The Power of Humor: Its Impact on Cognitive Load and Affective Filtering in EFL Learning

In the context of globalization, the effectiveness of teaching and learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom has a direct impact on the development of students’ language proficiency. While traditional teaching methods have been criticized for inadequately addressing learners’ Cognitive Load (CL) and Affective Filtering (AF) in the learning process, this research examines the impact of humor discourse strategies on modulating these dual dimensions within EFL learning contexts. Through systematic experimental design and data analysis, it was found that humor discourse strategies can effectively reduce students’ CL and improve learning efficiency, while reducing AF on the emotional level and enhancing students’ classroom engagement and motivation. This finding provides new perspectives and methods for EFL teaching, which has important practical significance and application value. The findings not only enrich the theoretical research on the application of humor in the field of pedagogy, but also provide actionable strategic suggestions for teachers in practical teaching.