Potent Roles of Humor in EFL Classes in Higher Education: An Exploratory Study of Lebanese Perspectives
Keywords:
Humor, EFL, Lebanon, Higher Education
Abstract
This paper focuses on scrutinizing the attitudes and opinions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors and learners on the use of humor in higher education in Lebanon as a pedagogical tool in classroom contexts. It is used in building a harmonious relationship between instructors and students, lowering affective barriers to learning, keeping students attentive to class activities, developing creativity and increasing instructional effectiveness as well as students’ learning. It also aims to describe the instructors’ experiences in employing it in their classrooms and to determine the students’ perspectives on its potent roles in learning. In this exploratory study, a mixed-method design and a convenient sampling of participants were utilized. A total of 13 EFL instructors, working at 1 public and 4 private universities in Lebanon, and 86 EFL students participated in the study. To describe and quantify their perceptions of the potent roles of employing humor in EFL classes, two online surveys of two sets of questions each, including closed-ended and open-ended, and four focus group discussions were administered. The overall qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data indicated that Lebanese EFL instructors and students have positive attitudes towards integrating humor as a pedagogical tool and as a fundamental part of the teaching strategies in EFL higher education classes. This is because it creates an open communication climate, captures students’ interest in the subject matter, boosts attention, reduces anxiety, makes the instructor more approachable, and yields better instructor evaluation. The findings of this study also revealed the need to train teachers to use humor artfully.
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References
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https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2010.496867
7. Baysac, P.E.G. (2017). Laughter in class: Humorous memes in 21st century learning. Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), 6(2), 249-263.
8. Berwald, J.-P. (1992). Teaching French language and culture by means of humour. The French Review, 66(2), 189-200.
9. Bolarinwa, OA. (2015). Principles and methods of validity and reliability testing of questionnaires used in social and health science researches. Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal, 22, 195-201. https://doi.org/10.4103/1117-1936.173959
10. Booth-Butterfield, S. & Booth-Butterfield, M. (1991). Individual differences in the communication of humorous messages. Southern Communication Journal, 56(3), 205-218.
https://doi.org.10.1080/10417949109372831
11. Bryant, J. & Zillmann, D. (1988). Using humor to promote learning in the classroom. Journal of Children in Contemporary Society, 20(1-2), 49-78. https://doi.org/10.1300/J274v20n01_05
12. Bryant, J., Comisky, P. W., Crane, J. S., & Zillmann, D. (1980). Relationship between college teachers' use of humor in the classroom and students' evaluations of their teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(4), 511-519. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.72.4.511
13. Chiasson, P.E. (2002). Using humor in the second language classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, 8(3).
14. Creswell, J. W. & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
15. Davies, A. P. & Apter, M. J. (1980). Humor and its effect on learning in children. In P. E. McGhee & A. J. Chapman (Eds.), Children's humor (pp. 237-254). New York: Wiley.
16. Englert, L. M. (2010). Learning with laughter: Using humor in the nursing classroom. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(1), 48-49.
17. Fadel, S. A. & Al-Bargi, A. (2018). The use of humour in EFL classrooms: Comparative conversational analysis case study. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 9(2), 262-282.
https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol9no2.18
18. Frymier, A. B.& Wanzer, M. B. (1999). Student perceptions of teacher humor use in relationship to learning and motivation: Examining appropriate and inappropriate teacher humor. Paper presented at the National Communication Association convention in Chicago, Illinois.
19. Frymier, A. B. & Weser, B. (2001). The role of student predispositions on student expectations for instructor communication behavior. Communication Education, 50, 314-326.
20. Garner, R. L. (2006). Humor in pedagogy: How ha-ha can lead to aha! College Teaching, 54(1), 177-180.
https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.54.1.177-180
21. Gonulal, T. (2018). Investigating the potential of humour in EFL classrooms: An attitudinal study. European Journal of Humour Research 6(1), 141–161.
https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2018.6.1.gonulal
22. Goodboy, A., Booth-Butterfield. M., Bolkan, S., & Griffin, D. (2015). The role of instructor humor and students’ educational orientations in student learning, extra effort, participation, and out-of-class communication. Communication Quarterly,63(1), 44-6.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2014.965840
23. Gorham, J. & Christophel, D.M. (1990). The relationship of teachers’ use of humor in the classroom to immediacy and student learning. Communication Education, 39(1), 46-62.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529009378786
24. Halcomb, E. J. (2018). Appraising mixed methods research. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in health social sciences (pp. 1051–1067). Singapore: Springer.
25. Hativa, N. (2001). Teaching for effective learning in higher education. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
26. Huss, J. & Eastep, S. (2016). The attitudes of university faculty toward humor as a pedagogical tool: Can we take a joke? Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education, 8(1), 39-65.
27. James, D. (2004). A need for humor in online courses. College Teaching, 52 (3), 93-94. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.52.3.93-120
28. Jones, G. (2014). Humor to the rescue: How to make introductory economics an appealing social science for non-majors. American Journal of Business Education, 7(2), 151-156.
https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v7i2.8474
29. Komayha, L., Moukarzel, D., & Daccache, S. (2018). Teachers’ perceptions of secondary students’ motivation to learn English in Lebanese public schools: Two case studies. International Journal of Education and Research, 6(7), 111-120.
30. Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Prentice Hall International.
31. Lems, K. (2011). Pun work helps English learners get the joke. The Reading Teacher, 65 (3), 197–202.
https://doi.org/10.1002/TRTR.01027
32. Lucas, T. (2005). Language awareness and comprehension through puns among ESL learners. Language Awareness, 14 (4), 221–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410508668838
33. Lu’mu, Cahyadi, A., Ramli, M., Ruslan, & Hendryadi (2023). Perceived related humor in the classroom, student–teacher relationship quality, and engagement: Individual differences in sense of humor among students. Heliyon, 9(1), E13035.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13035
34. Mantooth, J. D. (2010). The effects of professor humour on college students’ attention and retention. [Doctoral dissertation, Auburn University].
35. McNeely, R. (2016). Using humor in the classroom: Laughter has the power to fuel engagement and help students learn. NEA.
http://www.nea.org/tools/52165.htm
36. Neuliep, J. W. (1991). An examination of the content of high school teacher’s humor in the classroom and the development of an inductively derived taxonomy of classroom humor. Communication Education, 40(4), 343-355.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529109378859
37. Sadowski, C. J., Gulgoz, S., & LoBello, S. G. (1994). An evaluation of the use of content-relevant cartoons as a teaching device. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 21(4), 368-370.
38. Scott, T. M. (1976). Humor in teaching. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation, 47(8), 18.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00971170.1976.10612332
39. Skinner, M. E. (2010). All joking aside: Five reasons to use humor in the classroom. Education Digest, 76(2), 19-21.
40. St-Amand, J., Smith, J. & Goulet, M. (2023). Is teacher humor an asset in classroom management? Examining its association with students’ well-being, sense of school belonging, and engagement. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04481-9
41. Torok, S., McMorris, R., & Lin, W. (2004). Is humor an appreciated teaching tool? Perceptions of professors’ teaching styles and use of humor. College Teaching, 52 (1), 14-20.
42. Trachtenberg, S. (1979). Joke telling as a tool in ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 13(1), 89-99. https://doi.org/10.2307/3585979
43. Wagner, M.& Urios-Aparisi, E. (2011). The use of humor in the foreign language classroom: Funny and effective? Humour: International Journal of Humour Research, 24(4), 399–434. https://doi.org/10.1515/humr.2011.024
44. Wanzer, M. (2002). Use of humor in the classroom: The good, the bad, and the not-so funny things that teachers say and do. In J. L. C. J. C. McCroskey (Ed.), Communication for Teachers (pp. 116-126). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
45. Wanzer, M. B., Frymier, A. B., Wojtaszczyk, A. M., & Smith, T. (2006). Appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor by teachers. Communication Education, 55(2), 178-196.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634520600566132
46. Wanzer, M.B.& Frymier, A.B. (1999). The relationship between student perceptions of instructor humor and students’ reports of learning. Communication Education, 48(1), 48- 62.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529909379152
47. Welker, W. A. (1977). Humor in education: A foundation for wholesome living. College Student Journal, 11(3), 252-254.
48. Weisi, H. & Mohammadi, V. (2023). Humour in the classroom: Forms and functions among Iranian EFL teachers. European Journal of Humour Research, 11(1).
https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR.2023.11.1.739
49. White, G. W. (2001). Teachers’ report of how they used humor with students perceived use of such humor. Education 3-13, 122, 337.
2. Attardo, S. (1994). Linguistic theories of humor. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110219029
3. Aylor, B. & Oppliger, P. (2003). Out-of-class communication and student perceptions of instructor humor orientation and socio-communicative style. Communication Education, 52(2), 122-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634520302469
4. Bacha, N. N. & Bahous, R. (2011). Foreign language education in Lebanon: A context of cultural and curricular complexities. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(6), 1320-1328.
https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.6.1320-1328
5. Bahous, R., Bacha, N. N., & Nabhani, M. (2011). Motivating students in the EFL classroom: A case study of perspectives. English Language Teaching,4(3). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n3p33
6. Banas, J. A., Dunbar, N., Rodriguez, D., & Liu, S. (2011). A review of humor in education settings: Four decades of research. Communication Education, 60(1), 115-144.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2010.496867
7. Baysac, P.E.G. (2017). Laughter in class: Humorous memes in 21st century learning. Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), 6(2), 249-263.
8. Berwald, J.-P. (1992). Teaching French language and culture by means of humour. The French Review, 66(2), 189-200.
9. Bolarinwa, OA. (2015). Principles and methods of validity and reliability testing of questionnaires used in social and health science researches. Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal, 22, 195-201. https://doi.org/10.4103/1117-1936.173959
10. Booth-Butterfield, S. & Booth-Butterfield, M. (1991). Individual differences in the communication of humorous messages. Southern Communication Journal, 56(3), 205-218.
https://doi.org.10.1080/10417949109372831
11. Bryant, J. & Zillmann, D. (1988). Using humor to promote learning in the classroom. Journal of Children in Contemporary Society, 20(1-2), 49-78. https://doi.org/10.1300/J274v20n01_05
12. Bryant, J., Comisky, P. W., Crane, J. S., & Zillmann, D. (1980). Relationship between college teachers' use of humor in the classroom and students' evaluations of their teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(4), 511-519. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.72.4.511
13. Chiasson, P.E. (2002). Using humor in the second language classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, 8(3).
14. Creswell, J. W. & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
15. Davies, A. P. & Apter, M. J. (1980). Humor and its effect on learning in children. In P. E. McGhee & A. J. Chapman (Eds.), Children's humor (pp. 237-254). New York: Wiley.
16. Englert, L. M. (2010). Learning with laughter: Using humor in the nursing classroom. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(1), 48-49.
17. Fadel, S. A. & Al-Bargi, A. (2018). The use of humour in EFL classrooms: Comparative conversational analysis case study. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 9(2), 262-282.
https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol9no2.18
18. Frymier, A. B.& Wanzer, M. B. (1999). Student perceptions of teacher humor use in relationship to learning and motivation: Examining appropriate and inappropriate teacher humor. Paper presented at the National Communication Association convention in Chicago, Illinois.
19. Frymier, A. B. & Weser, B. (2001). The role of student predispositions on student expectations for instructor communication behavior. Communication Education, 50, 314-326.
20. Garner, R. L. (2006). Humor in pedagogy: How ha-ha can lead to aha! College Teaching, 54(1), 177-180.
https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.54.1.177-180
21. Gonulal, T. (2018). Investigating the potential of humour in EFL classrooms: An attitudinal study. European Journal of Humour Research 6(1), 141–161.
https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2018.6.1.gonulal
22. Goodboy, A., Booth-Butterfield. M., Bolkan, S., & Griffin, D. (2015). The role of instructor humor and students’ educational orientations in student learning, extra effort, participation, and out-of-class communication. Communication Quarterly,63(1), 44-6.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2014.965840
23. Gorham, J. & Christophel, D.M. (1990). The relationship of teachers’ use of humor in the classroom to immediacy and student learning. Communication Education, 39(1), 46-62.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529009378786
24. Halcomb, E. J. (2018). Appraising mixed methods research. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in health social sciences (pp. 1051–1067). Singapore: Springer.
25. Hativa, N. (2001). Teaching for effective learning in higher education. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
26. Huss, J. & Eastep, S. (2016). The attitudes of university faculty toward humor as a pedagogical tool: Can we take a joke? Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education, 8(1), 39-65.
27. James, D. (2004). A need for humor in online courses. College Teaching, 52 (3), 93-94. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.52.3.93-120
28. Jones, G. (2014). Humor to the rescue: How to make introductory economics an appealing social science for non-majors. American Journal of Business Education, 7(2), 151-156.
https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v7i2.8474
29. Komayha, L., Moukarzel, D., & Daccache, S. (2018). Teachers’ perceptions of secondary students’ motivation to learn English in Lebanese public schools: Two case studies. International Journal of Education and Research, 6(7), 111-120.
30. Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Prentice Hall International.
31. Lems, K. (2011). Pun work helps English learners get the joke. The Reading Teacher, 65 (3), 197–202.
https://doi.org/10.1002/TRTR.01027
32. Lucas, T. (2005). Language awareness and comprehension through puns among ESL learners. Language Awareness, 14 (4), 221–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410508668838
33. Lu’mu, Cahyadi, A., Ramli, M., Ruslan, & Hendryadi (2023). Perceived related humor in the classroom, student–teacher relationship quality, and engagement: Individual differences in sense of humor among students. Heliyon, 9(1), E13035.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13035
34. Mantooth, J. D. (2010). The effects of professor humour on college students’ attention and retention. [Doctoral dissertation, Auburn University].
35. McNeely, R. (2016). Using humor in the classroom: Laughter has the power to fuel engagement and help students learn. NEA.
http://www.nea.org/tools/52165.htm
36. Neuliep, J. W. (1991). An examination of the content of high school teacher’s humor in the classroom and the development of an inductively derived taxonomy of classroom humor. Communication Education, 40(4), 343-355.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529109378859
37. Sadowski, C. J., Gulgoz, S., & LoBello, S. G. (1994). An evaluation of the use of content-relevant cartoons as a teaching device. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 21(4), 368-370.
38. Scott, T. M. (1976). Humor in teaching. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation, 47(8), 18.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00971170.1976.10612332
39. Skinner, M. E. (2010). All joking aside: Five reasons to use humor in the classroom. Education Digest, 76(2), 19-21.
40. St-Amand, J., Smith, J. & Goulet, M. (2023). Is teacher humor an asset in classroom management? Examining its association with students’ well-being, sense of school belonging, and engagement. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04481-9
41. Torok, S., McMorris, R., & Lin, W. (2004). Is humor an appreciated teaching tool? Perceptions of professors’ teaching styles and use of humor. College Teaching, 52 (1), 14-20.
42. Trachtenberg, S. (1979). Joke telling as a tool in ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 13(1), 89-99. https://doi.org/10.2307/3585979
43. Wagner, M.& Urios-Aparisi, E. (2011). The use of humor in the foreign language classroom: Funny and effective? Humour: International Journal of Humour Research, 24(4), 399–434. https://doi.org/10.1515/humr.2011.024
44. Wanzer, M. (2002). Use of humor in the classroom: The good, the bad, and the not-so funny things that teachers say and do. In J. L. C. J. C. McCroskey (Ed.), Communication for Teachers (pp. 116-126). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
45. Wanzer, M. B., Frymier, A. B., Wojtaszczyk, A. M., & Smith, T. (2006). Appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor by teachers. Communication Education, 55(2), 178-196.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634520600566132
46. Wanzer, M.B.& Frymier, A.B. (1999). The relationship between student perceptions of instructor humor and students’ reports of learning. Communication Education, 48(1), 48- 62.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529909379152
47. Welker, W. A. (1977). Humor in education: A foundation for wholesome living. College Student Journal, 11(3), 252-254.
48. Weisi, H. & Mohammadi, V. (2023). Humour in the classroom: Forms and functions among Iranian EFL teachers. European Journal of Humour Research, 11(1).
https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR.2023.11.1.739
49. White, G. W. (2001). Teachers’ report of how they used humor with students perceived use of such humor. Education 3-13, 122, 337.
Published
2024-02-29
How to Cite
Joudi, N. S., & Ayoub, N. N. (2024). Potent Roles of Humor in EFL Classes in Higher Education: An Exploratory Study of Lebanese Perspectives. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 20(4), 146. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2024.v20n4p146
Section
ESJ Social Sciences
Copyright (c) 2024 Nadine Sami Joudi, Nawal Nabih Ayoub
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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