Channels • 2021 • Volume 6 • Number 1 Page 9 Channels Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021): 9–20 ISSN 2474-2651 © 2021, Emily Walker, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Humor in the Foreign Language Classroom Emily Walker English, Literature, and Modern Languages Introduction oreign language (FL) pedagogy has seen much evolution as language instruction research has progressed from the grammar-translation methods to the audio-lingual, then to the current emphasis on communicative competence. As researchers study the components that make an effective FL classroom, they strive to formulate a concept of “best practice.” Toward this end, this research examines the effects of humor on one college-level FL class through qualitative data collection and synthesis of the themes that present themselves during the study. Literature Review Preliminary Key Constructs One factor that must be addressed is the affective filter. As presented by Krashen (1981) and explained by Du (2009), the affective filter hypothesis posits a mental block that prevents comprehensible input from being used for language acquisition. Factors influencing the affective filter include student motivation, attitude, anxiety, and self-confidence (Du, 2009). For the purposes of this research, I’ve also restricted the discussion of pedagogical tools to resources that support and enhance teaching. In referring to foreign language (FL) classrooms, I wish to demarcate mainly classrooms in which students learn a language that is not commonly used in the country where they live. Secondary Key Constructs In accordance with the findings later presented, it is necessary to address the constructs of power distance and willingness to communicate (WTC). As introduced by Hofstede (2011) in his seminal categorization of selected constructs in intercultural communication, power distance is “the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally” (p. 9). Specifically, power distance is the perceived legitimacy of hierarchy within a social organization as defined not only by those at the upper levels, but also by those in the lower ranks of the pyramid. This study focuses on the level of informality in the classroom and the approachability of the professor as key elements of power distance. WTC, on the other hand, is characterized by the intersection of students’ perceived communicative competence and their level of anxiety in the FL classroom (Yashima, 2002). Students with lower anxiety who believe themselves to have a greater ability to communicate in the FL classroom will
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