HUMOR AND TEACHER TRAINING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING: TRENDS, CONTRIBUTIONS, AND RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Interest in humor in language teaching has grown significantly over the past decades, especially in studies investigating its effects on motivation, anxiety reduction, classroom interaction, and the development of communicative competence (Deneire, 1995; Bell, 2009; Rucynski; Prichard, 2021). In the Brazilian context, research also highlights the pedagogical potential of humor for teaching foreign languages (Margonari, 2004; Souza, 2007; Andrade; Rauen, 2017). However, there is a gap regarding the connection between humor studies and teacher training in English language teaching, as the humorous competence is still rarely discussed as part of teachers' professional development (Josifović-Elezović, 2021; Rodrigues, 2022). Given this scenario, this article aims to critically analyze the national and international scientific production on humor in English teaching, identifying research trends, theoretical foundations, pedagogical contributions, and gaps related to initial and ongoing teacher training. Methodologically, a narrative literature review is developed, based on books, chapters, scientific articles, and theses produced in the fields of Applied Linguistics, Education, and Humor Studies. The results show a predominance of research focused on using humor as a didactic strategy, rather than investigations that understand it as a component of teachers' professional knowledge base. It is concluded that the integration between Humor Studies and teacher training is a promising field for strengthening language education and expanding discussions on the professional development of English teachers.