Evaluation of Students' Views on the Development of Vocabulary through Reading Dictionary in Teaching Turkish as a Second Language

Individuals can express their feelings and thoughts to the extent of wealth of word treasures. Because one of the conditions for establishing efficient communication is the excess of the vocabulary. This is the active vocabulary of the person who provides efficient communication. Various methods and techniques are applied to develop the active vocabulary of individuals. The method of reading the dictionary is one of these, although it is not on the agenda. The aim of this study is to evaluate the development of vocabulary through dictionary reading in teaching Turkish as a second language according to the views of students at B2 and higher levels. The study was carried out with the study of case study within the framework of qualitative research method. The study was carried out, in 2019, TÖMER and ten foreign students attended. The data of the study was collected by semi-structured interview form and video recordings. The data were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the interviews and the video recordings, it was concluded that participants' vocabulary could be improved through dictionary reading, students' participation in the dictionary reading process was high, and their ability to use the dictionary was high. Based on the findings, suggestions were presented in the conclusion part, based on the students' opinions, such that the dictionary reading method can be used to improve the vocabulary of students at B2 and higher levels in teaching Turkish as a second language, and if students are required to learn more than one meaning of the words, they can also use the dictionary reading.