The functions of memes in the classroom

Reddy et al. (2020) claim that it has been observed that students approve of the use of memes in the classroom. Not only have memes been used in class for teaching, but they have already been included in test papers as well. The implementation of memes and technology in the classroom is necessary, according to Reddy et al. (2020), because the attention span of young people has drastically decreased. The cause for that is mainly technology itself, for example, short video clips that only require attention for a few seconds or minutes. As a result, students struggle with concentrating on old teaching tools like the blackboard or boring PPT. In contrast to these old tools, “memes are proven as a best supportive tool” (Reddy et al., 2020, p. 117) for teaching, as well as learning, due to the fact that memes do not require a long attention span.

The reason for that is that memes mainly consist of simple pictures with a short text. Therefore, their content is not very complex and in many cases quickly and easily understandable. In other words, the simplicity of memes in regards to content and illustration is a huge advantage when it comes to teaching and learning, as they do not challenge the students’ poor attention span and they might even render concentration a little easier. What is meant by that is that, while some memes might even be a little challenging and difficult to understand, the act of looking at a meme and trying to understand it, is not comparable to the act of looking at a blackboard and trying to figure out the meaning of the presented text. Possible reasons for that are not only the different amounts of content, meaning that looking at a meme takes less time than looking at a full-written blackboard, but also the fact that memes are usually accompanied by a humorous element, which facilitates the dealing with these tools. In fact, Boa Sorte (2019) reveals that memes can simplify the understanding of complex concepts and Reddy et al. (2020) lay great store on stressing that memes do not solve the problem of complexity of a topic though, they only aid in dwelling on the topic in a simpler way.

The potential seriousness that is sometimes hidden in memes is also declared by Mina (2019), who says that there is more to memes than stupid and senseless contents though, which is what the term is usually associated with. Boa Sorte (2019) says that memes often hide symbolic or cultural values that may not become apparent immediately. The Coffin Dance Meme (KnowYourMeme, 2021) perfectly displays how a meme can inform its audience about cultural values, traditions and rituals. The meme shows four pallbearers, who are dancing while carrying a coffin. This depicted ritual is considered a cultural phenomenon from Ghana. The meme gained particular popularity in March 2020, when it was mainly used in Fail edits. Those Fail clips always implied that the person in the Fail clip had died, which is clearly not the case. The adding of the video of the dancing pallbearers after a short fail video clip simply serves as an indication for a risky but funny mishap (KnowYourMeme, 2021). Before the huge success of this meme, presumably few people knew about this Ghanaian tradition. After its great diffusion everyone knew about this extraordinary ritual. The spreading of this meme an d the meme itself serve as an excellent example for the possible expansion of cultural knowledge through memes.

By informing oneself, or, as a teacher, by informing students about the cultural background of this meme, the hidden cultural meaning of this meme, which is implemented in a humorous context, can be discussed. The same can be done with other memes, which contain cultural information that might not become apparent when looking at it for the first time, too. Therefore, when using memes in the classroom, it is the teacher’s role to reveal and deconstruct these hidden meanings of a meme and guide the students into recognizing the sense of a meme (Boa Sorte, 2019).

Besides the deconstruction of memes in regards to cultural aspects, which ideally yields an expansion of cultural knowledge, Harshavardhan et al. (2019) state that memes, when exhibiting grammatical puns, can also promote the acquisition of grammatical structures and the complexities of grammar. Therefore, people can benefit from memes on a linguistic level too. In section 2.9.6, I will provide an example of how students can linguistically benefit from memes by focusing on the tenses that are being used or other grammatical structures that can be perceived in the meme and hence be discussed. Harshavardhan et al. (2019) further explain that culture and language are closely connected and stress the importance of recognizing the connection between these two fields. The acquisition of a language does not only involve the learning of grammatical structures etc., but also the culture of that language. Thus, it is important to focus on both, language and culture, and memes appear to be an instrument that can aid the knowledge expansion of both. They define the internet as “an amalgamation of all the cultures of the world” and “a platform for cultural exchanges of which memes is a

contemporary example” (Harshavardhan et al., 2019, p. 45). They compare the sharing of memes to the sharing of cultures and equate the two.

Not only do memes contain hidden cultural information as well as linguistic structures such as grammatical puns or phrases though, but according to Boa Sorte (2019) they can also give teachers, as well as students, the possibility of looking at events from different perspectives and discuss the different point of views. A meme that describes a specific situation, such as, for example, the Socially Awkward Penguin meme that describes awkward siuations, offers numerous forms of interpretation, as attitudes and point of views vary and cannot be generalized. While someone might consider a certain situation awkward and unpleasant, another person might have a rather indifferent and unconcerned attitude towards it. Therefore, such memes offer topics for discussion, which ideally leads to social interaction among the students (Recuero, 2007 in Boa Sorte, 2019). Teachers can discuss the presented situations in class and hence spark a debate between the students in class. A discussion should serve the purpose of shedding light on different opinions and point of views. As a teacher, it is particularly important to address the topic of diversity and to make students aware of the importance of acceptance in regards to point of views that might diverge from one’s own opinion. Memes that leave room for interpretation and which offer different perspectives can aid students’ personal growth and consciousness in regards to acceptance of and expression of opinions. Furthermore, they are particularly advantageous in language classrooms because they give the students the chance to practice their L2, L3 through discussion (Boa Sorte, 2019). Boa Sorte (2019), who refers to Menezes de Souza, who stresses that not everyone reads and understands a text in the same way, emphasizes the existence of various divergent perspectives. Therefore, everyone is responsible for their own interpretations of a text. In other words, the meaning of a text does not only depend on the author, but also on the reader. Particularly in a classroom it is important to make students aware of this broad interpretation possibility because otherwise the “attention to semantic aspects (DÍAZ, 2013) will not make sense” (Boa Sorte, 2019, p. 59). Taking into consideration the abovementioned, this can help enrich the learning atmosphere and broaden the students’ horizons.

Memes contributing to the acquisition of knowledge as well as social competences explains why Harshavardhan et al. (2019) claim that they have become a potent “weapon”. Politicians already use this tool to advertise themselves and gain young people’s votes. Thus, there is no reason for teachers to not implement this useful instrument in their classrooms as well and increase the probability of a better, more relaxed and effective teaching and learning environment. Memes being such a huge part of people’s and particularly young people’s lives

would create the humor needed in the classroom to support higher participation, increasing information retention and a more relaxed atmosphere (Harshavardhan et al., 2019). Reddy et al. (2020) further reveal that the use of memes does not confine itself to politics and education though. Memes can nowadays be found in advertising and marketing and many other sections as well (Reddy, 2020).

The following table provides a summary of the advantages and functions of memes in the classroom:

Advantages Functions

 Simplified presentation and addressing of topics

 Requires attention for a very short amount of time

 Humorous (yields facilitated attention and information retention, more relaxed atmosphere and more fun)

 Provide information about cultures, rituals, traditions

 Raise awareness of and shed light on the importance of the

communication and acceptance of different viewpoints

 Introduce students to language and linguistic structures (grammar, puns, phrases etc.)