International Journal of Language & Literature

An Evaluation of the Use of Humor in ELT Coursebooks
Sasan Baleghizadeh1 and Azadeh Ghoreishi

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers’ views on the use of humor in ELT (English Language Teaching) coursebooks for adult learners. In as much as the use of humor in English classes has been widely advocated by scholars, the researchers decided to examine to what extent this element has been incorporated in ELT coursebooks. To fulfill this goal, three widely-used ELT coursebooks for adults, namely American English File, English Result and Top-Notch were selected to be evaluated by teachers who had the experience of teaching them. An eight-item rating questionnaire was given to 120 randomly selected teachers from 10 English language institutes in Tehran. The collected data revealed that based on the teachers’ views, the use of humor in the target coursebooks was around average. The results also showed that among the three coursebooks, English Result had a statistically more significantposition in incorporating humor. Moreover, the findings revealed an advantage forthe use of humor in receptive skills over productiveskills. This study also assessed and compared the use of humor in all eight items of the questionnaire.Apart from American English File, inspection of the participants’ gender seemed to indicate that there was no significant difference between the participants’ gender and their judgment of humor.It is both felt and recommended that materials writers include more elements of humor in ELT coursebooks.

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