Semantic number in relation to English language learner awareness

Bibliographic Data

ID22227608
AuthorsAneta Naumoska (0000-0001-8734-2246, Saints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume2020-1
Issue3
Pages17-30
Publication date2020-09-18
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Role of Language Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2657-9774 • E-ISSN: 2657-9774
PublisherInternational Association for the Educational Role of Language (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.36534/erlj.2020.01.02
OpenAlexW4236918384
LanguageEN
References cited6

This paper focuses on semantic number in English and its effect on students’ understanding of countability and how they see the world through English. Semantic nominal plurality of reference is not always equivalent to a marked plural noun or S-V plural agreement. The paper aims to explain and illustrate whether morphosyntactic markedness of number coincides with semantic specificity/informativity, and if EFL learners’ worldview shifts depending on their awareness of semantic number. The linguistic issue of number is paired with education, i.e. learners’ development in a foreign language framework. The research was targeted towards English majors (Faculty of Philology, Skopje, N. Macedonia), whose knowledge of number agreement (competence) in English was explored via a questionnaire covering various instances of number inconsistencies. It is noteworthy that most students afterwards stated a rising level of confidence in communicating in English due to a higher level of language accuracy and semantic awareness./ Keywords: semantics, number, agreement, countability, accuracy, EFL, ELT

Categorization · Countable set · Definiteness · Linguistics · Noun · Plural · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Lexicography and Language Studies · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Social Psychology

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