Acquisition of the Third Person Singular -s by L1- Korean Adult/Child Learners of English

Abstract

This study explores whether children have an advantage over adults in learning second language (L2) inflectional morphology. L2 theories such as the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis and the Less Is More Hypothesis would predict that children have an advantage over adults in the acquisition of L2 inflectional morphology. The study focuses on the English third person singular -s, which is notoriously difficult for L2 speakers to acquire. Korean adult (n = 51) and child (n = 40) L2 learners completed a picturenarration task designed to assess their implicit knowledge of the target morpheme. The analysis found no difference in the performances of proficiency-matching children and adults, contra the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis and the Less Is More Hypothesis.