The Effect of the Cognitive-Linguistics Approach on Learning Auxiliary Verbs in English

This study aimed to determine the effect of the cognitive-linguistics approach on learning auxiliary verbs in English. Therefore, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The participants of the study included two groups of intermediate English learners, who were selected from the students of one of the Foreign Language institutes in Ahvaz. In addition, a quick placement test, provided by Oxford University Press and the Examinations Council of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), was employed to homogenize the language skills of the participants, and ۱۰۰ intermediate English learners were selected from among the ۲۵۰ learners included in the study. The test was used to evaluate the participants’ knowledge of auxiliary verbs in the pre-test and delayed post-test. Each test consisted of ۲۰ fill-in-the-blank items in which an auxiliary verb was missed and had to be filled with the most appropriate choice among the four possible choices. Then, Cronbach’s alpha (α) was applied to determine the reliability of the pre-test and delayed post-test (α = ۹۰ and ۹۵, respectively), and its validity was confirmed by the respective professors. According to the study results, the cognitive-linguistics approach affects learning auxiliary verbs in English.

Keywords:

Cognitive linguistics , Learning auxiliary verbs , English