Am I Allowed to Laugh? Students’ Perception Towards the Use of Humor in English Class

Abstract

Humor is a form of communication that tend to create amusement and trigger laughter. Research has proven that humor is beneficial for physical health, psychological wellbeing and social interaction. As a communication tool, humor benefits both the sender and receiver. It reduces anxiety, creates positive atmospheres, and breaks down barriers. In the classroom teaching context, humor can be used as one of the instructional tools which help students to engage in the teaching and learning process, especially in teaching English. There is no doubt that learning a foreign language can be very toilsome as it involves many processes. Students have to struggle with language anxiety such as apprehension, selfdoubt, and frustration which eventually leads to stress and boredom. Therefore, teachers should consider the students' mental state when delivering the material by choosing the appropriate form of classroom instruction. This study aims to investigate students' perception of using humor as one of classroom instructional models in teaching English as a Foreign Language. It was conducted to 60 students of English Education Department, at Musamus University of Merauke. The result indicates that the use of humor in teaching English may have positive impacts as it creates a more relaxing environment for the students; and in addition, it also helps the students to have better retention of the material being taught.

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