An Evaluation of the Vocabulary in Turkish Textbooks Before and After the Constructivist Approach in the Context of Frequency

Abstract

Purpose: Research shows that students in Turkey aretaught to write with much smaller vocabularies thanstudents in other countries. Along with theconstructivist approach, the frequency of words usedin texts should be high, and unknown words shouldbe at certain levels in order to allow for production,cognizance and creation of information based onexisting information.The aim of this research is to analyze the vocabulary in Turkish textbooks before and after theintroduction of the constructivist approach on the basis of frequency and origin.Method: The research was conducted using a general screening model composed of the words usedin informative texts in Turkish textbooks before and after the introduction of the constructivistapproach. With the aid of random sampling, informative texts with “Nature and Universe” themesthat were used in 2001-2002 and 2013-2014 in secondary schools were chosen as samples. Frequencyand percentage proportions were made in a descriptive way in order to compare the numbers of thesame and different lemmas. T-test and Mann Whitney U test were used to determinemeaningfulness.Findings: While there is not a significant difference in frequency between TBCA and TACA in theTurkish, Arabic, Persian and western-based words. It has been determined that, among words thatdo not have synonyms, the same book after the introduction of the constructivist approach shows apreference for words used with less frequency.Implications for Research and Practice: The word lists for each level should be made in the contextof frequency of use in textbooks.