Uses of Humor in Interactions in French L1 Classes. Comparisons between Compulsory and Post-compulsory Schooling

This study focuses on humorous practices in the classroom and how students succeed in adapting humor to what is expected in the context of schooling, in accordance with their academic level. I compare humorous practices and interactional processes by which participants display the (in) appropriateness of humor in lower secondary and upper secondary schools. These comparisons are based on sequential and quantitative analyses of video-taped interactions during French lessons in schools in French-speaking Switzerland. This study aims to better understand how joint interactional practices of classroom participants make humor not only a cause of trouble but also a facilitator of learning processes. Observing how students progressively gain expertise in adapting their interactional skills to various institutional settings sheds light on a major socio-professional issue, i.e. the role of communicative skills in the transition from school to the workplace.