Acquisition of English Grammatical Morphemes 1({-s pl.}, {-s ps}, and {-s 3d}) by Iraqi EFL Learners: A Case Study

Abstract

Acquiring grammatical morphemes is the main part in language acquisition, since it deals with the form of the acquired language. There is a common belief that free morphemes are acquired with a considerable degree of ease in comparing with bound morphemes. Brown (1973), de Villiers and de Villiers (1973) and Larsen-Freeman (1975) mentioned that there is a natural order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes in English. The relation between acquisition and learning is presented in the light of Larsen-Freeman's (1975) work in which she referred to her participants' learning of English language as SLA. The present study investigates the development of acquisition of {-s pl.}, {-s ps}, and {-s 3d} by Iraqi EFL learners whose native language is Arabic for four academic years and to find out if Iraqi EFL learners follow the same order of acquisition at the same age and same learning conditions. It is also to differentiate between Iraqi male and female EFL learners in the acquisition of the grammatical morphemes. The study was based on a grammaticality judgment test which was administered for 30 participants before the end of each academic year specifically in May 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. The participants were learned English language as a foreign language in the University of Anbar/College of Education for Humanities/Department of English. The results of analysis present the average of the percentage of identification of grammatical morphemes concerned. The average displays that the acquisition of {-s 3d} more fulfilled, with an average (66.583%), than {-s pl.}, {-s ps} which are (58.083%) and (50.25%) respectively. Also the results show that Iraqi male and female EFL learners have the same order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes but there is a difference in the averages obtained which reveals that Iraqi female EFL learners acquire these grammatical morphemes better than male. The study suggests that Iraqi EFL learners should apply successive lessons in English grammar and the rearrangement of learners' knowledge by reviewing mistakes committed.