ERIC Number: EJ939590
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Oct
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-1688
EISSN: N/A
Second Language Idiom Learning: The Effects of Lexical Knowledge and Pedagogical Sequencing
Zyzik, Eve
Language Teaching Research, v15 n4 p413-433 Oct 2011
This article examines the acquisition of Spanish idioms in a classroom setting that was supplemented with explicit instruction over a 10-week period. The research design manipulated two variables: prior lexical knowledge and idiom organization. Sixty-five second language (L2) learners completed pre- and posttests that measured their ability to recognize and produce the target idioms, as well as a vocabulary test to control for lexical knowledge. Participants in the experimental groups received contextualized idiom presentation that encouraged noticing, retrieving, and generating (Nation, 2001). The results indicate significant treatment effects, although no significant advantage was found for the thematic grouping of idioms. The results also show a significant effect for prior lexical knowledge on one of the dependent variables. These findings are discussed in relation to prior studies of idiom learning from a cognitive linguistics perspective (Boers et al., 2007) as well as psycholinguistic studies that emphasize the salience of literal meanings (Cieslicka, 2006). (Contains 3 tables and 8 notes.)
Descriptors: Experimental Groups, Language Patterns, Second Language Learning, Figurative Language, Spanish, Pretests Posttests, Vocabulary Development, Language Tests, Prior Learning, Psycholinguistics, Second Language Instruction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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