Exploring the EFL Iraqi students' competence in using and understanding idiomatic expressions

Authors

  • Ban Hassan Jasim University of Thi-Qar/ College of Education for Humanities/ Department of English Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61841/v2c4h726

Keywords:

Idiom, Difficulty of L2 Idiom, Idiom processing strategies

Abstract

For many language learners, especially those of Arabic origin, the most difficult part in learning idiomatic expression is learning both literal and figurative meanings of these idioms. idiom is a multi-word expression which has a meaning different from the sum of the meanings of the words it contains (e.g. Allan 1986, 237, Cruse 1986, 37, Chaika 1982, 200) This study aims at: 1. explaining the idiomatic expressions and clarifying the different types of methods and strategies of English idioms learning that EFL learners used to conclude the meaning of idiomatic expressions. 2. Identifying the Iraqi EFL university students' performance to recognize idioms to help them know the effective use of them. 3. Analyzing the causes of errors made by Iraqi EFL university students in using and understanding the idiomatic expressions. 4: Finding out the learners' errors in using idioms and pointing out whether there are any significant differences between the whole samples' performance. To fully fill the aims, a sample was chosen from the third-year students at the Department of English (College of Education for Humanities/University of Thi-Qar) during the academic year 2020-2021. The sample size is 50 students. The researcher makes sure of the variation that could affect the results. All the subjects of the sample are approximately the same age and have the same linguistic background. The researcher designed an idiom familiarity test to identify the problematic area in using and understanding idiomatic expressions and concluding the meaning of these idioms. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean score, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent sample t-test). The whole results reveal that students exhibit a weak performance in the idioms familiarity test; this may be attributed to the lack of idioms in the curriculum of Departments of English. 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

 Alexander, R. 1987. "Problems in Understanding and Teaching Idiomaticity in English." Anglistik and Eneglichunterricht, 32(2): 105-122.

 Allan, K. 1986. "Linguistic Meaning." Vol. I. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

 Baker, M. 1992. In Other Words: A Course Book on Translation. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203327579

 Bulut, T., and Çelik-Yazici, İ. (2004). "Idiom Processing in L2: Through Rose-Colored Glasses." in The Reading Matrix, Vol. 4. No. 2: 105-116.

 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 2003. Cambridge University Press.

 Chaika, E. 1982. "Language: The Social Mirror." Rowle. Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers, Inc.

 Cooper, T. 1999. "Processing of Idioms by L2 Learners of English." TESOL Quarterly. 33(2): 233-262. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587719

 Coryell, J. L. 2012. The Effectiveness of Etymological Elaboration as a Method of Teaching Idioms to Adolescent English Language Learners. Published Ph.D. dissertation. State University of New York at Albany. Available at: ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing.

 Cruse, D. A. 1986. Lexical Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 "Idioms & Phrases Questions & Answers." English For ... Byjus https://byjus.com/govt-exams/idioms-phrases-question-answer/[online]

 Irujo, S. 1986. "A Piece of Cake: Learning and Teaching Idioms". ELT Journal. 23: 236-237. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/40.3.236

 Larson, M. 1984. "Meaning-Based Translation: A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence." Lanham, MD. New York and London: University Press of America.

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (6th ed.). Harlow, England: Longman.

 Mantyla, K. 2004. Idioms and Language Users: The Effect of the Characteristics of Idioms on Their Recognition and Interpretation by Native and Non-Native Speakers of English [online]. University of Jyvaskyla. Retrieved

 Marlies, E. (1995). "You Don’t Die Immediately When You Kick an Empty Bucket: A Processing View on Semantic and Syntactic Characteristics of Idioms." In M. Everaet, E. Linden, A. Schenk, & R. Schreuder (Eds.), Idioms: Structural and Psychological Perspectives: 283-299.

 McCarthy, M., & O’Dell, F. 2003. English Idioms in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 Palmer, B., & Brooks, M. 2004. Reading Until The Cows Come Home: Figurative Language and Reading Comprehension.[online]

 Rachmadie, Sabrony, Drs., M.A. 1986. Vocabulary: literal meaning, figurative meaning, idioms. Jakarta: Universitas Terbuka. Richards, J., & Schmidt, R. 1990. Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. London: Longman.

 Siefring, J. 2004. Oxford Dictionary of Idioms. New York: Oxford University Press.

 Simpson, R. & Mendis, D. 2003. "A Corpus-based Study of Idioms in Academic Speech." TESOL Quarterly. 37(3):419-442. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588398

 Tran, H. 2013. "Figurative Idiomatic Competence: An Analysis of EFL Learners in Vietnam." Language Education in Asia. 4(1): 23-38. https://doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/13/V4/I1/A3/Tran

 Wilkins, D.A. 1972. Linguistics in Language Teaching. London: Edward Arnold.

 Zhang, L. 2009. The Effect of Etymological Elaboration on L2 Idiom Acquisition and Retention in an Online Environment (WebCT). Unpublished M.A. thesis, Graduate School of Iowa State University.

Downloads

Published

30.04.2020

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 2 (2020): 24 (2) 2020

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 AUTHOR

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

You are free to:

  1. Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
  2. Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
  3. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

  1. Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  2. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:

You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .

No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

How to Cite

Hassan Jasim, B. (2020). Exploring the EFL Iraqi students’ competence in using and understanding idiomatic expressions. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(2), 9382-9396. https://doi.org/10.61841/v2c4h726