Knowledge Of Idioms Research Articles

THE INFLUENCE OF IDIOMS ACQUISITION ON ENHANCING ENGLISH STUDENTS FLUENCY

Proficiency in figurative language is a challenging aspect of second language acquisition. An essential component of figurative fluency and proficiency is knowledge of idioms. Mastery of these formulaic sequences has been considered as an important indicator of communicative competence, enabling speakers to use the language both fluently and idiomatically. However, learning such essentially perplexing constructs poses a lot of challenges to EFL students, and thus they need to get immersed in language skills provided by teachers. The purpose of language acquisition is to achieve effective communication. Being communicatively competent helps language learners to avoid any kind of breakdown of communication, and therefore reaching fluency is the main goal of EFL learners. Thus, this quantitative study is an attempt to explore the influence of idioms acquisition on enhancing English students' fluency. The study has been carried out with twenty lecturers where a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire was employed to obtain data for the study. The collected data were analyzed statistically using SPSS software. The findings revealed that the participants have a positive attitude towards the impact of idioms acquisition on enhancing English students' fluency and acknowledged the importance of learning such expressions. The study concludes by a thorough discussion of the findings in relation to pedagogical implications in the field of second language teaching and learning.

Using a smart phone to learn Spanish: Does it work and will students use it?

Over time, mobile devices have penetrated the classroom, requiring new and beneficial ways to implement classroom instruction. Research suggests that Short Message Service (SMS) based instruction is an effective tool for acquiring second language (L2) vocabulary and idiom knowledge (Hayati, Jalilifar, & Mashhadi; Lu,). Additionally, studies have found that students believe that mobile learning (m-learning) is beneficial to acquiring a second language (Cavus & Ibrahim; Hayati, Jalilifar, & Mashhadi; Lu, 2008). This study examined whether m-learning can lead to Spanish vocabulary familiarity and if sentence comprehension outperforms reading definitions. Participants were 29 native English speakers studying Spanish as a second language at the intermediate level. Learners received definitions of Spanish words in Spanish and sentences in Spanish on their mobile devices through a popular messaging application. The results demonstrate that vocabulary familiarity significantly improved and participants overall had a positive perception of m-learning. Our discussion explores the implications for classroom and mobile second language teaching.

Approaches to the classification of English idioms: thematic aspect

The article identifies the need to systematize different approaches to the classification of idioms, which aims to improve the process of remembering and understanding the essence of idioms. An attempt to generalize different approaches to the classification of idioms expands the scope of standard learning of English, significantly expands the vocabulary and promotes the development of speech culture. The history of the origin of the term “idiom” has been clarified, and the sources of the origin of English idioms have been studied. Much of the oldest idioms were borrowed from the Bible and myths, as well as from Celtic, Latin, Scandinavian and other cultures. There are about 24,000 idioms in modern English. A high level of English proficiency requires knowledge and understanding of phraseology or idioms. Existing approaches to the classification of stable phrases have been also considered. The most common in the literature are the following ways of classifying idioms, in particular by meaning, by emotional saturation, by the parts of speech. There are also authentic idioms that arose in the process of historical development and those borrowed. According to the thematic orientation idioms are divided depending on the profession, the specificity of human activity. The article also analyzes the following classifications: depending on the size, the period and history of origin, the grammatical structure. In order to improve the level of English, it is appropriate to study and use idioms that characterize personal qualities, reflect the features of human life. In addition, the article suggests a thematic classification of idioms, according to which the most numerous are groups denoting emotions, work, character and preferences, money, success and entertainment. The selected thematic groups of idioms testify to the anthropocentric character of the analyzed language material

THE USE OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATIONAL DISCOURSE

The article deals with definition of English language discourse as a combination of mental and speech actions performed by subjects of educational process at the English language classroom. The author proves that educational discourse concerns knowledge and skills transferring, establishment relations between educational process subjects and evaluation of language competence of those who learn. Phraseological units are considered to be a significant property of English language educational discourse as they help the discourse be more effective and get students more motivated. Also, we assume that the proper usage of phraseological units in the English language classroom makes the educational process better and more focused on foreign language learning. The author analyzed three different approaches to classification of phraseological units in English language educational discourse and provided the examples to illustrate the types definitions. We have come to the conclusion that native and foreign classification vary as they are based on different criteria and linguistic characteristics. Besides, we offer that the knowledge of idioms is an indicator of high level English language competence of students and precondition of their professional competence as they will be able to perform professional duties by means of foreign language and consider social and cultural peculiarities of foreign language speakers. To realize this, we investigated the requirements to incorporation of phraseological units within the learning process and found out that some types of exercises can be effective; context analysis of new vocabulary and collaborative learning. The author proves that phraseological units should be widely used in the English language classroom while explaining new material, commenting on students’ behaviour and achievements, developing instructional materials or courseware.

Exploring the Effect of Using WhatsApp on Saudi Female EFL Students' Idiom-Learning

The study aimed at investigating the effect of using WhatsApp-based learning activities on developing idiom knowledge among Saudi university English as a foreign language (EFL) students compared to conventional method. It also examined the students’ perceptions towards the application of WhatsApp in idiom-learning. The rationale for conducting this study is to provide students with useful learning tools that may improve their idiomatic knowledge and also help them to practice English idioms anytime and anywhere outside the classroom. It also aimed to help teachers to streamline EFL instruction, making it more efficient, effective, and user-friendly. As such, the main research questions are what is the effect of WhatsApp-based learning activities on developing university female EFL students? and what are Saudi female EFL students’ perceptions on learning idioms using WhatsApp?. To answer these questions, 70 EFL female students in the Department of English Language and literature at Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) involved in the study. They were assigned into two groups; experimental group, who was taught English idioms via WhatsApp-based learning activities, and control group, who was taught English idioms conventionally in classroom. Two instruments were used to collect the data; a pre-post idioms achievement test and a post-study questionnaire. The findings demonstrated that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in idioms achievement post-test. Moreover, the results showed that the majority of the experimental group had a positive perception towards learning English idioms via WhatsApp.

THE EFFECT OF IDIOM INSTRUCTION ON EFL TEENAGE LEARNERS’ RETENTION OF IDIOMS

The present study investigated the effect of idiom instruction on EFL teenage learners’ retention of idiom knowledge. The focused techniques used in the intervention were contextual clues, L1-L2 idiom comparison and pictures. Thirty common English idioms were introduced to 37 pre-intermediate Vietnamese students in a private language center in the Mekong delta. During the experiment, idiom tests, IKT and VKSIT, were employed to gauge the effect of instruction on the learners’ knowledge. The intervention was controlled carefully for each single technique so that the effects of each technique could be seen clearly. Along with classroom observations for tracking objectives and procedures of instruction, face-to-face interviews were employed for gaining the insights into the learners’ attitudes towards learning idioms. The findings showed that all of the participants’ posttest results in both IKT and VKSIT were much higher than their pretest results. These results suggested the positive effect of idiom instruction on learners’ retention. Moreover, the interviews showed that the use of pictures was the most preferred learning technique of the three. These findings added pedagogical values of these techniques in teaching idioms. Suggestions were made to enhance learner attitudes towards idiom learning.
 
 <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0710/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Static infographics effects on the receptive knowledge of idiomatic expressions

Idiomatic expressions are essential components of EFL learners’ linguistic repertoire. Nevertheless, learning such inherently perplexing language constructs poses a challenge to learners. Therefore, the present study was motivated by examining a modern tool (infographics) that is relatively under-researched in EFL settings and potentially conducive to fruitful vocabulary learning. Grounded in dual coding (DCT) and cognitive load (CLT) theories, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of visualizing English idioms via static infographics. Data were collected using three instruments (a pre-/post-test, an attitude questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews) in a mixed-method design. The participants consisted of 78 Arabic speaking students at a Saudi university. Divided equally into two groups, these participants were instructed to learn 60 idioms in five computer-mediated sessions. Students in the control group studied the target idioms via online texts, whereas those in the experimental group studied them via online static infographics. The findings show that despite the significant increase in the post-test scores of both groups, the treatment group outperformed the control group as indicated by the statistically significant difference in scores. Consequently, the findings signify a high potential of static infographics to foster receptive knowledge of idioms. Moreover, the participants show positive attitudes toward the utility of static infographics on learning idioms. Meanwhile, the qualitative findings reveal a number of compelling factors induced by productive constituents and adequate content of the infographics. Those factors are conducive to effective learning and retention, triggering motivation and interests, promoting autonomous and efficient learning, and attracting learners’ attention.

Second language learner intuitions of idiom properties: What do they tell us about L2 idiom knowledge and acquisition?

The present study investigated intuitions of L2 learners about important properties of L2 idiomatic expressions to gain insights for research on L2 idiom processing and acquisition. More specifically, we examined (a) how reliable L2 learners’ intuitions are, (b) how much they differ from native speakers’ intuitions, and (c) whether they are better predictors of L2 idiom knowledge than native speaker intuitions. To this end, Dutch native speakers and German L2 learners of Dutch rated 110 Dutch idioms on frequency of exposure, frequency of use, meaning familiarity, imageability, and transparency and were tested on idiom knowledge. This study shows that L2 learner intuitions about idiom properties are a valuable and reliable source of information on L2 idiom knowledge.

AN INVESTIGATION OF VIETNAMESE EFL TEENAGE LEARNERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR IDIOM INSTRUCTION

<p>This article explores the EFL teenage learners’ knowledge of common English idioms in a Vietnamese context. Seventy-six teenage students between 14 to 17 years old, including 33 males and 43 females participated in an idiom test. The test consisted of 50 idioms selected from common English proficiency test books and the lists of common idioms by Grant (2007) and Liu (2003). Descriptive statistics showed that the students had very limited idiomatic knowledge. This finding uncovers the needs for idiom instruction. Based on the literature, the current paper proposes an instructional direction for improving their knowledge of idioms.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0628/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

BUSINESS AND LAW VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IN THE ESP CLASSROOM

Undergraduates of the University of Economics in Bratislava need to receive decent economic and legal education to be able to work successfully in different areas of the national economy and in the management structures of all levels. The previous research has shown that Slovakia follows a significant negative trend with performance in reading. Online learning platforms like LMS Moodle are ideal for students in higher education. This paper is a part of the KEGA Project carried out at the Department of English Language of the Faculty of Applied Languages. It demonstrates the work of an experimental group of sixty-four first- and second-year students of the Faculty of National Economy in a course “Business English for Advanced Students III” supported by an e-course “Business Communication”. During the semester, students developed reading skills and improved communication by reading and investigating written discourse for unknown words and idiomatic expressions. The rationale for the quantitative research is to compose a corpus of professional articles from English-language periodicals read by “Economics and Law” students. The rationale for the qualitative research is to identify important business, legal and academic vocabulary in them. The method of “Statistical Hypothesis Testing”, T-test, tests the significance of the difference between the knowledge of idioms of the experimental group and the control group (33 students doing a traditional course). The results indicate that LMS Moodle increased students’ motivation to study English. The results prove that “Economics and Law” students enlarged greatly their legal vocabulary and that both groups were interested in learning idiomatic expressions.

Learners in a Tight Corner: An Investigation of Figurative Idiomatic Competence and Learner-related Factors

Idioms play an indispensable role in communication. Knowledge of idioms is considered an indicator of proficiency. This study is aimed at investigating English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ knowledge of frequently used idioms and the effect of learner-related factors. The participants were 218 female EFL college students at the College of Basic Education (CBE) in Kuwait. A test was designed and used as the data collection instrument to assess the students’ knowledge of frequent idioms. The test scores reveal a substantially low overall knowledge in this area. The results show that Kuwaiti EFL learners have difficulty comprehending common idiomatic expressions. Additionally, the study is aimed at determining whether students’ knowledge of idioms is linked to age, year of study, and/or Grade Point Average (GPA). A statistically significant difference in knowledge of frequently used idioms is evident when GPA is taken into account.

Designing Idiom and Proverb Crossword Puzzles for Primary School Students in Vietnam

Originated from the customs, practices, habits and events of a society, idioms and proverbs are special features and the beauty of that culture. They characterize the language of each nation so they must be preserved by every ethnic group and country. This study is conducted to clarify primary school students’ knowledge of idioms and proverbs (300 students in three provinces of Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh); the reality of teachers’ designing and using crosswords to develop their knowledge of idioms and proverbs (592 teachers in Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Hanoi, Bac Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai and Ha Giang). Firstly, the research shows that students’ knowledge of idioms and proverbs is limited. Secondly, teachers are well aware of the role and effect of crosswords, but they fail to actively design crosswords and to use them effectively. In order that teachers can create highly appealing and effective crosswords, it is essential for them to have a clear and explicit procedure of designing crosswords. The procedure is proposed in this article with an end goal of enriching the national language for students when they enter primary school.

Normative Data of Dutch Idiomatic Expressions: Subjective Judgments You Can Bank on.

The processing of idiomatic expressions is a topical issue in empirical research. Various factors have been found to influence idiom processing, such as idiom familiarity and idiom transparency. Information on these variables is usually obtained through norming studies. Studies investigating the effect of various properties on idiom processing have led to ambiguous results. This may be due to the variability of operationalizations of the idiom properties across norming studies, which in turn may affect the reliability of the subjective judgements. However, not all studies that collected normative data on idiomatic expressions investigated their reliability, and studies that did address the reliability of subjective ratings used various measures and produced mixed results. In this study, we investigated the reliability of subjective judgements, the relation between subjective and objective idiom frequency, and the impact of these dimensions on the participants’ idiom knowledge by collecting normative data of five subjective idiom properties (Frequency of Exposure, Meaning Familiarity, Frequency of Usage, Transparency, and Imageability) from 390 native speakers and objective corpus frequency for 374 Dutch idiomatic expressions. For reliability, we compared measures calculated in previous studies, with the D-coefficient, a metric taken from Generalizability Theory. High reliability was found for all subjective dimensions. One reliability metric, Krippendorff’s alpha, generally produced lower values, while similar values were obtained for three other measures (Cronbach’s alpha, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, and the D-coefficient). Advantages of the D-coefficient are that it can be applied to unbalanced research designs, and to estimate the minimum number of raters required to obtain reliable ratings. Slightly higher coefficients were observed for so-called experience-based dimensions (Frequency of Exposure, Meaning Familiarity, and Frequency of Usage) than for content-based dimensions (Transparency and Imageability). In addition, fewer raters were required to obtain reliable ratings for the experience-based dimensions. Subjective and objective frequency appeared to be poorly correlated, while all subjective idiom properties and objective frequency turned out to affect idiom knowledge. Meaning Familiarity, Subjective and Objective Frequency of Exposure, Frequency of Usage, and Transparency positively contributed to idiom knowledge, while a negative effect was found for Imageability. We discuss these relationships in more detail, and give methodological recommendations with respect to the procedures and the measure to calculate reliability.

Decomposable and Non-decomposable L2 Idiom Learning in Enhanced Input Context

The aim of the present study was to examine how Korean EFL learners differently recall and retain both decomposable and non-decomposable idioms when they are exposed to those items through enhanced input contexts. For the study, twelve target idioms (six decomposable and six non-decomposable) that have verb plus noun form were selected. As a conceptual framework, the models of idiomatic processing in comprehension, the theories and studies about the role of semantic compositionality were discussed. The results revealed that learners recalled high percentages of both types of idioms while non-decomposable idiom recall was significantly higher in both receptive and productive knowledge immediately after the enhanced contextual language input task activities. More receptive knowledge of non-decomposable idioms was yielded than decomposable ones, and no major difference was found in delayed productive retention between the two types of idioms two weeks following the task intervention. The results are inconsistent with the view of the compositional model that posits decomposable idioms have a processing advantage in comprehension over non-decomposable ones when L2 learners were exposed to language input in contexts with cloze production and enhancement ways such as bolding, L1 glossing and repetition for target idioms simultaneously.

Eine harte Nuss zu knacken«. Phraseologismen im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache

In the present article I paid attention to teaching idioms in German as a second language. Is the knowledge of idioms possible to master? How many idioms does a student of foreign language need? How should we teach them? How can an idiomatic optimum be achieved? The article starts with a definition of phraseology and idiomatic competence. Then it presents my experience with teaching and knowledge of idioms by students.

EFL Learners’ Knowledge of High-frequency Words in the Comprehension of Idioms: A Boost or a Burden?

Single word items have usually been the unit of analysis for measuring L2 learners’ vocabulary size, for designing word lists and for estimating word coverage of reading texts. However, what is lost in these estimates is the consideration of multiword expressions, such as idioms. To empirically test the assertion that the knowledge of single word items will not lead to automatic comprehension of multiword items, a two-part test was conducted on 124 Korean middle school learners of English: One was a test on idioms composed of the top 1,000 words in English; the second tested single word items of the exact same words in the idiom test. Results indicated that the learners’ knowledge of idioms was lagging behind that of single word items even when the learners knew most of the words that constituted the idioms. Differences between the learners’ actual comprehension and reported comprehension level also indicated that the learners were overestimating their comprehension of the items. The comprehension strategies used to decode the meaning of idioms also indicated that guessing from context was the most effective strategy. Implications are discussed in the light of learning the idioms.

The Effect of Role-Play through Dialogues vs. Written Practice on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Knowledge of English Idioms

The Effect of Role-Play through Dialogues vs. Written Practice on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Knowledge of English Idioms

Comparative effect of project-based learning and electronic project-based learning on the development and sustained development of english idiom knowledge

As a response to the advancement of technology into every aspect of human life especially education and the need for more involvement on the side of learners advocated by learner-centered approaches towards education, this study aimed at investigating comparative effect of project-based (PBL) learning and electronic project-based learning (EPBL) on Iranian intermediate English as a Foreign Language learners’ idiom learning and retention. 90 male and female participants’ were assigned into three groups of control, PBL and EPBL. At the onset of the study, a pre- test of English idiom knowledge was conducted. After 15 sessions of treatment on the basis of specific lesson plan and procedure, learners’ knowledge of idioms was measured on posttest and delayed posttests. The results of multivariate analysis of variance indicated that both PBL and EPBL outperformed control group in learning and retention and PBL outperformed EPBL in retention and sustainability of the knowledge. The student’s perceived efficacy of PBL in two modes was analyzed using portfolio writing. Theme elicitation analysis suggested that the centrality of the role of instructors, environmental support and traditional education conventions and culture need to be revisited when it comes to implementation of technology in education.

Learning English Idioms With a Web-Based Educational Game

This article explores the usefulness of a web-based education game for learning English idioms and examines attitudinal factors contributing to the learning of the idioms with the game. The two studies reported in this article involved two groups of English as a foreign language students in two different contexts. The students were surveyed on their opinions of language learning and games and tested on their idiom knowledge before and after using the web-based educational game over a similar period of gameplay time. The studies found that both groups had significant gains in idiom knowledge, with some variation. It was also found that idiom knowledge improvement was largely mediated by willingness to learn English. In addition, other factors such as satisfaction and self-perception of improvement were noted. It is suggested that, in game-based language learning, attitudinal and motivational factors such as satisfaction with games and willingness to learn with games need to be carefully considered as they can generate positive learning outcomes. Further studies on the use of online educational games for language learning are recommended to be conducted in and out of the classroom in line with the evaluation of the games.

Investigating Chinese EFL Learners’ Comprehension of English Idioms

This study investigates how Chinese EFL learners’ understanding of English idioms is associated with their judgments of idiom familiarity, transparency. Another factor, context is also explored for its role in idiom comprehension. Results show learners’ familiarity rating is positively correlated with their idiomatic knowledge, transparency rating does not indicate clear correlation; it is easier for learners to understand high-familiar and high-transparent idioms. Context exerts a facilitating role in learners’ interpretation of idioms, and there are significant interaction effects between familiarity and context. The findings provide pedagogical implications for teachers to use classroom activities or exercises to increase learners’ exposure to English idioms.