幽默在臺灣大學英語課堂

Abstract

摘要 這篇論文調查幽默如何在台灣大學英文課程中被使用。總共有十二堂語文技巧課程，六堂是由外籍英文老師授課，而另外六門是由臺灣籍教師授課。兩段的記錄影片是在台灣北部兩所公立大學所錄製。此論文是在探討學生和教師使用的幽默量、最常使用的幽默類型、以及幽默如何被運用在臺灣的大學英文課程中。相反於刻板印象，根據紀錄影片幽默被學生和教師廣泛普遍的使用於課堂上。此外，可以從課堂中找出十一種幽默類型。學生和教師都會使用到的幽默在有趣聞、流行文化或學生生活的話題、機智、文字遊戲、詼諧的評論、以及各種素材等…分析顯示出幽默在臺灣大學英文課程裡有兩個基本功能：作為課堂管理的目的和教學工具(教導語言學，應用，文化等方面的語言)。此論文提供實例說明幽默在臺灣大學的英文課程裡的種類和形式。建議運用定性研究方法，更深入地探討幽默的數量、種類和功能，將會更明確的了解幽默在各式各樣的臺灣英語教學情境裡的數量、種類和功能。此外，根據不同的國籍教師授課的英文課程情境下，也許更多的研究能檢示出台灣和其他國家文化使用幽默的差別。

ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the use of humor in the Taiwan University English as Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. A total of twelve EFL skill classes—six classes taught by Native English speaking instructors (NEI) and six classes taught by a Taiwanese Instructors (TI) — were video recorded two times at two public universities in Northern Taiwan. The paper examined the amount of humor used by the students and instructors, the most common types of humor, and how humor was used in the Taiwan EFL university classroom. Contrary to the stereotype, humor was pervasive and used extensively by both instructors and students throughout all the classes recorded. In addition, eleven types of humor used by instructors and students were identified. Examples of humor used by both instructors and students include personal anecdotes, references to popular culture and student life, comedic comparisons/contrasts, wit, word play/code switching, tongue-and-cheek comments, and third party humor, etc. An analysis of the functions of humor in the Taiwan EFL University classroom revealed that humor has two basic functions: for classroom management purposes and as a pedagogical tool to teach the linguistic, pragmatic, and cultural aspects of the language. This paper provides illustrative examples of the types of humor and the way humor is used in the Taiwan University EFL classroom. It is suggested that more research examining the amount, types, and functions of humor in other Taiwan EFL classroom contexts, as well as other content courses, using ethnographic research methods will allow for a broader picture of the amount, types and functions of humor across a wide variety of EFL classroom contexts across Taiwan. In addition, in light of the different nationalities present in the Taiwan EFL classroom context, perhaps more research could be conducted examining the difference in humor used by Taiwanese students and instructors and other cultures.