Learning a language can sometimes be boring, can’t it? Attending lessons, learning vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, doing homework…all of this has its place, but sometimes you want to do something a bit different. So how about learning through comedy? After all, having fun whilst you’re learning is also important!
The question is, how can you find things in English that will make you laugh, and where do you start?
There are of course many comedy shows on British and American TV. However, often people talk very fast, swallow their words and refer to all kinds of in-jokes and cultural references. This can be difficult and frustrating to understand, even with subtitles.
If you’re already quite aware of British news topics and politics, the quiz show “Have I got News for You” on BBC1 could indeed be news for you. Several clips are available to watch here: BBC One - Have I Got News for You - Clips
Another funny quiz show, for which you don’t need much prior cultural or political knowledge, is “Would I lie to You”. The contestants (usually British celebrities, often comedians) tell a story about themselves and then the others have to guess if those stories are true or a lie. The great thing is that the stories are short, and often funny, whether they’re true or not. It’s usually on BBC1 on Friday nights, and you can also watch clips here: BBC One - Would I Lie to You? - Clips
The Great British Bake Off, essentially a cooking competition, is currently hosted by two comedians, and so even though it is a cookery show, you don’t need to be that interested in cooking and it’s funny to watch, whether it’s the comedians or cooking disasters that make you laugh. It's now on Channel 4, which is more difficult to get on TV outside of the UK, so here are some clips from the BBC to keep you going: BBC One - The Great British Bake Off - Clips
A further possibility is to see if you can get English subtitles on what are already your favourite comedy shows in your own language. The main thing here is to make sure you concentrate on reading the subtitles and don’t just listen to your own language. It’s also worth searching on English-speaking news channels, YouTube, NetFlix etc. for something you like.
With all of these options, the golden rule is that if something doesn’t make you laugh, just move on until something else does! Unless your level is C1 or C2 you may also want to put on subtitles (in English!). This is in fact a rather underestimated tool which can really boost your vocabulary and grammar knowledge without you even realising.
If you’re happy to just listen, BBC sounds podcasts or radio channels online could be a good place to start. For reading practise, I suggest going to your favourite English bookstore, whether 'real' or on the internet and look in the comedy section. The added bonus of going to a real shop is that you can look through the books, read a few pages before you decide to buy it and also ask for advice.
Of course in terms of reading, it doesn’t have to be a book. There are millions of blogs and articles out there on the internet. I did a search for ‘Comedy for English learners’ this morning and came up with a lot of possibilities. Two that made me laugh were:
42 Funny English Sayings for Learners to Laugh At | FluentU English
I hope this blog post has given you some ideas. I’d also love to know what you find, and if you want to recommend something to fellow students or teachers, please write in the comments section below.
I leave you with two comedy sketches on YouTube. One is about that ubiquitous question asked all over the world, often by British people: “Do you speak English?” The second video is joking about the differences between British and American English.
Do You Speak English? - Big Train - BBC comedy - YouTube
The Chasers War on Everything - American/English translator - YouTube
Enjoy!
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