Vocabulary in Turkish and academic Turkish textbooks prepared for foreigners: The case of health scinces

In teaching Turkish as a foreign language, vocabulary plays an important role in the development of the four basic language skills. In teaching Turkish as a foreign language, it is important to consider which words should be prioritised for learners. The frequency, teaching stage and context in which words are taught should be carefully planned and structured in accordance with the nature of the language learning process. The frequency of words in teaching materials, subject distribution, usage contexts, and suitability for the learner's level are among the determining factors for effective vocabulary teaching. In this study, health-themed words in Turkish and academic Turkish textbooks prepared for foreigners were examined. The field of health is an important area of communication in terms of education, professional practice, and daily life. Individuals learning Turkish as a foreign language need to be able to use terms in this field correctly and effectively. A lack of health-related vocabulary can lead to inadequacies in both academic and practical communication. Therefore, including field-specific vocabulary teaching in teaching materials is important in terms of special-purpose language teaching. By determining the frequency, context, and levels at which health-related terms appear in teaching materials, this study aims to contribute to the development of materials for special-purpose Turkish language instruction. This study is a case study, one of the qualitative research methods. Within the scope of this research, 16 books, including Turkish and academic Turkish textbooks prepared for foreigners, were examined, and health-themed units in these books were selected. The data in the books were collected through document analysis. The obtained data were presented in tables according to their frequencies. The identified words were compared with the 'Key Words List of Health Sciences' (Demirbaş, 2023). CİBAKAYA 2.4.1 software and Microsoft Excel were used to determine the number of words in the books and reveal their frequency of use. The research revealed that academic Turkish textbooks contain more technical terms related to the field of health, while general Turkish textbooks contain more everyday and basic health words. While it is not expected that all words in the 'Key Words List of Health Sciences' will be included in general Turkish textbooks, it is important that at least a certain percentage of the first 100 words in the list are present in the books. When compared with the SBSL list of academic Turkish books, a higher degree of overlap was observed. These findings highlight the need to select target-oriented words in special-purpose Turkish language teaching. This study aims to contribute to the development of special-purpose Turkish language teaching by providing guidance to teachers and material developers.