Morpheme order studies : a case study of five language minority children acquiring English as an L2 in Irish primary schools

Abstract

This study looks at how five children with English as a Second Language acquire five English morphemes. The morphemes that are the focus of this study are the plural [-s] morpheme, the past tense [-ed] morpheme, the third person singular [-s] morpheme, the possessive [-s] morpheme and the progressive participle [-ing]. The five subjects are language minority children who attend a mainstream Irish primary school. They are aged between five and seven years of age. The first language spoken by the subjects is Arabic, Romanian, Hindi and Latvian. Arabic is spoken by two of the subjects. The primary research questions which directed the course of this study are -- What is the developmental sequence in the acquisition of five morphemes in five language minority children studying in a mainstream Irish primary school? -- What is their pattern of development? -- Is there evidence of language development over time? -- Do the five subjects in the study acquire the different morphemes in a similar order? -- Is the pattern of development similar to that reported in other Second Language (L2) studies?