Humor in EFL classes: university learners and teachers’ ‎perspectives

Humor is an inextricable element of communicative competence in human discourse. The use of humor in educational contexts like second language learning affords merits to language learners and teachers. The present survey aimed at investigating teachers and learners’ perspectives concerning the use of humor in the context of second language learning/teaching. Two hundred and twenty university students whose majors were TEFL and English Language and Literature at an Iranian university with an age range of 18-23 and thirteen EFL teachers from the same university comprised the participants of this study. Six open-ended questions were given to elicit students and teachers’ perspectives concerning the roles of using humor in language classes. Qualitative analysis of the collected data showed that the use of humor serves as a useful tool and technique in second language learning and teaching. Moreover, the findings demonstrate some insightful views on the use of humor in EFL classes at tertiary level on the part of university teachers as well as students