Humour in Peer Interaction in the L2 Classroom

Research in the study of affect in L2 learning acknowledges that attention to the social dimension can ‘improve language teaching and learning’ and that negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, stress, anger or depression may compromise our learning potential, whereas positive emotions such as self-esteem and empathy can ease the language learning process (Arnold and Brown 1). For the majority of learners, the classroom environment should be a place which encourages interaction and minimises negative emotions such as anxiety, which could interfere with such interaction. This study seeks to describe episodes of humour during peer oral interaction which may help generate a positive social dimension amongst learners.