Vocabulary sets of Syrian secondary school students in Turkish written expression

The purpose of this study is to determine the vocabulary sets in Turkish written expression of Syrian secondary schools students and to reveal the factors that affect their vocabulary sets. This study adopts qualitative research methods. The study group consists of 41 students studying in the districts of Kepez and Muratpaşa, Antalya. The demographic information form and composition paper are used to collect the data.The data are collected from the students in one sitting. The collected data are analysed through descriptive analysis technique. As a result of the analysis, it has been revealed that the students' total, different and active vocabulary usage changes according to the schools and the grades. The increase in the grades doesn't correspond with the increase in vocabulary in the study. The students in 6th grade have the highest, and the ones in 8th grade have the lowest vocabulary sets in this study. There isn't a big difference among students in terms of using different and active vocabulary. That shows that the students know almost the same words in terms of word type. Considering the frequency of the vocabulary used by the students, it is observed that they maintain the writing activities with insufficient number of vocabulary. Besides, it was revealed that Syrian students do not use the vocabulary they should use frequently in Turkish. In the study, the students whose parents' education level is higher have generally better vocabulary sets than the other students and the parents' socio economic level doesn't affect their vocabulary sets. The students with low socio-economic level have the highest average of vocabulary sets. It is revealed that the gender variable affects students' vocabulary sets. It is also observed that the female students have considerably higher vocabulary sets than the male students. The result "The longer the students live in Turkey, the higher vocabulary sets they will have" is among the research results. There is a relationship between students' duration of stay in Turkey and their vocabulary sets. Nevertheless, the vocabulary set averages of the students who never attended the school in Turkey reverse this case. In conclusion, it is observed that Syrian students don't have sufficient vocabulary level in Turkish written expression. Besides, it is revealed that the students' vocabulary sets are affected from their gender, the duration of stay and education in Turkey. Keywords: Syrian students, Writing skills, Vocabulary Set.