Appropriate and relevant humour in the university classroom: insights from teachers and students

Abstract

When used for the purpose of teaching and learning, humour must be relevant and appropriate to the context. However, what constitutes appropriate and relevant humour is unclear. Past studies have focussed mostly on classifying appropriate and relevant types of humour. Additionally, students’ and teachers’ perceptions of what constitutes appropriate and relevant humour are likely to differ, meaning that the effectiveness of teachers’ humour use may vary depending on the context. With this in mind, it is important to consider teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the appropriateness and relevance of humour. For this paper, five award-winning teachers and 10 students were interviewed regarding their perceptions and experiences of the use of humour in university teaching. Four themes were identified that relate to teachers’ and students’ perceptions regarding the appropriateness of humour: Appropriate humour is relevant humour; Appropriate humour happens at a suitable time and in a suitable manner; Appropriate humour enhances teachers’ credibility; and Inappropriate humour is disrespectful humour. Three themes were identified related to the relevance of humour: Relevant humour is related to the learning content; Relevant humour is related to daily experiences in life; and Irrelevant humour is humour that students do not understand. On the basis of this study, this paper offers pedagogical suggestions for teachers who wish to use humour effectively by taking into consideration what humour is considered appropriate/inappropriate and relevant/irrelevant.

Investigating Humor Integration in Tunisian Tertiary English Classes: A Comparative Study of Teachers’ and Learners’ Perceptions

“…To sum up, the instances of humor used in a classroom context "may belong to any of these categories or may even emanate from a careful blending of [them]" (Khan, 2012, p. 46). What matters most is that instructional humor should be appropriate or "positive" (Banas et al, 2010;Kim & Park, 2017;Bakar, 2019). In this study, the participants' choices of Investigating Humor Integration in Tunisian Tertiary English Classes: A Comparative Study of Teachers ' and Learners' Perceptions 129 humor types will enlighten the researcher about the extent to which humor is appropriately employed in Tunisian universities and whether its rewards are explored to the full.…”

“…Research specifically done in higher education classrooms adds to these typologies two basic related aspects (Petraki and Nguyen, 2016;Kim and Park, 2017;Bakar, 2019). The first aspect relates to the relevancy of humor to course content and it distinguishes 'related' or 'relevant' humor from 'unrelated' or 'irrelevant' humor (Wanzer et al, 2006;Kim & Park, 2017).…”

Exploring EFL Teachers' and Learners' Perception of L2 Humor: A Case Study of Iranian English Language Institutes

“…In an analysis of teachers' and students' perception of appropriate humor, Baker (2019) reported four types of appropriate humor. To his participants, appropriate humor is relevant, happens at a suitable time and in a suitable manner, and improves teachers' credibility.…”

“…Touching the third L2 humor use, relevant/irrelevant types of humor, Nussbaum, Holladay, and Comadena (1987) identified two types of humor in classroom: relevant to course content, and not relevant to course content. According to Baker (2019), relevant humor is "related to daily experiences in life; and irrelevant humor is humor that students do not understand" (p.137). Several studies have confirmed that students perceive humor as relevant if it is related to learning content (e.g., Bieg & Dresel, 2018;Sidelinger, 2014).…”

“…However, the observation and investigation of humor across diverse languages and learner cultures and their interaction in the target language and culture can definitely offer valuable insights into understanding humor in world language classrooms (Wagner & Urios-Aparisi, 2011). In addition, as stated by Baker (2019), "despite the importance of the appropriateness and relevance of humor in educational contexts, very little has been dedicated to understanding what counts as appropriate and relevant humor for the purpose of teaching and learning" (p.137). In the light of what was pointed out above, this study was developed to delve into the use of humor in English language classrooms in an Iranian EFL context.…”