L2 Idioms: On the Effectiveness of Teaching Techniques

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the possible effect of four ways of teaching on EFL learners' comprehension and production of English idioms. A sample of 80 female Iranian EFL learners (in four groups) at Guya institute in Qazvin were selected. Each group of participants received instruction through one of the four techniques of visualization, storytelling, game and lexical awareness techniques. The participants were given a 60-item Oxford Placement Test to make sure that their general proficiency level was approximately the same. They were also given an idioms pretest. After the treatment period, posttests of idiom comprehension and production were given to all the four groups. One-way ANOVA was run to analyze the collected data. The results suggested that the differences among the four techniques in terms of their effectiveness on L2 idiom comprehension were not statistically significant. However, the four techniques were differentially effective on idiom production. To see which of the four techniques was more effective than the others, a post-hoc Sheffe test was conducted, showing that visualization was significantly more effective than game and lexical awareness on L2 idiom production. The results also showed that storytelling was more effective than game and lexical awareness techniques. These findings can have worthwhile implications for second language teachers, learners and coursebook designers.