Exploring the use of Pronominal Agreement in WhatsApp Group Communications Among Students of English, Federal College of Education, Abeokuta
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Research has revealed that many Nigerian tertiary students, regardless of their tribes, fields of study, and educational background, communicate without adhering to grammatical conventions on WhatsApp platform, and this forms the focus of the present study.The study aims to examine specifically those instances where such students of English break the rules of pronominal agreement in their WhatsApp communications, irrespective of whether they lack the linguistic knowledge or do that out of negligence.The study is grounded in Noam Chomsky's Competence-Performance Theory (1965).The study employed a qualitative research design as its methodology.Data were extracted from a WhatsApp group of over 300 students of English at the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta.Fortytwo texts were purposively selected taking on an Android phone for thorough analysis.This study revealed that most of their texts exhibit ungrammaticality, characterized by pronominal disagreement.Specifically, the study revealed that incorrect usage of gender-specific pronouns was a prevalent issue.Additionally, it was found that disagreement between singular and plural demonstrative pronouns was also a common error.The findings further revealed that errors in relative pronoun usage, inconsistent use of singular and plural indefinite pronouns, case errors, and redundant expressions were significant problems.To address these issues, the study recommends that English language instructors emphasize the importance of pronominal agreement in their teaching practices, and students should practice using pronouns correctly in their writing and speaking.
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4407567219