The Effect of Different Methods of Teaching Idiomatic Expressions on the Production of Idiomatic Expressions in EFL Classroom

Traditionally, idiomatic expressions have been perceived as morphologically complex lexical items, whose meanings cannot be directly construed through attending their parts. However, idiomatic expressions vary consistently in terms of idiosyncratic properties of syntax. Thus, learning idiomatic expressions requires language learners to pay attention to the syntactic versatility of idioms while also at the same time attending their sematic features. The present study attempted to compare the relative effectiveness of two methods of instruction (Focus on form versus. Focus on meaning) for teaching a set of ۸۰ idiomatic expressions. Data were collected through ۱۰ rounds of production tests in an intermediate course of English with ۲۶ students. The experiment was conducted as a part of the regular classroom instruction in ۲۰ sessions, where in each session, the students were taught four idiomatic expressions, alternatively either in a focus on form or focus on meaning fashion. A presentation – practice – test procedure was followed in each session within a quasi-experimental research framework. The results of the study showed a significant difference in students’ test scores in favor of the focus on meaning approach. The findings suggest that focus on meaning instruction can provide a better opportunity for students to attend simultaneously the semantic features and syntactic properties of idioms.

Keywords:

Idiomatic expressions , EFL teaching , Focus on form , Focus on meaning