A research on vocabulary teaching strategies used by preschool teachers: The case of Antalya province

In this research, it is aimed to determine at what level preschool teachers use vocabulary teaching strategies while carrying out vocabulary teaching activities to children. The participants of the research conducted in the survey model consisted of 240 preschool teachers working in preschool education institutions in the central districts of Antalya. In the research, "Vocabulary Teaching Strategies Scale", which were created in five-point likert type for preschool teachers and "Personal Information Form", were used as instruments. Vocabulary teaching strategies scale was developed on the basis of Schmitt's (1997) classification of vocabulary learning strategies consisting of five sub-dimensions. The items of the scale, which consists of determination, social, memory, cognitive and metacognitive vocabulary learning strategies, were arranged according to the qualifications of preschool teachers and based on the nature of vocabulary teaching activities. The items in the scale include techniques consistent with these variables. The level of use of vocabulary teaching strategies by the participants during provide training for children was examined according to the variables of education level, age group where training was provided, term in office and type of school in line with the answers given to the scale. Depending on the research questions, descriptive statistics were calculated and Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H, One Way Anova and Independent Group t-tests were applied consistent with the sub-problems. As a result of the statistical analysis, it was determined that the participants used vocabulary teaching strategies at a high-level. However, the level of participants' use of vocabulary teaching strategies did not differ significantly according to education level, term in office, age group where training was provided, and type of school served. According to the findings obtained from the research, various suggestions for future research are presented.