Singular-Plural Distinction in Izon and its Influence on the Teaching/Learning of Plural Formation in English

Abstract

This study examines singular-plural distinction processes in Izon and highlights the difficulties these may pose to the teaching and learning of plural formation in English so as to suggest ways in which teachers can design an effective teaching method to tackle the perceived difficulties. The study, which made use of 100 subjects of an average age of eleven years drawn from the Arogbo-Izon community of Ondo State, Nigeria, reveals that Izon inhibits the learning of plural formation in English as the majority of the subjects exhibit the influence of the a-plurality marker and the reflexive pronoun formation process in Izon thereby pluralizing all English nouns through the addition of -s and deriving the reflexive pronoun (their selfs or their selves) through the addition of "self" to the possessive form of the pronoun (their) as against the object form (them) preferred in English. To ensure that the subjects are assisted to overcome these difficulties, the study employs a ten-step contrastive approach which proves very effective as the subjects' performances, after the application of the method, recorded a tremendous rise in the percentage of correct responses from 26 per cent to 94 per cent (plural formation in nouns) and from 46 per cent to 100 per cent (plural formation in pronouns). The method is, therefore, recommended for the teaching of English in the Izon communities in Nigeria and in other similar ESL situations both within and outside Nigeria.