This thesis investigated the effect of humorous video tasks (HVTs) on English language students' receptive and productive vocabulary performance and task motivation. Several task motivation variables were examined: intrinsic value, utility value, anxiety (emotional cost), task difficulty (effort cost), self-efficacy, and relatedness. A few studies examined the impact of HVTs on vocabulary performance and task motivation. Previous research, however, primarily focused on the short-term rather than the long-term effect of HVTs on language performance. Earlier studies on HVTs investigated a few motivational variables influencing students' task motivation; thus, the impact of HVTs on task motivation was not fully understood. This research sought to address the aforementioned gaps in the literature by examining the short- and long-term effects of HVTs on vocabulary performance and exploring a wide range of motivational factors, many of which were overlooked in previous studies on HVTs. This study comprised 229 female tertiary English language students at the elementary level, who were divided into three groups: a humorous group (HG), a non-humorous group (NHG), and a control group (CG). The study employed an experimental mixed-methods research design. Several data collection methods were utilised: a vocabulary pre-test, an immediate post-test, a delayed post-test, a survey, and semi-structured interviews. The current investigation was conducted in a virtual environment.

The findings indicate that HVTs could have a long-term effect on productive vocabulary performance; however, the results showed that HVTs did not impact receptive vocabulary performance. The findings suggest that HVTs appear to yield a more pronounced favourable effect on students' task motivation than standard textbook tasks that lack multimedia videos, but it may not be superior to non-HVTs in improving task motivation. The only task motivation factor in which the HG outperformed the NHG was reported anxiety, suggesting that HVTs may be a potentially effective strategy for alleviating language anxiety.