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Macis, Marijana; Schmitt, Norbert – Language Teaching Research, 2017
This study investigated learner knowledge of the figurative meanings of 30 collocations that can be both literal and figurative. One hundred and seven Chilean Spanish-speaking university students of English were asked to complete a meaning-recall collocation test in which the target items were embedded in non-defining sentences. Results showed…
Descriptors: Figurative Language, Second Language Learning, Phrase Structure, Spanish Speaking
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Boers, Frank; Eyckmans, June; Stengers, Helene – Language Teaching Research, 2007
Instead of being completely arbitrary, the meaning of many idioms is "motivated" by their original, literal usage. In an FLT context, this offers the possibility of presenting idioms in ways that promote insightful learning rather than "blind" memorization. Associating an idiom with its etymology has been shown to enhance retention. This effect…
Descriptors: Language Patterns, Etymology, Mnemonics, Figurative Language