The co-construction of humor in computer-mediated teacher-student communication

Abstract

This paper investigates the way online humorous exchanges are jointly constructed and recognized by a teacher and her students. It focuses on the role humor studies play in understanding issues related to Computer-mediated Communication (CMC). The data consist of synchronous discussions of 11 Tunisian learners of English and their teacher via instant messaging on Skype. The analysis uses the notion of script oppositions (SOs) in the General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) and offers an account for the internal structure of exchanges; how the exchange begins with a serious mode, how it gradually develops into a humorous play frame, and how inferences are drawn. The study reveals that humor is created by activating binary SOs and shows that the teacher/student dynamics can make joking online more difficult to interpret than joking among peers. With reference to the analysis of the specific context of the CMC discussions, a serious set up of a humorous sequence created by a teacher can leave students uncertain toward the playfulness of the sequence. A playful set up, on the other hand, makes participants engage in a joint fantasy and build new layers of meaning as the conversation develops.