In which stage do learners often misunderstand jokes in English?

Learners often misunderstand jokes in English during the Speech Emergence stage. At this point, students are beginning to develop their language skills but may still lack a full understanding of nuances, cultural references, and idiomatic expressions often used in humor. Their vocabulary is expanding, but they are not yet able to grasp the subtleties and wordplay that jokes often require.

In contrast, during the Early Production stage, learners might still be working on basic sentence structures and vocabulary, making it less likely for them to engage with humor. In the Intermediate Fluency stage, students generally start to understand more complex language elements, including some humor, while Advanced Fluency typically indicates that learners have a much better grasp of the language, including the ability to understand and appreciate jokes fully. Thus, misunderstandings related to humor are most prevalent in the Speech Emergence stage.