30 ESOL Discussion Questions about Laughter

Discuss the following questions with a partner or small group:

1. What is laughter? Can you spell it? Can you pronounce it? How do you write laughter in your language, e.g. ‘ha ha!’ in English, but ‘Jajajajaja!’ in Spanish?
2. When did you last laugh? Who or what made you laugh? How often do you laugh? What would I need to do to make you laugh right now?
3. Do you like laughing? What is the difference between laughing and smiling?
4. How do we laugh? What happens to our bodies, especially: a) mouth, b) eyes, c) chest, d) diaphragm, e) heart, f) breath? What does laughter: a) sound like, b) look like, c) feel like?
5. Where do you usually laugh? Why? What effect does the environment have on the potential for laughter?
6. What effect would laughter have on the atmosphere: a) at a party, b) at a business meeting, c) in church, d) at a comedy club, e) at a funeral, f) in an exam, g) at a family dinner, h) at the doctor’s?
7. Are you self-conscious about laughing in front of: a) friends, b) family, c) strangers? Why?
8. Is it easier to laugh in a big group e.g. at a comedy club or at the theatre? Would you laugh as much if you were the only person in the audience? If no, why not?
9. Is laughter ever wrong? When is laughter inappropriate? Can it be illegal to laugh?
10. How would you feel if you couldn’t stop laughing and laughed all the time? What would life be like? Is it possible to die laughing?
11. What is the point of laughter? Is there any evolutionary advantage? Does laughter send out useful signals, e.g. that the one laughing is not a threat? Do animals laugh? Do animals find things funny? If not, why not?
12. Can robots laugh? Do you think machines will be able to enjoy our sense of humour in the future?
13. Have you ever laughed till you cried? Have you ever laughed until you couldn’t breathe and thought you might black out, i.e. uncontrollable laughter? What were you laughing at? Do you like that sensation? Why? / Why not?
14. Can laughter be subversive? Can it be used as a weapon? In what situation(s)? Does satire make you laugh?
15. Do you prefer to laugh on your own or with friends? Do you laugh at the same things as your friends and family? Do you believe that laughter is infectious? Why? / Why not? Does the Laughing Policeman song (above) make you laugh?
16. Is there anything that you wouldn’t laugh at? What? Is it possible to laugh when you don’t really find something funny?
17. Do you know anybody who doesn’t laugh very often – or who never laughs? Why is that?
18. Are you good at making people laugh? What are the best ways to make other people laugh? How do you feel when a group of people are laughing: a) because of you, b) at you? What is the difference?
19. What are the benefits of laughter? Is laughter ‘the best medicine’, for example?
20. How would you describe your laugh? Are you a loud, moderate, or quiet laugher? How did you learn to laugh?
21. Describe the difference(s) between these different kinds of laughter: a) chuckle, b) giggle, c) cackle, d) guffaw, e) snigger, f) sneer, g) chortle, h) hoot, i) titter, j) snicker, k) roar, l) snort, m) howl, n) fall about laughing? Do you laugh in all these different ways? In what situations would you laugh like that? Can you give an example of each kind of laughter now?
22. Do you know the meaning of the following idioms about laughter? a) to have a laugh, b) to have the last laugh, c) to get the giggles, d) laughter is the best medicine, e) to be laugh-a-minute, f) he who laughs last laughs longest, g) to laugh your head off, h) to burst out laughing?
23. Do adults laugh at different things to children? Do women laugh at different things to men? If so, why?
24. Do you agree that ‘the couple who laugh together, stay together? Is it important for married couples to have the same sense of humour? Why? / Why not?
25. Do optimistic people laugh more than pessimistic people? If yes, why?
26. Is it possible to change your mood from angry to happy by forcing yourself to laugh, thus releasing the feel-good chemicals endorphins in the brain?
27. Do you make funny noises when you laugh? Do you ever say something immediately after laughing, like ‘Oh no!’ or ‘Oh dear?’ If yes, why?
28. How would you feel if you were walking down the street and heard the following people laugh? a) a baby, b) a group of women, c) a group of teenage boys, d) a lone man, e) a lone woman, f) a lone child? Why? What would be the difference?
29. Do the things you laugh at change as you get older, or remain broadly the same? Why?
30. Do you agree with this quotation from the famous poem ‘Solitude’ by Ella Wheeler: ‘Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone’? What does it mean?