Nonnative English learners’ use and understanding of singular they

Abstract

With universities and other academic institutions now creating policies regarding the use of pronouns and the rights of individuals to use the pronouns they prefer, use of the singular they pronoun in academic discourse is a relatively new phenomenon and not one that is typically studied by English as a second language (ESL) students before their arrival in a predominantly English-speaking country. To date, whether international students are aware of this phenomenon has yet to be explored; lack of this awareness could lead to a range of communication problems. To address this gap, the present exploratory study examined what pronouns university-level ESL students use when writing about a non-gender specified person (e.g. "the ideal student"), and whether they understand the use of singular they in discourse. The data reveal that participants from various proficiency levels use and understand use of singular they in context. However, eleven out of 34 participants (32.4%) do not understand singular they in the provided context. The findings of this study inform ESL instruction and curriculum development in accurately assessing the English language knowledge of students in this area, and tailoring instruction to their needs.