Whereas a lot of research has been done on the description, comprehension and acquisition process of idioms, the field of idiom teaching to English second language speakers has remained largely undiscussed. Therefore, the aim of this short corpus study is to investigate the usage of idioms in the language of nonnative English speakers, especially in the language production of German English second
language learners (“ESL-Students”).
It is argued that ESL-Students in Germany do not use idiomatic language in their production of English, mainly due to the circumstance that idioms are not explicitly taught in the English foreign language classroom (EFL-classroom) and
because the language input in German English teaching classes is too artificial to pick them up unintentionally.
The first part of this paper will contain a definition of what idioms and idiomatic language are and shortly address the processes of idiom processing, comprehension and acquisition. A second part will contain a corpus study that will shortly examine the usage of idioms by ESL-Students in contrast to the idiom usage of native speakers in quantitative as well as in qualitative terms. The two corpora used will be the ICLE-German (“ICLE-GE”) and the LOCNESS corpus. The list of idioms that the corpora are examined for is taken from
English second language teaching textbooks currently used in German English classes.
The final part of this paper will discuss the question whether the teaching of idioms in German ESL-classrooms is successful (correct and rich usage of idioms by ESL-Students, almost native proficiency) or not (idiom usage in ESL-Students incorrect or low) and make suggestions for effective idiom teaching in the EFL-classroom.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Idioms – Definition, Comprehension and Acquisition
1.1 Definition
1.2 Idiom Comprehension and Acquisition
2. Methodology
3. Corpus Study
4. Discussion
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary aim of this study is to investigate the usage of idiomatic language by German English as a second language (ESL) learners compared to native English speakers. The research seeks to determine whether a lack of explicit idiom teaching in German classrooms and the artificial nature of language input result in infrequent use of idiomatic expressions by students.
- Theoretical definitions of idioms and the processes of idiom acquisition.
- Quantitative and qualitative comparison of idiom usage between ICLE-GE and LOCNESS corpora.
- Evaluation of current German EFL textbooks regarding their integration of idiom-related learning activities.
- Analysis of pedagogical strategies to improve idiom instruction in the foreign language classroom.
Excerpt from the Book
Introduction
In the abstract to their corpus study on idioms in academic speech, Rita Simpson and Dushyanthi Mendis state: “A mastery of idioms is often equated with native speaker fluency, but it is difficult for language teachers and material writers to make principled decisions about which idioms should be taught, given the vast inventory of idioms in a native speaker´s repertoire” (419). The idea that the usage and understanding of idiomatic language is put on one level with native language proficiency is plausible - mainly because of the circumstance that idioms usually not only have a literal meaning, but also an idiomatic one that can - at most – very indirectly be derived from its syntactic elements.
This fact can be illustrated by examining a very common English idiom like “kicking the bucket”: On the one hand, there is the literal meaning of the idiom which would be, in this case, to “strike the bucket with one´s foot”. On the other hand, there would be the idiomatic meaning which would in this case be “to die” (cf. Liu 2008:5). It is evident that because of these two layers of possible meaning, with the idiomatic or metaphorical one mostly completely non-related to the literal one, it is more difficult for the listener to understand and for the speaker to employ these specific units of speech. Furthermore, it has to be noted that established idiomatic expressions are often linked to the culture and history of the country´s language. Hence, idioms can be described as “culturally encoded” (Liu 2008:66f.), which for non-native speakers makes it even more difficult to correctly apply them in their language production.
Chapter Summary
Introduction: This chapter highlights the significance of idiomatic language as a marker of native proficiency and establishes the research gap concerning the instruction of idioms for German ESL learners.
1. Idioms – Definition, Comprehension and Acquisition: This chapter reviews theoretical definitions of idioms, focusing on the distinction between single-word and phrase idioms, and discusses how learners process and acquire these expressions.
2. Methodology: This chapter describes the corpus-based research design, introducing the ICLE-GE and LOCNESS corpora and the list of specific idioms selected from German textbooks for analysis.
3. Corpus Study: This chapter presents the empirical results of the corpus analysis, revealing that the selected idiomatic expressions did not appear in the analyzed academic text samples.
4. Discussion: This chapter interprets the findings, arguing that the academic nature of the corpora and the questionable relevance of textbook-selected idioms account for the lack of results, while suggesting pedagogical improvements.
5. Conclusion: This chapter summarizes the study's findings and reaffirms the importance of integrating idiom learning into the curriculum to support authentic language production.
Keywords
Idioms, ESL-Students, Corpus Study, English Language Teaching, EFL-classroom, ICLE-German, LOCNESS, Language Acquisition, Idiom Pedagogy, Native Speaker Fluency, Figurative Language, Cultural Encoding, Vocabulary Learning, Academic Essays, Language Production.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research paper?
The paper investigates how German students learning English as a second language utilize idiomatic expressions compared to native speakers.
What are the central themes covered in this study?
The study covers the theoretical definition of idioms, the current state of idiom teaching in German schools, and the practical application of corpus linguistics in analyzing learner language.
What is the primary research objective?
The goal is to determine if German ESL learners demonstrate sufficient idiomatic usage and whether current teaching methodologies support the acquisition of such expressions.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The author conducted a corpus study comparing the ICLE-GE (International Corpus of Learner English - German learners) and the LOCNESS (Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays) corpora.
What is discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body examines various linguistic definitions of idioms, reviews the findings of the corpus analysis, and discusses the pedagogical implications for the EFL classroom.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include idioms, ESL-Students, corpus study, idiom pedagogy, and language acquisition.
Why were no hits for the selected idioms found in the corpora?
The author argues that the academic nature of the essays contained in the corpora generally avoids figurative speech, and the idioms selected from textbooks may not represent common natural usage.
What is the author's suggestion for German EFL instruction?
The author suggests that instead of treating idioms as "icing on the cake," educators should integrate them into the curriculum using diverse strategies like idiom collections, creative writing, and contextual guessing.
What is the distinction between lexical and phrase idioms?
Lexical idioms refer to single polymorphemic words, whereas phrase idioms consist of multi-word expressions that possess both a literal and an idiomatic meaning.
- Quote paper
- Marc Felsbrecher (Author), 2016, The Usage of Idioms in the Language of German EFL-Students. A Corpus Study, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/320294
