AN ANALYSIS OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’COMPREHENSION AND APPRECIATION OF ENGLISH JOKES AND THEIR EVALUATION OF TEXTS

• Main Authors: Ai-ling Deng, 鄧艾玲
• Other Authors: Ching-chi Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/22092223422307747501

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 92 === Abstract The main purpose of the study is to find out whether the 9th-grade students in middle school (the 3rd-grade students in junior high school) had the ability to comprehend and appreciate different types of English jokes and to discriminate between different types of English texts as well. Moreover, by using two questionnaires, the researcher tried to probe the students’ responses to English humorous texts taught in English class. 131 9th-grade subjects in Kuen-shan Middle School in Tainan City took part in the study. The major instruments were two questionnaires and two tests. The pretest and the post-test were used to investigate the subjects’ attitudes towards the whole program. Test I consisted of ten jokes, eight in English and two in Chinese including universal type and language-specific type of jokes to explore the subjects’ responses to different types of jokes. Test II had ten texts, including two English jokes, two Chinese jokes, one short story, one argumentative article, one verse, and one biography to testify if the subjects had the ability to tell jokes from non-jokes and identify different types of texts. All the collected data were analyzed quantitatively by X² test and Wilcoxon test in SPSS for Windows Program. In addition, the subjects’ comments together with suggestions to the English jokes reading program were discussed qualitatively. Based on the data analyses, the findings of the study are summarized as follows: 1. Most of the students preferred more English humorous texts to be included in English textbooks. 2. The students’ preferences for joke materials were “campus,” “sex,” and “family” in priority. 3. Universal type of jokes was easier than language-specific type of jokes for the students to comprehend and appreciate. 4. Jokes in Chinese were much easier than jokes in English for the students to comprehend and appreciate. 5. The more surprising the “punch line” at the end of a joke presented, the funnier the effect generated. 6. In substance, the students had the ability to tell jokes from non-jokes in a text. 7. In substance, the students could tell what type of text the non-joke belonged to. On the basis of the study findings, some pedagogical implications are given as below: 1. Compilers of English textbooks should add more humorous texts. 2. Teaching humorous texts in class can enhance students’ learning motivation in reading. 3. English teachers providing carefree learning environments can make students learn English more effectively.