The effects of humorous video tasks on affective, cognitive, and social factors in English language vocabulary learning: a comparative study

Abstract

This paper investigated the effect of humorous video tasks (HVTs) on English language students’ task motivation. Several task motivation variables were examined: intrinsic value, anxiety, task difficulty, self-efficacy, and relatedness. Previous research on HVTs only examined a few variables related to task motivation, hence the impact of such tasks on task motivation was unclear. This study sought to provide a more comprehensive analysis by investigating the affective, cognitive, and social aspects of these activities to offer a complete picture of the examined issue. Participants included 229 English language students, divided into three groups: a humorous group (HG), a non-humorous group (NHG), and a control group (CG). An experimental mixed-methods research design was employed. The findings indicate that humorous tasks could enhance learners’ emotional and cognitive engagement in their language activities, while also improving interpersonal relations in the language classroom. The data suggest that HVTs appeared to yield a more pronounced favourable effect on students’ task motivation than standard textbook tasks, but they may not be superior to non-HVTs in improving task motivation. The results showed that HVTs have the potential to mitigate language anxiety and enhance students’ self-efficacy in language-related tasks. Implications for teachers and researchers are discussed.