Acquisition of the Proximity Principle by Korean Speakers

Abstract

It seems plausible that learners of English with a topic-prominent first language would find it more difficult to master subject-verb agreement than learners whose native language is subject-prominent like English. Obviously, not all cases of subject-verb agreement can be described as exclusively form-based or meaning based. Some seem to be more a matter of usage and convention. This study aims to determine whether subject-verb agreement on the proximity principle. The instrument consisted of 25 sentences, containing a singular verb and a plural verb to be selected by subject-verb agreement. The participants (50 low-, 50 intermediate-, and 50 advanced-level ESL students from Korea and 15 natives) were asked to fill out a background questionnaire, which was composed of questions regarding personal information. This study has yielded two key findings as follows: First, the Korean speakers of English perceived the proximity principle significantly worse than American speakers, which suggests that Korean speakers of English have perception problems in the proximity principle; Second, the three groups` means in the proximity principle were significantly different from one another, which suggests Korean students are likely to follow the traditional rule well. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further study are also discussed.