se
- A Better Brain at Any Age (The Holistic Way to Improve Your Memory, Reduce Stress, and Sharpen Your Wits) by Sondra Kornblatt: (Conari Press, 2009) explores how laughter can truly make you feel better.
- The Humor Project by Dr. Joel Goodman
