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Laughing While Learning: ESP Learners' Perspectives on Teachers' Use of Humour in Online Classrooms

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Title: Laughing While Learning: ESP Learners' Perspectives on Teachers' Use of Humour in Online Classrooms
Language: English
Authors: Md. Tauseef Qamar (ORCID 0000-0001-5092-4699), Juhi Yasmeen (ORCID 0000-0002-2619-4435), Shahab Saquib Sohail (ORCID 0000-0002-5944-7371), Dag Øivind Madsen (ORCID 0000-0001-8735-3332), Sayed Mohammed Zeeshan, Mahboob Zahid (ORCID 0009-0000-0819-1022)
Source: Discover Education. 2025 4.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Humor, Teaching Methods, Online Courses, English for Special Purposes, Learner Engagement, Academic Persistence, Student Motivation, Emotional Response, Technology Uses in Education, Undergraduate Students, Student Attitudes, Memory, Classroom Environment, Barriers, Foreign Countries, Well Being, Sense of Belonging
Geographic Terms: India
DOI: 10.1007/s44217-025-00704-2
ISSN: 2731-5525
Abstract: This study investigates how teachers' use of humour in online English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classrooms shapes students' affective engagement, learning retention, and motivational responses, framing humour as both a pedagogical asset and a potential barrier. Guided by the Instructional Humour Processing Theory (IHPT), the research explores how students cognitively process and emotionally respond to various types of humour, particularly in digitally mediated language learning environments. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with twenty (20) undergraduate ESP students from a private Indian university, the study purposely recruited participants from diverse academic disciplines and cultural backgrounds to ensure cross-cultural and linguistic representation. Findings reveal that students valued humour--especially content-integrated jokes, puns, and analogies--for improving attentiveness, reinforcing memory, and fostering a sense of psychological ease in virtual classrooms. Teachers' use of humour served multiple functions: facilitating focus, reducing anxiety, and creating a more inclusive classroom environment. However, the study also highlights potential drawbacks, including perceived disrespect, distraction, or reinforcement of power imbalances, particularly when humour lacked cultural sensitivity or involved sarcasm. By foregrounding students' lived experiences and applying IHPT to online ESP education, this study contributes to the growing body of work on humour in digital pedagogy. It emphasizes the need for carefully calibrated, culturally responsive humour practices that enhance, rather than hinder, instructional outcomes. Future research should adopt cross-institutional and longitudinal designs to examine humour's sustained effects on learning, classroom dynamics, and intercultural inclusivity in global ESP contexts.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1481932
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Laughing While Learning: ESP Learners' Perspectives on Teachers' Use of Humour in Online Classrooms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Md%2E+Tauseef+Qamar%22">Md. Tauseef Qamar</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5092-4699">0000-0001-5092-4699</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Juhi+Yasmeen%22">Juhi Yasmeen</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2619-4435">0000-0002-2619-4435</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shahab+Saquib+Sohail%22">Shahab Saquib Sohail</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5944-7371">0000-0002-5944-7371</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dag+Øivind+Madsen%22">Dag Øivind Madsen</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8735-3332">0000-0001-8735-3332</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sayed+Mohammed+Zeeshan%22">Sayed Mohammed Zeeshan</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mahboob+Zahid%22">Mahboob Zahid</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0009-0000-0819-1022">0009-0000-0819-1022</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Discover+Education%22"><i>Discover Education</i></searchLink>. 2025 4.
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  Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
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  Data: 19
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Humor%22">Humor</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+Methods%22">Teaching Methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Online+Courses%22">Online Courses</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+for+Special+Purposes%22">English for Special Purposes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learner+Engagement%22">Learner Engagement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+Persistence%22">Academic Persistence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Motivation%22">Student Motivation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emotional+Response%22">Emotional Response</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technology+Uses+in+Education%22">Technology Uses in Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Undergraduate+Students%22">Undergraduate Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Memory%22">Memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Classroom+Environment%22">Classroom Environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Barriers%22">Barriers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well+Being%22">Well Being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sense+of+Belonging%22">Sense of Belonging</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22India%22">India</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1007/s44217-025-00704-2
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  Data: 2731-5525
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  Data: This study investigates how teachers' use of humour in online English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classrooms shapes students' affective engagement, learning retention, and motivational responses, framing humour as both a pedagogical asset and a potential barrier. Guided by the Instructional Humour Processing Theory (IHPT), the research explores how students cognitively process and emotionally respond to various types of humour, particularly in digitally mediated language learning environments. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with twenty (20) undergraduate ESP students from a private Indian university, the study purposely recruited participants from diverse academic disciplines and cultural backgrounds to ensure cross-cultural and linguistic representation. Findings reveal that students valued humour--especially content-integrated jokes, puns, and analogies--for improving attentiveness, reinforcing memory, and fostering a sense of psychological ease in virtual classrooms. Teachers' use of humour served multiple functions: facilitating focus, reducing anxiety, and creating a more inclusive classroom environment. However, the study also highlights potential drawbacks, including perceived disrespect, distraction, or reinforcement of power imbalances, particularly when humour lacked cultural sensitivity or involved sarcasm. By foregrounding students' lived experiences and applying IHPT to online ESP education, this study contributes to the growing body of work on humour in digital pedagogy. It emphasizes the need for carefully calibrated, culturally responsive humour practices that enhance, rather than hinder, instructional outcomes. Future research should adopt cross-institutional and longitudinal designs to examine humour's sustained effects on learning, classroom dynamics, and intercultural inclusivity in global ESP contexts.
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      – SubjectFull: Humor
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teaching Methods
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Online Courses
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      – SubjectFull: Learner Engagement
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      – TitleFull: Laughing While Learning: ESP Learners' Perspectives on Teachers' Use of Humour in Online Classrooms
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