Investigating cose endings usage of Syrian students according to various variables

The present study aims at examining case endings usage of middle-school Syrian students studying in Turkey and learning Turkish in this context according to several variables and revealing to what extent students can reflect these uses in their written outputs. It adopted the concurrent triangulation design of the mixed method research. The study group consisted of 40 Syrian students studying in Turkey. Student information form, case endings multiple-choice and gap-filling tests were used as data collection tools in the study. The data were collected over a period of one month. The treatments were carried out following a certain sequence. The quantitative data obtained from the students were analysed through relational survey method; the qualitative data were analysed via content analysis technique. The quantitative data were analysed and statistically interpreted based on the independent variables such as gender, Turkish book reading status, parents' education level, residence time in Turkey and the language spoken at home. While the students case endings usage state did not significantly differ according to gender, Turkish book reading status and the language spoken at home, it showed significant change according to their parents' education level. When the written compositions, which formed the qualitative data of the research and were collected to reveal to what extent the students could reflect their knowledge about case endings, were analysed, it was found that the students most commonly used nominative case and followed by dative case, location case, accusative case and ablative case. In some of the students' case endings, misuses were found. It was revealed that the most misuses was made in dative case and followed by accusative case, location case and ablative case. Keywords: Turkish teaching to foreigners, Syrian students, case ending usage