Asian Journal of English Language Studies

20-34

Authors: JooHyuk Lim; Ariane Macalinga Borlongan

The present analysis places the focus on the morphosyntax of Hong Kong and Indian Englishes, their use of irregular verbs, comparison of adjectives, and s-genitives, and so revisiting the findings of previous studies in light of the contribution of the frequencies for the two new Englishes in question. Hong Kong and Indian Englishes generally follow the British pattern of irregularity, but it is Indian English that is more loyal to its colonial heritage as Hong Kong English has a tendency to demonstrate some ambivalence and indefiniteness in its patterns of verb morphology. As with all the other Englishes investigated in the studies of Hundt (1998) and Borlongan (2011b), Hong Kong and Indian Englishes also inflect for the comparison of adjectives. Periphrastic comparison though is more frequent – but not significantly frequent to put up a new pattern – in Hong Kong and Indian Englishes. The two Englishes also generate much higher frequencies of double comparatives as compared with Philippine and New Zealand Englishes. Hong Kong and Indian Englishes surface as the most conservative in the use of s-genitives. They are even more conservative than Philippine English, which has always been described as a considerably conservative variety of English.

61-85

Authors: Selwyn A. Cruz

The study explores the manifestation of explicit and implicit knowledge among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners of a university in Manila. Using a theoretical framework pioneered by Rod Ellis (2005), the researcher administered to 60 college students a Grammaticality Judgment Test (GJT) designed to elicit their explicit knowledge, and a Free Writing Test (FWT) used to test their implicit knowledge. Using the statistical test of 2x2 factorial design for the GJT and the FWT, the research found that the students used explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge for English tests that require their knowledge of rules and their personal judgment. The study likewise yielded several useful implications for teaching the English grammar in the Philippine context, particularly in the participants’ learning, such as both the EFL and the ESL learners’ ability to access either type of knowledge in language tests and the EFL learners’ ability to progress in their language development in a mixed-ability class.

117-134

Authors: Eric E. Lebeco

Anchored on the Natural Order Hypothesis (NOH) (Krashen, 1981), this paper examines the accuracy/acquisition order of English grammatical morphemes by Filipino university freshman multilinguals and the influences of the ease (or difficulty) in acquisition. The participants were determined through purposive sampling, and their language samples, which were produced through prompts, were analyzed. Brown’s (1973) 90% norm for accuracy and Suppliance in Obligatory Contexts (SOC) procedure, following Ellis and Barkhuizen’s (2005), were employed in analyzing 585 sentences. For the overuse of morphemes, the Target-like Use Analysis (Pica, 1984) was used. Based on the Group Method Score (GMS), the following acquisition order was drawn: (1) Auxiliary ‘be’ (is); (2) Article ‘the’; (3) Progressive (-ing); (4) Plural (-s); (5) Copula ‘be’ (is); (6) Irregular past; (7) Possessive (-‘s), and (8) Third Person Singular Present. The results counter the NOH for Auxiliary ‘be’ (is), Article ‘the,’ Progressive (-ing), and Copula ‘be’ (is) while affirming that the Irregular Past, Possessive (-‘s), and Third Person Singular Present tend to be acquired late. Moreover, L1 transfer appears to be the chief determinant of accuracy/acquisition order, while the frequency of language input and the use of cognitive strategies such as overgeneralization, simplification, and incomplete application of rules may have affected the ease (or difficulty) in acquisition.