Exploring teacher-initiated humour in Academic English classes: an Uzbek international university experience

Abstract

As a subject focused on teaching grammar forms needed for academic studies and genres ofacademic writing, Academic English may seem tedious at times. Sometimes it is a complexsubject for students who are fresh to academia and it needs a peculiar didactic approach toprovide a smooth transition of students from general to academic English writing at a universitylevel. One of these approaches may be using humour during classes. The current researchexplores teacher-initiated humour in Academic English classes at Westminster InternationalUniversity in Tashkent and its effects on students. Besides, it seeks answers to questions as towhat types of humour teachers employ during the class mostly, how often they use humour, aswell as students’ and teachers’ recommendations given on how to use humour in class. Thisstudy uses both qualitative and quantitative data extraction methods in the form of an onlinequestionnaire with students and a semi-structured interview with teachers. Obtained resultsshow that affective and social roles of humour, its quality of lessening anxiety, createsfavourable conditions for students and teacher’s connectedness, which outweighs otherhumour’s roles. Besides, mnemonic and engaging roles of humour received a solid support inthe respondents. To obtain a more positive effect, it is recommended that teachers, whenincorporating humour in class, apply a systematic approach. Humour should be plannedbeforehand and needs to be appropriate. Moreover, it should be used with moderation.