Exploring Collocational Awareness in Teaching Turkish as a Second Language: A Narrative Inquiry with Instructors

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates collocational awareness among instructors of Turkish as a Foreign/Second Language (TFSL), focusing on how regular collocation-focused activities influence their teaching practices. While the study was conducted in the Teaching Turkish as a Second Language (TSL) context at a private university in Türkiye, the term TFSL is employed as an inclusive designation, encompassing both foreign and second language learning contexts. Although collocations are critical for fluency and idiomaticity, limited research has investigated how TSL instructors conceptualize and integrate them into classroom instruction. Using a narrative inquiry design, data were collected from three instructors through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. Over a four-week period, participants implemented collocation-based activities such as matching, substitution, and contextual exercises in their classes. Thematic analysis with MAXQDA, supported by triangulation across data sources, revealed that instructors initially treated collocations incidentally, but systematic integration led them to perceive improvements in students’ vocabulary breadth, fluency, and motivation. Participants also reported greater awareness of their own pedagogical practices, recognizing collocations as requiring different instructional approaches than single-word vocabulary teaching. While all expressed commitment to sustaining collocation-focused teaching, their varying practices underscored the absence of a standardized framework for collocational pedagogy in TFSL contexts. The study concludes that collocation-oriented activities benefit both learners and instructors, though findings remain exploratory due to the small sample.