Perception of ESL Pakistani learners about the use of instructional humour in English classrooms: a qualitative study

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of Pakistani university students about the appropriate and relevant use of instructional humour in English classrooms and the role of such humour in English learning. Design/methodology/approach The present study is qualitative and uses an interpretative research design. Twenty-five participants were selected from COMSATS University in Pakistan. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed through NVivo software (version 10) following the thematic analysis provided by Braun and Clarke (2006). Findings The findings showed that instructional humour is a positive tool that makes a healthy classroom environment for students to participate in and reduces stress levels. Humour further helps in facilitating learning through the use of abbreviations, jokes, puns and comic stories. Furthermore, a majority of students perceive appropriate and relevant humour as the one which is related to their subject. By contrast, inappropriate and irrelevant humour, according to them, is that which is not relevant to the subject and targets students’ performance and appearance. Originality/value This research has major significance for language teachers and students as they can come to know if humour can be applied in classroom and it has positive impact on learning.