Learning English

All episodes 
_____________________________________________________________

Listen to the podcast episode 
_____________________________________________________________

The fear of not getting the joke 

Being in a conversation when everyone starts laughing and you don't know why can be frustrating. Humour is a really hard part of learning a foreign language because there is so much cultural variation. Even if two people share the same first language, they might have grown up with different norms and cultural references which make it hard to share humour. In English, a common form of humour uses wordplay and puns, which require a good knowledge of spelling and pronunciation patterns. 

Try these tips

• Be yourself. Even if the humour varies across cultures, you don’t have to change your sense of humour to fit in.
• You don't need to use complicated language to be funny. Use facial expressions, gestures, experiment with your tone of voice.
• Laugh at yourself when things go wrong. If you say something that doesn’t work and someone laughs, laugh with them! Showing a bit of vulnerability can relax the atmosphere.
• Notice what makes you laugh and try doing the same. 

Next

Learn more from experts and learners in the podcast epsiode:

Discover the latest programmes from BBC Learning English. 

Find other programmes to improve your skills. 

Email us

Do you have experience with English speaking anxiety? What do you think of this series? Send us an email to learningenglish@bbc.co.uk and tell us all about it.