Detection of spelling, punctuation errors and expression defects in written narratives of Turkish students in the USA

This study, which aims to detect spelling mistakes in the texts written by Turkish children living in the USA in their mother tongue (Turkish), is in the scanning model. Children were asked to express their thoughts on certain issues in their mother tongue, and thus they were evaluated in terms of vocabulary and language mistakes. Data were obtained through document scanning. In particular, mistakes such as transferring words and concepts between languages (English-Turkish), incorrect and incomplete use of punctuation marks, spelling mistakes, mistakes in sound and sound harmony, expression mistakes, transferring the spoken language and dialect feature to written expressions were emphasized. The study group consists of randomly selected 50 Turkish students aged 8-16 living in the states of Ohio, California and Georgia in the 2020-2021 academic year. This study was conducted because Turkish children living abroad have serious deficiencies in writing, which is one of the basic language skills. According to the findings obtained in the research, mistakes caused by the effect of the second language (English) in the written expressions of the students; errors due to alphabetic difference; punctuation errors; Errors have been detected due to the reflection of the spoken language to the written language. The subject, feelings and thoughts to be told in written expressions were limited to a single word, writing was avoided and the subject to be explained could not be fully expressed. At the end of the study, suggestions were made for the development of the writing skills of Turkish children living abroad in general but in the USA.