Turkish as a second language learners' comprehension levels of universal; Cultural and linguistic humor

Humor, as a human-specific skill such as language, is one of the factors that may affect social communication positively and negatively. In this context, humor plays an important role for the second language speaker to be included in the target language's culture. On the other hand, the learners' familiarity with the humor perception and humorous genres in the target language will enable them to improve their social experiences positively. In addition to social acceptance, laughter, as one of the responses to humor, also may provide a facilitating effect in language teaching classes. Besides, it may increase motivation for the target language and make the learner process enjoyable. This research tries to determine which of the universal, cultural, and linguistic humor types is better understood by the L2 speaker. In the study, the Humor Comprehension Test, which includes graphic humor comprehension questions, was administered to 25 participants at B2 and higher levels. In this way, subjective and objective evaluations of their understanding of the target language's humor were examined. The Humor Comprehension Test includes authentic cartoons from three different types of humor: universal, cultural, and linguistic. In the light of the findings, activity suggestions aimed at improving the perception of humor in language teaching classrooms were proposed. Keywords: Humor, Comprehension, Second Language Learning, Universal Humor, Cultural Humor, Linguistic Humor.