The effect of intelligence games on vocabulary teaching in teaching Turkish as a foreign language: The case of B1 level

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of intelligence games in vocabulary teaching among B1-level students who are learning Turkish as a foreign language. The research tested whether twelve different intelligence games, adapted for target vocabulary, significantly improved students’ vocabulary knowledge compared to traditional teaching methods. A quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control group was employed. The study group consisted of foreign students receiving scholarships from YTB and studying at the Turkish Teaching Application and Research Center (TÖMER) of a state university at the B1 level. During the six-week B1 course, both the experimental and control groups were given vocabulary pre-tests at the beginning of each unit. Then, the experimental group received vocabulary instruction through intelligence games for six weeks. Post-tests were administered to both groups at the end of each unit to collect results. The data were collected using a personal information form and the vocabulary knowledge test adapted into Turkish by Ateş and Sis (2016), whose validity and reliability had been confirmed. The findings obtained from the pre- and post-tests applied to both groups were analyzed statistically. The results revealed that vocabulary instruction through intelligence games is a more effective tool than traditional methods in teaching Turkish as a foreign language, and the effect size was found to be high.