Examining the role of gelotophobia for willingness to communicate and second language achievement using self- and teacher ratings

Abstract

Gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) is an individual difference variable that relates to a particular set of emotional reactions, behaviors, and processes towards laughter and ridicule that are potentially detrimental to learning processes. We extend the research of gelotophobia to the educational domain by exploring the direct effect of gelotophobia on willingness to communicate (WTC) and second-language (L2) achievement. We hypothesized that communication anxiety might have an indirect effect on the relation between gelotophobia and WTC and L2 achievement. A sample of 483 Iranian high school students completed measures of gelotophobia, WTC, and communication anxiety. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that gelotophobia was negatively related to both L2 achievement and WTC. Further, communication anxiety showed the expected indirect effect on the gelotophobia-WTC association. Finally, we incorporated teacher-ratings of students’ gelotophobia and found that (a) the accuracy of teachers’ impressions was comparatively low and (b) that higher accuracy was associated with better L2 achievement. We argue that because of fear of anticipated derision in performance situations such as speaking an L2, gelotophobic L2 learners might adopt a withdrawal strategy by avoiding the social situation altogether. Hence, L2 teachers should be aware that not all students enjoy humor and laughter, and they are recommended to use humor judiciously without laughing at students, and to adapt to students’ engagement and perceptions of laughter.