Abstract

Humor is the type of expression and writing representing the humorous aspect of life by adorning with jokes and wit. The main objective of humor is to criticize, ironize, and correct the flaws and hideousness in life. Humor develops the sensitivity, the empathizing ability and social facts’ multi-dimensional perception of individuals. Humor enlivens life, entertains people, positively contributes to social relationships, and improves the imagination of individuals. This research has been conducted in order to determine the usage level of humor by secondary school Turkish teachers, and their attitudes and opinions regarding humor. The attitude scale prepared for the research was given to 128 Turkish teachers in total. The data obtained from the results of the research was interpreted by calculating its percentages, frequencies, arithmetical means and standard deviations. In order to determine the differences in the sample group’s responses -for the attitude scale- as per their genders, the “independent sample t test” was applied and interpreted. And in order to determine the differences of the subject’s responses –for the articles of survey- as per their seniority in their profession, the “one way ANOVA” test was applied and interpreted. According to the results of this research, humor may be used as an effective form of communication and socialization tool.  Through humor, the learning environment may be made more attractive, and the linguistic skills and vocabulary of the students may be enriched. It is possible to use humor in order to motivate the students for the course, to make the course more interesting, to increase the academic success of the students, and to improve the solution generation skills of the students.  As per the results of the research, it was determined that there was no significant difference among the opinions of teachers –regarding the use of humor in secondary school Turkish courses- in respect of their seniority in the profession.  In the same manner, it was determined that there was  no significant difference among the opinions of the teachers –regarding the use of humor in secondary school Turkish courses- in respect of gender variables, and that the humorous items used in the Turkish textbooks are wholly insufficient.

Key words: Humor, Turkish education, opinions of teachers, language skills.