Humor in the Language Classroom: A Review of the Literature

Humor is pervasive in the language classroom. It occurs in the middle of role-plays (Bushnell, 2008), during singing (Cekaite & Aronsson, 2004), in discussions (Pomerantz & Bell, 2011), or when the teacher talks about assignments (Waring, 2013). This study explores the literature on humor in the language classroom and proposes implications for teachers about the use of humor. The features of humor (Cook, 2000) are first presented, and then types of humor in the language classroom are identified. It is commonly accepted that humor functions positively as a safe house, reducing learners’ foreign language learning anxiety. In this safe house, groups can be horizontal and relatively free from supervision (Pratt, 1991). Pomerantz and Bell (2011) insist that jocular talk can provide students with diverse and desirable classroom identities, and it can bring more complicated and creative language use (Canagarajah, 2004; Pratt, 1991). In contrast, humor has its negative functions as well. It can lead to students being distracted. Negative humor may harm others’ feelings and convey negative messages, while being expressed as ‘just joking’ (Bell & Attardo, 2010). It may be used to demean someone or to exclude a certain person. Sometimes, students take subversive identities (Canagarajah, 2004) and reprimand their teachers or make fun of them. Subversive humor acts as a very effective means of challenging the authority in socially acceptable ways (Holmes & Marra, 2002). Many subversive acts were found in Waring (2013). Adult ESL learners were momentarily liberated from classroom rules, pinpointing the teacher’s insufficient knowledge, critiquing the task as being too easy, or demanding that the teacher disclose a personal story. Overall, humor turned out to be helpful in language teaching situations. However, for a better appreciation of humor, language teachers’ help is needed as humor frequently includes cultural connotations. Teachers from some Asian countries are reported to be reluctant to use humor in the class because they are afraid of losing control. For the successful use of humor in the primary school English class in Korea, teachers are advised to provide funny examples, use humorous activities, or teach students interesting cultural information. Based on the findings from the research survey, it is recommended that humor should be lesson-relevant, appropriate to students’ linguistic levels, and used in a careful manner.