Exploring factors contributing to the receptive and productive knowledge of phrasal verbs in the EFL context

Abstract

Phrasal verbs are one of the most challenging features of English for most learners. This difficulty is compounded by the very limited amount of linguistic exposure EFL learners receive outside the classroom setting. This study seeks to determine the extent to which EFL learners’ receptive and productive knowledge of phrasal verbs correlate with factors that have previously been identified as facilitators of learning for these units. To this end, 100 EFL learners were asked to participate in a test that gauged their ability to recognize and produce phrasal verbs. The same participants also responded to a survey in which they stated the number of hours they spent on activities such as reading, watching movies/TV shows, listening to music and social networking along with the number of years they had studied English. A correlation analysis revealed that learners who spent more time reading and watching movies/TV shows had a better knowledge of phrasal verbs. Our results also imply that explicit instruction and focus on form are not as effective as repeated exposure in predicting learners’ phrasal verb knowledge.