Teaching Turkish interrogative statements

The aim of this study is to discuss the place of the Turkish interrogative statements in teaching Turkish as a foreign language, and to present teaching suggestions.In line with this objective, the structures of Turkish interrogative statements have been analyzed within the framework of Universal Grammar (Minimalist Program) and Information Structure, referring to the literature where necessary, and as a consequence of those theoretical argumentations, a detailed classification of Turkish interrogative statements has been formed. From this point forth, in forty-five books of teaching Turkish as a foreign language for different skill levels, the answers have been sought to the questions what extent this classification exists; whether there is an integrated unit regarding Turkish interrogatives, and what kind of Turkish interrogatives exist. Following this part, a teaching suggestion has been formed against the observations in the analyzed books, and an application of the teaching suggestion regarding wh-questions has been presented.From the analyses, it has been concluded that there is not an integrated unit for Turkish interrogatives in the books of teaching Turkish as a foreign language, and that in the so-called relevant parts, only yes/no questions and wh-questions are touched upon through traditional descriptions. It has as well been concluded that Turkish interrogatives are lost among the texts, and that they are not described in a detailed way. Furthermore, it has been discussed that there is evidence that Turkish interrogatives cannot be taught by the way of traditional descriptions since Turkish flexible word order is directly related to its information structure.As the last to say, it has been emphasized that the presented wh-question teaching suggestion can lead to further material development studies. It has as well been remarked for further studies that the validity of this suggestion can be tested by working with students from different ages.