Each joke book contains around 4000 words in the foreign language you are learning, the equivalent of a graded reader. But instead of long texts that you may or may not understand, reading jokes means that after every joke (100 times) you should be rewarded with a laugh (or a groan). Importantly, it means you definitely understood the joke in the foreign language. Below each joke, if we felt it was necessary, we added a few bits of vocabulary to help you understand the joke. There may still be one or two words you don’t understand but hopefully you can understand enough to get the joke. (If not, come back after a few weeks of studying and try again).
Clearly reading 4000 words will improve your reading skills in the foreign language. It will expose you to correct grammar, correct spelling and, if you are lucky enough to have an audio version, correct pronunciation. We have also tried hard to recycle new vocabulary. You will notice that new words given as vocabulary at the bottom of the page, often turn up a joke or two later to help you remember your new words.
Being short (the shortest joke is just six words long), it means that the jokes are memorable, so you can tell your friends the jokes, practising the foreign language and entertaining your friends at the same time. Don’t worry if you are not brilliant at telling jokes, the more you tell, the better you will become.
If you happen to be a teacher, your students will love being rewarded with jokes and we have created a lot of activities for teachers to use the jokes in the classroom.