Vocabulary instruction in foreign/second language Turkish textbooks: A meta-synthesis study

One of the most important components of a language is vocabulary. In recent years, many studies have been conducted on the position of vocabulary and vocabulary teaching in teaching Turkish as a foreign/second language. In teaching Turkish as a foreign/second language, words are generally taught within the framework of textbooks depending on the instructors. The abundance of studies in the literature that deal with vocabulary teaching through textbooks has revealed the need for a systematic compilation study. In this direction, the aim of this thesis is; to systematically compile and interpret qualitative studies dealing with vocabulary teaching in Turkish as a foreign/second language textbooks. In order to make this interpretation, the meta-synthesis method, whose popularity has increased rapidly in recent days, has been preferred. Twenty-four studies written between 2014-2022 within the framework of the inclusion and exclusion criteria required by the meta-synthesis method constitute the sample of this thesis. Twenty-four studies included; types, publication years, publication places, methods, purposes, findings, results and suggestions are classified and interpreted. In the light of the codes created from the studies, the findings of the studies were synthesized under two main themes as general vocabulary teaching and vocabulary. The data obtained in the study were analyzed through Thomas and Harden's thematic synthesis technique. In this study, the general tendency, similarities, differences and distributions of the studies examining the Turkish as a foreign/second language textbooks in terms of vocabulary teaching were examined in a critical way and the problems of teaching vocabulary in the textbooks were tried to be determined. As a result of the study, Turkish as a foreign/second language textbooks; some vocabulary teaching methods, techniques, strategies, activities and vocabulary elements, frequency lists and corpus-based vocabulary were found to be insufficient. Key Words Vocabulary Teaching, Vocabulary, Meta Synthesis, Teaching Turkish as a Foreign/Second Language, Textbooks