Investigation of the relationship between speech skills and vocabulary of foreign secondary school students: The case of Afghan students

This research aims to examine the speech skills of Afghan students at the second stage of primary education living in Erzurum, to evaluate the findings in terms of various parameters by determining their total verbal assets, qualified verbal assets and word frequency. In addition, it aims to compare the qualified vocabulary elements used by students in their speeches with those contained in textbooks. The research was conducted by qualitative research method and the situation pattern was used. 115 Afghan students in the provincial center of Erzurum formed the sample group. The data were collected through structured conversation topics and one-on-one interviews; Cibakaya and Simple-Concordance programs were used in the analyses. The research has revealed that the speech skills of Afghan students are insufficient and they cannot use the vocabulary elements effectively. In terms of gender, it has been observed that the word coefficient ratios of female students are higher than those of males. Textbooks generally have a low rate of meeting the qualified vocabulary elements of students (2%), while environmental factors, etc. İt has been found that the rates of acquired vocabulary are about five times higher (9.1%) compared to those acquired from textbooks. The results obtained are of a guiding nature for the development of existing materials in the field of education and the application of methods that will enrich the verbal presence of students.