Yabancı Dil Olarak Türkçe Öğretiminde Yabancıların Eşdizimsel Örüntüleri Algılamaları

Abstract

Awareness of the importance of teaching Turkish as a foreign language has recently increased, and studies of it have gained importance. One important issue is that of polysemous collocations, which are frequently encountered in everyday language. These structures are composed of words that often appear with other words and carry a meaning different than their literal sense. This qualitative study measured the degree of understanding of polysemous collocations in individuals who are learning Turkish as a second language and who have reached a certain level of competence. Combinations of the types noun + noun and noun + verb were examined, and their uses in the sentence were observed. The language learners’ level of education, amount of time spent studying Turkish, formal levels of competence achieved, and time of residence in Turkey were investigated in relation to these learners’ knowledge of figurative collocations. It was found that even participants who have achieved competency in Turkish have insufficient command of these structures; further, structures in the form noun + verb are more difficult to understand than noun + noun structures. In addition, as level of education, duration of Turkish learning, and stay in Turkey increased, the mastery of the structures grew. However, having formal certification of achievement was not important in being competent in these structures. This study provides suggestions for future study of Turkish as a foreign language.