Synonymity is an issue that has been discussed frequently in the linguistics field and has not been agreed upon. The different ways of handling synonymity make it difficult to teach synonyms as well. Synonyms are included in the Turkish...
moreSynonymity is an issue that has been discussed frequently in the linguistics field and has not been agreed upon. The different ways of handling synonymity make it difficult to teach synonyms as well. Synonyms are included in the Turkish curriculum and they are instructed at different grade levels. From this point of view, the study aimed to evaluate the vocabulary teaching activities in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Turkish Textbooks and the activities directly aimed at teaching synonymous words in these activities in quantitative and qualitative terms and to propose activities. In this direction, content analysis was made in the textbooks; activities are classified by two coders according to their technique. In the analyzed books, it is aimed to teach synonyms through activities such as matching, true/false, multiple-choice, writing synonyms of words in sentence/paragraph/text, and distinguishing synonyms-antonyms. In these activity types, synonym words are handled out of context and can replace each other, consequently, it does not seem sufficient in terms of revealing the difference in meaning. Besides, it was found that the words aimed to teach in the activities were not combined with speaking and listening skills and studies such as controlled, guided, explanatory, creative writing. It is seen that the activities in the Turkish textbook are not suitable for constructivist teaching in this respect. Finally, in the study, the relationship of synonyms with the concepts of paraphrasing, and cohesion was addressed, and various activity suggestions were presented under these headings. While teaching synonym words, it should be perceived that the words are not the same, that they can gain new meanings in different contexts, and activities should be designed accordingly. Structured Abstract: Synonymity is an issue that has been discussed frequently in the linguistics field and has not been agreed upon. Synonyms are considered in three dimensions according to their degrees. Since the language is quite dynamic and variable, the words cannot be expected to be exactly the same in terms of semantics. From a theoretical perspective, the understanding that synonyms should be used interchangeably