EFL Teachers’ Identity and Power in China: A Discursive Analysis of Their Humor

Abstract

Previous studies examined the benefits of the use of humor in language classrooms, but none of them has queried a deep understanding of the role of humor from teachers’ perspectives. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of three Chinese secondary school English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers on the use of humor in a period of six months of research. It discussed Chinese EFL teachers’ identity and proposed humor as a strategy that helps maintain or shift the power in the Chinese teaching context. The path of power shift proposed in this study can be applied to educational scenarios similar to Chinese secondary schools in which exam is oriented and the size of class is large.