An Analysis of Humor Used by English Teacher at Madrasah Aliyah Tahfizhil Qur’an Yayasan Islamic Centre Sumatera Utara

This study aimed to analyze what categories of humor that use by English Teacher in the teaching and learning process and to find out the reason of the use of humor by English Teacher in the teaching and learning process. The data and source of data were the classroom interaction between the teacher and the students and the interview with the teacher at Madrasah Aliyah Tahfizhil Qur’an Yayasan Islamic Centre Sumatera Utara Medan. The data were collected by observing the teaching and learning process, recording the teaching and learning process, and interviewing the English teacher. The data were analyzed using descriptive qualitative design by Cresswell (2009). The data analyzed by Wenzer’s Theory (2009) to categorize the humor used by the teacher and then data analyzed by Berk’s Theory (1998) to find out the reason of why the teacher use humor in the teaching and learning process. The finding of this study revealed that: (1) The category of humor that used by the teacher is appropriate humor, it contains of related humor, humor unrelated to the course material, unintentional or unplanned humor. (2) The reason of why the English teacher used humor in the teaching and learning process are; the teacher believe that the use of humor as a way to facilitating student learning, and the teacher believed that humor as a way to engage students’ attention and the use of humor promotes class attendance and student learning.