Measuring Students' Attitudes towards Teachers' Use of Humour during Lessons: A Questionnaire Study

Abstract

There is a common saying that if students like their teachers, they will start liking the subjects taught by them and be more attentive in the class. ''A strict teacher can be successful but a humorous teacher can be more successful'' (Vijay, et al, 2014:260-61). Hence, students' attitudes towards their instructors and subjects taught by them are determined only by the teachers' attitudes and their efficiency in delivering the contents. Not to mention, teachers who adopt a light-hearted attitude are often rated higher than other teachers not only based on the entertainment level, but also on credibility.

The purpose of this research is to measure the attitudes of fifth-year preparatory schools students, males and females, towards teachers' use of humour during lessons in the center of Basra city. It also investigates the advantages of using humour in teaching contexts and its vital role in motivating students' learning and improving their performance. Humour in this research refers to anything which is said or creates a feeling of fun and amusement in the classroom such as funny stories, funny comments, jokes or pun. Humour, according to this research, is used to illustrate, encourage, reduce anxiety, and attract students' attention.

The population of the research consists of fifth-year students studying at different Iraqi preparatory schools in the center of Basra city. The research sample includes (100) males and females students in both scientific and literary sections. The researchers use a questionnaire as a tool of the research. Thus, a questionnaire of (21) items has been designed to be distributed to (100) fifth-year preparatory school students, (51) males and (49) females.

The statistical means used by the researchers are the percentile ratio for the approval of the jury, T-test for one independent sample, T-Test for two equal independent samples and the weighted mean. To achieve the validity and reliability of the research, it has been displayed on specialists in educational guidance and psychology.

The results of the research demonstrate that there is statistically significant differences at significant level of (0.05). The calculated T-value for the variable of humour is (8.305) and the tabulation value is (1.660). Namely, the attitudes of students towards the variable of humour is high which indicates that most of fifth-year preparatory school students prefer the use of humour on the part of the teachers during lessons. Regarding the difference between male and female students' attitudes towards the use of humour by teachers according to the variable of gender, the results reveal that there is statistically significant difference between males and female students' attitudes towards the teachers' use of humour. The weighted mean for males is (51.159) whereas the weighted mean for females is (48.122).

Using T-Test for two independent samples, it is shown that the difference between males and female students is statistically significant at a level ((0.05 In other words, male students display positive attitudes towards the teachers' use of humour during lessons more than the female students. Concerning the difference between male and female students' attitudes towards the use of humour by teachers according to the variable of Academic achievement, the results reveal that there is no statistically significant difference between students in both literary and scientific sections. The calculated T-value is (1.055) degree and Tabulated T-value is (1.660) degree, which is not statistically significant at the significance level of (0.05). This indicates that there is no differences between the two sections.

Keywords: Humour, Preparatory Schools, Benefits of Humour