Teaching and Learning of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-word Verbs of English in The Context of Sudan

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Q.22 On the Students’ problems / difficulties in learning idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs.

In this question, a list of six problems/difficulties is provided and the respondents have to indicate which of them are most likely to encounter while learning idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs. However, they can tick more than one possible option and the list is not exhaustive but seems to present sample of these obstacles.

TABLE – 54

SQNN: Q.22 THE STUDENTS’ PROBLEMS/DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING

IDIOAMTIC EXPRESSIONS AND MULTI-WORD VERBS

Problems/Difficulties	No. of Selectors out of 100	%
a. The use of the wrong particle and/or preposition with verb.	80	80%
b. Not being able to understand the multi-word verbs which are also idioms.	85	85%
c. Generally, problems arising from the special nature of multi-word verbs (their difficult structural patterns) (e.g. with pronouns), their special stress patterns and so on.	87	87%
d. Unless you know what an idiomatic expression means you cannot as a rule, guess its meaning: Every word (in the following phrase, for example, “He’s burnt his boats) is familiar enough, but the meaning of the phrase cannot be pieced together from the meanings of its parts.	90	90%
e. You understand every word in a text and still fail to grasp what the text is all about.	80	80%
f. You do not know whether for example, the words ‘fall out,’ as used in ‘I was pleased with the way things had fallen out, form a unit of meaning (an idiom) or not?	95	95%

Table 54 concerns with the students problems/difficulties in learning idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs. In sum, the subjects indicated that the obstacles, provided in the list, faced them, while learning these multi-word lexical units, to a considerable extent: the percentage of their selections against each problem/difficulty ranged between 80% and 95%. In some details, problem ‘f’ ranked 1^st with 95%, next came ‘d’ with 90%, then ‘c’ occupied the third place with 87%, ‘b’ the 4^th position and lastly we found ‘a’ and ‘e’ with 80% each. The classification and analysis put ‘meaning’ on the top of the list of obstacles met by the students and ‘grammar’ (especially as in ‘a’) on the bottom of the scale.

Q.23 On the (suitable) classroom methodology, materials, motivation etc. for learning/ teaching of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs.

With a view to involve the learners in selecting, (negotiating) the suitable classroom methodology, appropriate materials, etc., they were asked to comment on the claim that:

‘idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs are some of those areas of language where a well-motivated learner can make giant strides (quick progress) on his own if he is given the right kind of materials to work on including vocabulary developments exercises’.

The answers given are: (Yes, No, and Not sure) and the respondents have to opt for one of them.

TABLE – 55

SQNN: Q.23 THE (SUITABLE) CLASSROOM METHODOLOGY, MOTIVATION,

MATERIALS ETC. FOR TEACHING/LEARNING OF IEX & MWV: STUDENTS’

INVOLVEMENT/CENTREDNESS + SUITABLE MATERIALS

Question	Options	Responses out of 100	Percentage
Do you think that IEX & MWV are some of those areas of language where a well-motivated learner can make giant strides (quick progress) on his own if he is given the right kind of materials to work on including vocabulary development exercises	Yes No Not sure	95 0 5	95% 0% 5%

Table 55 focuses on the subjects’ views on the suitable classroom methodology, materials, motivation etc., for learning / teaching idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs.

In particular, it provides the students views on the claim that

‘IEX / MWV are some of those areas of language where a well-motivated learner can make giant strides (quick progress) on his own if he is given the right kind of materials to work on including vocabulary development exercises’.

95% of the respondents agreed with this statement, 5% are not sure about that claim: no one disagreed with it.

Q.24 On the familiarity of learners with some books / references on idiomatic expressions and multi-word Verbs.

This question addressed the aspect of the relevant materials on idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs. A list of six references, and textbooks is provided for the students and they have to indicate with which of them they are familiar. The list contains the following:

a. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms

b. Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs

c. Collins COBUILD Dictionary of English Idioms

d. Collins COBUILD Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs

e. Collins Dictionary of English Idioms

f. Practice with Idioms (Ronald E. Feare 1980), OUP.

TABLE – 56

SQNN: Q.24 THE FAMILIARITY (OR NON) OF LEARNERS WITH SOME

REFERENCES / BOOKS, TEXT BOOKS / WORKBOOKS ETC.

References / books / textbooks / workbooks etc.	Nos. of Students who are familiar with those books out of 100	Percentage
a. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms	5	5%
b. Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs	5	5%
c. Collins COBUILD Dictionary of English Idioms	0	0%
d. Collins COBUILD Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs	0	0%
e. Collins Dictionary of English Idioms	0	0%
f. Practice with Idioms (Ronald E. Feare 1980), OUP	0	0%

Table 56 addresses the aspect of the relevant materials on idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs. It came out that only % of the subjects are familiar with the Oxford pair of dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms and Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs). None of the respondents are conversant with any of the remaining materials provided in the list.

The non-familiarity of the majority of the students with these basic and useful sources affects the students’ mastery over these two multi-word lexical items since dictionaries as well as their attached (or supplementary) materials… etc. are used often as teaching and learning aids. For instance, the workbook: ‘Practice with Idioms’ (which is, more or less, devised and written on the light of the Oxford dictionaries on idioms/phrasal verb is a crucial textbook and students should have access to this type of materials.

Q.25 On the students’ feeling and attitude towards idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs while encountering and using them in speech and writing.

Here, the students are required to reveal their feeling (comfortable or not) and attitude when meeting and using idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs in speech and writing. They have to respond by selecting one of the following options: Yes, No and To some extent.

TABLE – 57

SQNN: Q.25 THE STUDENTS’ FEELING AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS IEX &

MWV WHILE ENCOUNTERING ANDUSING THEM IN SPEECH & WRITING

Question	Options	Respondents out of 100	Percentage
Do you feel uncomfortable when you encounter and use idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs in speech and writing?	Yes No To some extent	75 10 15	75% 10% 15%

Table 57 reflects the learners’ feeling and attitude towards idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs while encountering and using them in speech and writing.

75% of the subjects showed that they feel uncomfortable when meeting and using these multi-word lexical units in speech and writing.

The rest (15%) said that they experienced relatively uncomfortable feeling (to some extent).

Q.26 On the students’ views on the importance, definition, concept etc., regarding Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs

This question raised with the intention to prepare the subjects and the ground/site for the inclusion (introduction) of a course on idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs and to serve as an approach to devise the outlines for that course. It is an attempt to detect the students’ views towards these two vocabulary components, in terms of their importance (in general and for the foreign learners), definition, notion/concept and attitude, by providing the learners with a variety of statements to which they had to respond by ticking their selection(s) from a five-scale measure [Strongly Disagree (SDAG), Disagree (DA), Not Sure / Don’t Know (NS/DK), Agree (AG) and Strongly Agree (SAG)] which is given against the statements.

TABLE – 58

SQNN: Q.26 THE STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON DEFINITION, PERCEPTION, AND

AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF IEX & MWV

Statements	SDAG		DAG		NS/DK		AG		SAG
	Rs.	%	Rs.	%	Rs.	%	Rs.	%	Rs.	%
a. IEX & MWV are common in every language.	0	0%	0	0%	30	30%	35	35%	35	35%
b. Without command of IEX and MWV students cannot truly feel comfortable and confident in their efforts to master English thoroughly	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	100	100%
c. Foreign student should be satisfied when he can express himself in English fluently and grammatically and that there is no need for him to waste time on language ‘Frills’ such as IEX & MWV	90	90%	5	5%	5	5%	0	0%	0	0%
d. IEX and MWV are insurmountable obstacles standing in the way of fluent control of language	75	75%	15	15%	5	5%	5	5%	0	0%
e. Idioms should not be confused with colloquial language or slang.	0	0%	10	10%	10	10%	5	5%	75	75%
f. IEX and MWV are not something special or sub-standard, they are a vital part of the standard language, and as such can hardly be avoided.	0	0%	0	0%	5	5%	5	5%	90	90%
g. Idioms are special form of collocation which will be encountered by every learner.	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	10	10%	90	90%

KEY:

SDAG = Strongly Disagree DAG = Disagree NS/DK = Not sure/Don’t Know

AG = Agree SAG = Strongly Agree RS = No. of Respondents

Table 58 informs us about the subjects’ views on the importance, definition/concept… etc. of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs. From the table, the respondents’ reaction(s) to the given statements cold be summarized as follows:

Regarding the importance of IEX/MWV, the students’ responses to statements a, b, c and f confirmed the importance of these multi-word lexical items in every language, in the comfortable feeling and confidence and in their status as vital part of the standard language.

Concerning the statements centering on the definition/concept aspect of IEX/MWV the learners feedback is as below:

· The respondents’ replies disagreed with the claim that (statement d) IEX/MWV are insurmountable obstacles standing in the way of fluent control of language. They supported the view that they are manageable components of vocabulary/language and that they could be learned and taught.

· The majority of the students (above 75%) are for the distinction between IEX/MWV and colloquial language or slang (statement e): these lexical items should not be confused with language varieties.

· A large proportion of the respondents are perceiving IEX/MWV as essential area of the standard language.

· Almost all the students are for the definition and perception of IEX/MWV as special form(s) of collocation which will be encountered by every learner.

Q.27 On the Students’ area(s) of interest (so as to build the course on it / them):

This question aimed at knowing the areas of interest of the students in order to base the proposed explicit course (on idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs) on them i.e. to centre the course on which area(s). A list of some areas of language and literature is provided and the learners have to denote their preference(s).

TABLE – 59

SQNN: Q.27 THE STUDENTS’ AREA(S) OF INTEREST

Areas (of interest)	Respondents: No. of Selectors (out of 100)	Percentage
Grammar	35	35%
Vocabulary	70	70%
Pronunciation	10	10%
Fiction	60	60%
Poetry	05	05%
Drama	50	50%
Any other	00	00%

NB: Students can be (of course) interested in more than one area so the total percentage does not equal 100%.

Table 59 tells us that the area(s) of interest of the subjects. It reveals that vocabulary ranked first among the learners preference(s) (70%), then follows fiction (60%), drama (50%), grammar (35%) and pronunciation and poetry (5% each) occupied the bottom of the list. The status of vocabulary in the students’ list of areas of interests could be made use of in centering/building a course on IEX/MWV (on the basis of the learners preference). By doing this, it seems that we are putting these multi-word lexical items in their proper and natural area: vocabulary. Vocabulary encompasses these 2 overlapping components and in turn vocabulary is a sub-skill of reading skill. This enables us to include these 2 vocabulary components in different and various reading materials.

The 2^nd and the 3^rd options of the respondents are respectively fiction and drama. This finding cold be used to support and supplement any course(s) on IEX/MWV. This is in conformity with our claim that the nature of these multi-word lexical items as apart of vocabulary and that vocabulary is part of reading skills will increase the range of the options of devising and developing materials on IEX/MWV.

5.3.2.2 SUMMARY FOR THE STUDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE

n Summary for the Students’ Profile(s): (Questions 1 – 15)

The purpose of this part of the students’ questionnaire was to elicit information from the subjects of the study. The questions aimed at getting information about name, sex, age, religion, marital status, state(s) of domicile/birth place, nationality, parents’ education and occupation, mother tongue, medium of instruction at school, other languages known, the current faculty (school) programme and the subject of study as well as the years of study of English before university.

The data obtained showed the following about the 100 subjects of the study:

· The range of the age of the students is between 22 – 25.

· The sample is gender – representative: 52% female / 48% male.

· All the students are muslim.

· Only 5% of the subjects are married. These five (students) are female: none of the male students got married.

· They are from the various and different States of Sudan.

· Their birth places are distributed over the country.

· All the students enrolled at the time of the study are Sudanese.

· Their parents received a reasonable education and the majority of them are from middle class.

· They are Arabic speaking students who did their schooling through the mother tongue with 6 years of English as a foreign language before joining the university level.

· Only a few number of them know French (5%) as another language (besides English and Arabic).

· They are pursuing English undergraduate courses (B.A. and Ed./B.A.) at the Faculties of Education and Arts in Khartoum and Elneelian universities respectively.

Overall, the subjects of the present study are homogenous. They are representing the typical Sudanese University student of English as a foreign language.

nn Summary for the Second Part of the Students’ Questionnaire (Questions 16 – 27)

In the first 15 questions of the present questionnaire, we have provided the students’ profile(s). The remaining questions addressed the following issues:

· The subjects’ attitude towards MWV: preference of multi-word verbs or single-word ones.

· The students’ ability (or lack of it) to substitute a MWV with a SWV.

· The difficulty/ease of understanding and substituting a MWV with a single-word one.

· The students’ ability to use and understand IEX and MWV in different and various settings.

· The learners’ preference of using an English expression rather than others.

· The availability of IEX / MWV in the students’ mother tongue and their translatability into English.

· The students problems/difficulties in learning IEX/ and MWV.

· The suitable classroom methodology, materials, motivation etc. for learning/teaching of IEX/MWV.

· The familiarity (or non-) of learners with some references/books, textbooks/workbooks etc.

· The students’ feeling and attitude towards IEX and MWV while encountering and using them in speech and writing.

· The learners’ views on the definition, perception and awareness of the importance IEX/MWV.

· The students’ area(s) of interests.

Below are the findings of this part of the questionnaire:

· The general attitude of the majority of the subjects is for using single-word verbs rather than multi-word verbs.

· The statistics shows that the learners have problems in substituting a MWV with a SWV.

· 3/ 4 the subjects of this study admitted that they found difficulty in understanding and substituting multi-word verbal combinations with their single-word equivalents.

· A large number of the informants (75%), in this survey, confessed that they do not have the ability to understand and use these multi-word lexical items in speech and writing.

· 90% of the learners lacked the talent of seeing the fine lexical and stylistic differences between English expressions. They could not distinguish between the natural and potential (idiomatic) realization of the social act of greeting for instance.

· IEX are available in the students’ mother tongue (Arabic) while MWV are not frequent.

· Thus they face(d) more problems/difficulties with MWV than IEX. The meaning/ semantic problem(s) top(s) the list of the obstacles faced the students while dealing with IEX/MWV.

The grammatical problem(s) occupy the bottom of it.

In-between there reside the phonological, stylistic and definition problems/difficulties among others.

· The students thought that the best way to improve their knowledge and use of IEX/MWV is to be directly involved in the learning process: awareness, explicitness and active participation. They found it unuseful to just memorize IEX/MWV.

· The learners replies revealed the scarcity of the materials (references/books, textbooks, workbooks etc) on IEX/MWV.

· 75% of the subjects said that they feel uncomfortable while meeting and using IEX/MWV in speech and writing.

· The Sudanese university students of English agreed that IEX/MWV are important and necessary for the mastery of English.

· The feed-back about the subjects’ areas of interests enables us to design a course on IEX/MWV and develop the materials round either the sub-skill vocabulary courses and the skill of reading or fiction and drama areas.

5.3.3 DATA ANALYSIS: THE PRE-TEST

Introduction

The test was administered on the 3^rd year students of the faculties of Education and Arts of University of Khartoum and Elneelian University respectively on 15-12-1998. the content of the pretest was written, typed and printed out on sheets. Then it was explained to the subjects how they should answer each question of the test.

The subjects responses were collected and marked by the researcher himself (note that it is mainly an objective test – with exception of the last question (5.b) which is controlled production) after carrying out the test on both universities: Khartoum and Elneelain. As it is objective, answer keys of questions 1, 2, 3, 4 were already prepared, (correction of these questions was done on the basis of these keys).

For Question 5, sentence writing and paraphrasing of a text, it was based on the errors found therein (whether of comprehension of the stimulus text or production).

Scores were given by counting the correct answers (with the exception of the production task(s) (Q.5a and b by subtracting the errors committed by the subjects in each part of he question). The students’ marks in this test are provided in appendix 8,. Finally, these correct answers/errors were calculated and tabulated.

In what follows, I will discuss, in some details, the students’ performance in the 5 questions which formed the whole test.

5.3.3.1 Detailed Analysis

Question One

a. Passage completion

In this part, the students were asked to complete a passage by choosing the suitable ‘multi-word verbs’ from a list of 20 verbal combinations.

Ten marks were allotted for this sub-test ( ½ mark for every correct completion). The students’ marks in this sub-question will be given in appendix 8. However, in this question the 100 students’ performance (numbers and percentages of correct/wrong answers) is shown below.

TABLE – 60

PRT: Q.1a TESTED MWV, NUMBER OF CORRECT / WRONG / ANSWERS

AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item (MWV)	No. of correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
1	took to	06		94
2	look after	82		18
3	carry out	99		01
4	called at	94		06
5	take on	00		100
6	pick (it) up	00		100
7	went for	34		66
8	backed away	36		64
9	give up	44		56
10	fell out	00		100
1	answer (me) back	00		100
12	make up for	00		100
13	ordered about	71		29
14	put up with	05		95
15	found out	93		07
16	boiled over	20		80
17	set up	06		94
18	rang up	79		21
19	turned up	34		66
20	give in	40		60
TOTAL		743	37.15%	1257	62.85%

Item: 1 ‘took to’

The first blank in the passage requires the correct answer ‘took to’. Only 6% of the testees answered this item correctly. The 94% seem not (to) know the meaning of this lexical item and perhaps they confused with one of the options MWV in the given list such as ‘went for’, ‘put up with’, etc.

Item: 2 ‘look after’

The second blank in the passage should be filled with the MWV look after, 82% of the subjects managed to answer this item correctly. The considerable success in choosing the correct answer might be ascribed to the familiarity and the frequency of occurrence of this lexical item. However, those who failed to supply the correct answer opted for the plausible distractor ‘set up’.

Item: 3 ‘carry out’

In this item, the MWV has been chosen correctly by 99% of the students and this high achievement could be attributed to the frequency of occurrence of this MWV as well as the clarity of the context: the context is revealing.

Item: 4 ‘called at’

Gap 4, in this question, needs the correct answer ‘called at’, 94% of the candidates succeeded in selecting the correct answer while the rest 6% chose the wrong option ‘went for’.

Item: 5 ‘take on’

All the students (the 100) failed to choose the right MWV: ‘take on’ instead of which they used the incorrect ones:

Pick up, make up for and give in which are not suitable for the given context.

Item: 6 ‘pick (it) up’

Here, the subjects were supposed to choose the right MWV (pick---up) to fill in the blank. They chose wrong answers such as ‘carry out’, ‘take on’, and ‘make up for’.

Item: 7 ‘went for’

34% succeeded in choosing the correct answer ‘went for’ while the remaining (64%) chose ‘turned up’ and ‘fell out’ which are unsuitable for the context as they do not match the intended meaning.

Item: 8 ‘backed away’

Only 36% of the students opted for the correct answer backed away while the remaining (64%) provided either unsuitable answers or left the spaces unfilled.

Item: 9 ‘give up’

44% of the testees selected the correct answer give up while the other 56% went wrongly for the plausible distractor ‘give in’: the wrong choice of the correct particle/preposition – a collocation problem as Wallace (1982) put it.

Item: 10 ‘fall out’

None of the subjects succeeded in choosing the correct answer fell out instead they selected wrong options such as : turned up 35%, boiled over 40% and some of them left the blank unfilled.

Item: 11 ‘answer back’

The space should be filled, here, by the MWV ‘answer back’ but all the 100 subjects failed to discover/distinguish the right choice – a meaning problem. The majority of them (77%) went for ‘take on’ while others selected pick it up.

Item: 12 ‘make up for’

All the subjects could not choose ‘make up for’ as a correct answer. They opted for ‘went for’ (29%) while others preferred to leave the blank unfilled.

Item: 13 ‘ordered about’

Since the context is, more or less, revealing (transparent) 71% of the testees selected the correct answer ‘ordered about’, whereas for the rest of them (29%) they chose ‘back away’ and ‘put up with’.

Item: 14 ‘put up with’

Only 5% of the informants to choose ‘put up with’ as a correct answer for the relevant space. 95% of the subjects were not able to cope up with this special combination of MWV: 3-word verbs. A considerable number of the test-takers (95%) selected ‘make up for’ and ‘take on’.

Item: 15 ‘found out’

The item tested, here, is of frequent use and familiarity. Therefore, 93% of the testees filled the blank correctly while only 7% opted for the MWV ‘turned up’.

Item: 16 ‘boiled over’

The notion/concept of this verbal combination is found in L1 of the students (it is available and frequent in Arabic) thus 20% of the candidates selected it as a correct answer whereas for the remaining they chose incorrect answers such as ‘turned up’ and ‘set up’.

Item: 17 ‘set up’

Only 6% of the students were able to choose ‘set up’ as a right answer the rest of them selected wrong verbal combinations such as ‘take on’ which do not suit the context.

Item: 18 ‘rang up’

The verbal combination in this item is of frequent use and familiarity as well as the transperancy of its meaning thus 79% answered this item correctly while the rest of them (21%) opted for ‘called at’ because it is a plausible option/distractor.

Item: 19 ‘turned up’

This item was chosen by 34% on the basis of the clarity of the context, but 66% selected other plausible options such as ‘called at’, ‘went for’…. Which do not suit the context.

Item: 20 ‘give in’

Though this verbal construction is one of the ‘heavy duty’ combinations (very frequent), only 40% of the test-takers were able to choose it as a correct answer. The majority of the remaining (of the 60%) opted for the similar in form ‘(give up)’.

Summary for Q.1a

From Table 60 and the discussion that follows, we conclude that the subjects’ performance on MWV (literal and non-literal verbal combinations) is below the success line (less than half) 743 correct answers / 1257 wrong answers: 37.15% / 62.85%.

b. Transformation

In this part, testees were asked to transform some sentences into passive and others into nominalized forms: derived noun-forms.

10 marks were devoted to this task. One mark for every correct answer. The students’ marks in this question will be provided in Appendix 8.

Question 1.b I: Passivization

Fraser: (1976) discusses the degree or type of transformational deficiency.

Wallace 1982:118-9 made the point of the transformation possibility or impossibility of some idioms (including verbal combinations). Do they admit passivization, nominalization etc: ‘It may be useful to indicate what change the idiom can undergo, and this is often relates to the idiom’s underlying meaning…..But this will not always explain what is possible and what is not possible as far as altering the structure(s) of items is concerned, and learners may need, some help on this’. The testees were asked in this part of Q.1 to transform a group of sentences into passive forms.

TABLE – 61

PRT: 1.b.I PASSIVIZATION: TESTED ITEMS/SENTENCES, NUMBER OF

CORRECT/WRONG ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
1	The clouds soon cleared away and it became quite warm	60		40
2	Jane arrived after her uncle, who was early	11		89
3	His daughter always looked after him when he was ill.	33		67
4	They have let the cat out of the bag	28		72
5	It was raining cats and dogs	03		97
Total		135	27%	365	73%

Table 61 exhibits the tested items, the number of correct and wrong answers and their percentages.

Item: 1 The clouds soon cleared away and it became quite warm

Since there are no objects in this sentence (the MWV ‘cleared away’ is intransitive i.e. has no object) the transformation is not possible here. However, in this item a considerable number of the candidates (60%) managed to answer this item correctly on the basis of the general rule: intransitive verbs do not admit passive transformation.

Item: 2 Jane arrived after her uncle, who was early

(..Wallace (1982) transformation …….. cannot be applied to (arrived + after). This sentence cannot be made passive. In this item, the verbal combination consists of a verb + preposition and ‘uncle’ is a prepositional object. Arrive + at is a grammatical but not a semantic unit. Only 11% of the students succeeded in responding correctly to this item. The remaining (89%) either left this sub-question/element unanswered or provided wrong transformation using the prep. Object ‘her uncle’ as an agent.

Item: 3 His daughter always looked after him when he was ill.

This sentence could be put into passive as follows:

He was always looked after by his daughter when he was ill. This sentence accepts passivization. Because it is both a structural and semantic unit (= phrasal verb), transformation can be applied to ‘look after’…

‘Look after’ can, for example, be made passive:

(He was always looked after by his daughter when he was ill) ‘Look after is not only structural unit, but it is also a semantic unit. However, 33% of the test-takers managed to answer this item correctly providing the required change.

Item: 4 They have left the cat out of the bag.

The correct transformation of this sentence is as follows:

The cat has been let out of the bag.

This example is taken from Wallace 1982: 118-119 who writes:’ ….Let us return to an example we have used often let the cat out of the bag. It is possible to make this expression passive and say ‘the cat has been let out of the bag’. This is possible because the underlying meaning (‘reveal a secret’) can also be made passive (the secret has been revealed).

28% of the testees transformed this sentence correctly while the rest (72%) failed to see that this IEX admit passivization.

Item: 5 It was raining cats and dogs

This often – quoted example/instance of IEX does not accept passivization: it shows its idiomatic nature by accepting none of the transformation operations resisting this kind of syntactic manipulation.

Again, this item is drawn from Wallace (1982: 118-119): ….. ‘An expression like, ‘it was raining cats and dogs’ (it was raining heavily’) because of the underlying meaning’. Only 3% of the subjects discovered the impossibility of transforming this sentence into passive while the remaining 97% failed to do so. Strange and awkward transforms such as: * ‘cats and dogs were raining’ are illustrative of this failure.

Summary for Q 1.b.I

The results of the students’ performance on the MWV/IEX centred on, here, revealed that the learners have problems/difficulties with transforming from active to passive some items. These obstacles hinder the students mastery over these 2 lexical items since they were notable to produce different and various items or they might produce unacceptable transformations. In Nation (2000) words. ‘There is problem with their vocabulary depth’ – the quality of their stock of words. Statistically, the number of correct answers is: 135 (27%) while that of wrong answers is 365 (73%). This indicates that the subjects did not master this transformation in respect of these two lexical items.

Question 1.b II: Nominalized forms

In this sub-question, the students were asked to transform the underlined MWV into nominalized forms: (derived – noun forms).

The items tested are ‘making up’, ‘break down’, ‘drew out’, ‘sitting in’, and ‘take off’.

TABLE – 62

PART Q.1.b.II NOMINALIZATIONS: TESTED ITEMS/SENTENCES, NUMBER

OF CORRECT/WRONG ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
1	She has started making up her face.	44		56
2	The supply of food has broken down.	08		92
3	Robert drew out twenty pounds from his savings account.	02		98
4	Students are sitting in at the university.	00		100
5	Our plane took off very smoothly.	31		69
Total		85	17%	415	83%

Table 62 presents the tested items, the number of correct / wrong responses and their percentages in the derived – noun forms section.

The students’ responses are analysed and described below in detail.

Item (1) She has started making up her face.

Possible transform: She has started to use make-up.

44% of the test-takers changed correctly this MWV into a noun form. It seems that this verbal construction is frequent and that a considerable number of the subjects are familiar of with this item (especially, girls) thus they were able to provide the correct transform.

Item (2) The supply of food has broken down.

The required answer is as follows: There has been a breakdown in the food supply.

Only 8% of the candidates managed to supply the correct derived – noun form.

Item (3) Robert drew out twenty pounds from his savings account.

This item is different from the other 4 items/ones in this sub-question in the sense that it does not have a derived-noun (*draw-out) as expected. The available form is ‘withdrawal’ thus this verbal construction could not be changed into noun on the same pattern. Only 2% of the testees (probably by chance or some other reason) responded by saying it is ‘not possible’ to transform this item into nominalized form.

Item: 4 students are sitting in at the university.

Possible transform: Students are staging a sit-in at the university.

None of the test-takers answered this item correctly. This could be ascribed to the non-familiarity of the students with the meaning of this lexical unit and hence they failed to provide the required form.

Item: 5 Our plane took off very smoothly.

Possible form: We had a very smooth take off.

This MWV is familiar and is of frequent use. Therefore, 31% of the testees provided the needed derived-noun form (which itself is repeatedly used by the subjects even when the speak in Arabic).

Summary for the Nominalized Transformation

From Table 62 and the discussion which follows, we can summarize the students performance on the transformation of MWV into nominalized forms as below:

The statistics shows that the test-takers got 85 (17%) correct answers versus 415 (83%) wrong answers. This is an apparent evidence of the subjects inability to change verbal combinations into derived-noun forms. This deficiency in the learners’ knowledge of the possibility of producing different and various forms limits their vocabulary expansion skills. In Nation terms they have some difficulty in respect of their vocabulary depth: (i.e. the quality of their vocabulary).

Question two: Substitution

The test-takers were required to give the meanings of 40 idiomatic expressions, in the given spaces, by choosing the suitable definitions/synonyms from a list of 40.

20 marks were devoted to this question: (½ for each correct substitution). The students’ marks in this question will be given in appendix 8.

However, in this question, the students’ performance (numbers and percentages of correct/wrong answers) is tabulated as follows: (These tables are designed on the basis of the following grammatical categories/units).

Verbal idioms

Nominal idioms

Adjectival idioms and

Adverbial idioms

Verbal Idioms

Table 63 shows the tested items/sentences, the number of correct/wrong answers and their percentages.

TABLE – 63

PRT: Q.2 VERBAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT / WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
1	For three days the wind blew hard and strong, but on the fourth day it died down.	03		97
2	Please hold on; I’d like to ask a question before you continue your lecture.	14		86
3	I believe in my wife because she always opens up to me and shows her love.	97		3
4	In both physical appearance and personality, John takes after his father.	52		48
5	I can put up with some noise while I’m studying, but I can’t accept loud noise.	00		100
6	Because he did a very poor job and came up with bad results, his boss felt that he hadn’t lived up to his responsibilities.	00		100
7	Tom began as a local salesman, but after thirty years with the same company he had worked up to sales manager.	00		100
8	Nothing he told me was true; I’m angry that he made up the whole story.	41		59
9	You have always carried out your duties well so I am going to give you a raise.	80		20
10	I’ve been working too hard lately; it’s time for me to take off a couple of weeks of vacation.	41		59
11	If you believe in telling the truth, you should never lead someone on.	37		63
12	Fifty states, including Alaska and Hawaii, make up the United States	12		88
13	When you looked into the matter in the library, did you find out any answer.	98		2
14	He tried hard to get ahead, so I can’t hold his failure against him.	01		99
15	The successful student drew pleasure from the fact that he had passed all his exams.	84		16
16	When the alcoholic was considering suicide, the helpful psychiatrist pulled him through this difficult period.	00		100
17	If you have an American roommate, take advantage of him for carrying on conversations and answering questions.	00		100
18	Because I was late to class, I made a point of apologizing to the teacher after class; she appreciated my concern.	01		99
19	If you leave the business to your efficient assistant, he’ll take charge of it and do a fine job.	31		69
20	I was very concerned about my problems; I had them on my mind all the time.	83		17
21	At first, the criminal left out part of his crime in his confession, but eventually he brought the whole thing into the open.	00		100
22	The unpredictable situation might change at any moment, so we’d better play it by ear as it develops, instead of deciding now.	00		100
23	At first he stuck to his own opinion stubbornly, but finally we brought him around to our way of thinking.	00		100
24	He wanted to go into the matter more deeply so he asked to talk it over with me next week.	02		98
25	Because Alice couldn’t hold back her deep anger any more, she decided to open up and have it out with her selfish boyfriend.	13		87
Total		699	27.96%	1801	72.04%

Item: 1 ‘die(d) down’

This item is intransitive verbal idiom consists of verb + particle which has the meaning, ‘diminished’. Only 3% of the testees succeeded in matching this verbal construction with the required synonym from the list. This manifests that the majority of the students does not know the meaning of this lexical item.

Item: 2 ‘hold on’

The tested MWV, here, is intransitive verbal idiom (verb + particle) meaning, ‘pause’ in the given context. 14% of the subjects selected the required synonym. The rest (86%) opted for wrong answers/selections such as ‘to be careful to’….

Item: 3 ‘believe in’

‘I believe in my wife because she always opens up to me and shows her love’.

The underlined MWV in the above text, which contains intransitive verb + preposition, has the meaning: ‘have trust in’. Since the context is revealing and the MWV on focus is of frequent use and familiarity, the majority of the testees succeeded in selecting the required definition.

Item: 4 ‘takes after’

‘In both physical appearance and personality, John takes after his father’.

The verbal construction is formed in this sentence, from intransitive verb + preposition. 52% of the learners selected the correct synonym ‘resembles’. Probably, because the context is clear these testees were able to infer the meaning.

Item: 5 ‘put up with’ (V + P + Pre.)

In the sentence ‘I can put with some noise while I am studying, but I can’t accept loud noise’, the suitable word is ‘tolerate’. Though it is a frequent MWV, none of the test-takers answered this 3-word verb correctly. Instead, they selected wrong synonyms such as: ‘blame’.

Item: 6 ‘lived up to’ (V + P + Pre.)

None of the subjects was able to choose the correct definition (to achieve an expected standard) which matches the MWV ‘lived up to’ in the context below. ‘Because he did a very poor job and came up with bad results, his boss felt that he hadn’t lived up to his responsibility’. They confused it with ‘worked up to’ which has the meaning ‘advanced responsibility’. They confused it with ‘worked up to’ which has the meaning ‘advanced to’.

Item: 7 ‘worked up to’

By the same token, the underlined 3-word verb (V + P + Pre) in the following sentence:

‘Tom began as a local salesman, but after thirty years with the same company he had worked up to Sales Manager’, was not answered correctly by any of the testees.

Item: 8 ‘made up’ (V + Particle)

The MWV, in the sentence: ‘Nothing he told me was true. I’m angry that he made up the whole story’, suits the synonym: ‘invented’. 41% of the testees opted for this answer. The remaining (59%) chose distractors such as: ‘revealed a secret, and ‘diminished’.

Item: 9 ‘carried out’

The verbal construction (Transitive Verb + Particle) ‘carried out’ has the meaning ‘accomplished’ in ‘you have always carried out your duties well so I am going to give you a raise’. Since it is a frequent and familiar MWV as well as the transparency of the context, 80% of the subjects selected the correct synonym.

Item: 10 ‘take off’

The lexical item, ‘take off’ has the meaning ‘have free time off’ in the sentence; I’ve been working too hard lately; it is time for me to take off a couple of weeks of vacation’. Though the subject might know the other meaning(s) of the MWV: ‘rise from the ground, take off boots….’, they failed to grasp its meaning in the given context.

Item: 11 ‘lead—on’

The meaning of this verbal combination (= deceived) is clear since it’s transparent in ‘if you believe in telling the truth, you should never lead someone on’. However, 37% selected this synonym.

Item: 12 ‘make up’

In the text: ‘Fifty states, including Alaska and Hawaii, make up the United States’.

The verbal construction means ‘form’. Only 12% of the subjects supplied the correct synonym.

Item: 13 ‘find out’

‘When you looked into the matter in the library, did you find out any answer?’

This MWV, which consists of transitive Verb + Particle, is of a frequent occurrence as well as the transparency of its context. Therefore, 98% of the testees were able to choose the correct meaning (discover).

Item: 14 ‘hold……against’

In ‘He tried hard to get ahead so I can’t hold his failure against him’

The underlined verbal construction has the meaning ‘blame’. Only 1% of the subjects answered this sub-question correctly. The majority of the students do not know the meaning of this verbal combination.

Item: 15 ‘drew…from’

In the sentence: ‘The successful student drew pleasure from the fact that he had passed all his exams’, the MWV owns the meaning ‘obtained…..from’. Since the meaning of the verbal idiom is compositional (could be arrived at from the individual words) 84% answered this element correctly.

Item: 16 ‘pulled….through’

The sense of the underlined lexical item in ‘when the alcoholic was considering suicide, the helpful psychiatrist pulled him through this difficult period’ is not clear for the subjects. Therefore, none of them was able to select the required definition ‘helped….to get over’.

Item: 17 ‘take advantage of’

This is a special kind of a verbal idioms since it has a fixed noun (advantage) which forms a part of the larger expression/combination. In this item, nobody selected the correct definition: to use for one’s personal benefit.

Item: 18 ‘made a point of’

Again, this is a special kind of verbal construction meaning ‘to be careful to’ in ‘Because I was late to class, I made a point of apologizing to the teacher after class; she appreciated my concern’. The majority (99%) failed to select the correct definition.

Item: 19 ‘take charge of’

Like the previous two verbal combinations, this construction has the noun ‘charge’ as part of it. A considerable proportion of the test-takers (31%) succeeded in opting for the needed definition: ‘become responsible for’. This cold be attributed to the frequency of the whole construction.

Item: 20 ‘had…on my mind’

The verbal idiom, here, is different from the 3 previous items (17, 18 & 19) in that the added noun, here, works/functions as an object while in those constructions is used as subject. The transparency of the combination made 83% of the subjects arrive at the correct response: ‘Think…..constantly about.’

Item: 21 ‘brought into the open’

This MWV has the meaning ‘to reveal a secret’ in this item. This lexical is not mastered by any of the testes.

Item: 22 ‘play it by ear’

In the utterance ‘the unpredictable situation might change at any moment, so we’d better play it by ear as it develops, instead of deciding now’, the verbal combination matches the definition ‘make plans as sth develops’. All the subjects failed to answer this item correctly.

Item: 23 ‘brought…around to’

This MWV has the meaning ‘convinced…about’ in the given text. Though it is partially transparent, only 9% of the test-takers replied correctly.

Item: 24 ‘talk (it) over with’

‘Talk it over with’ meaning ‘discuss…with’ in ‘He wanted to go into the matter more deeply so he asked to talk it over with me next week’. Almost all the students (89%) do not know the meaning of this verbal construction.

Item: 25 ‘have it out with’

The construction ‘have it out with’ meaning ‘discuss angrily with’ was not arrived at by 87% of the respondents. Only 13% of them happened to know this familiar expression.

Summary for section 2.a

In sum, the results of the items in the verbal combination section (1-25) are as follows:

From a total of possible answers (2500) the testees got 699 (27.96%) correct and failed to choose the right answers of the remaining items (1801 / 72.04%). From these statistics, we can deduce that the subjects have problems with substituting a MWV for a synonym or definition. This indicates that there is a semantic problem in the verbal construction category.

Nominal Idioms

Table 64 indicates the items tested in the Nominal idioms’ section, the number of correct/wrong answers and their percentages.

TABLE – 64

PRT: Q.2 NOMINAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT/WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
26	All three of his children look just like him because they are his own flesh and blood.	41		59
27	The movie was so scary that the audience was constantly on pins and needles; they were sitting on the edges of their seats.	90		10
28	That older politician is very successful because he known the ins and outs of government business well.	57		43
29	Joe has borrowed money three times without paying me back, and now he wants $50! That’s the last straw!	81		19
30	When I said I liked her dinner, which really was terrible, I told a white lie because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.	99		01
31	At most parties, people socialize by engaging in a lot of informal small talk.	43		57
Total		411	68.5%	189	31.50%

Table 64 nominal idioms (items 26-31) discuss the items below:

(The IEX in this sub-question is formed from (noun and noun)).

Item: 26 ‘flesh and blood’

The availability of the concept/notion of this IEX in L₁ of the subjects (Arabic) helped 41% of them to select the correct synonym: ‘family’ which suits the given content.

Item: 27 ‘on pins & needles’

In ‘The movie was so scary that the audience was constantly on pins and needles; they were sitting on the edges of their sets’ the nominal idiom is clear and of frequent use. Thus 90% of the subjects selected the right answer.

Item: 28 ‘ins and outs’

This nominal idiom has the meaning ‘all the details’ in the given sentence. More than half of the test-takers (57%) were able to reply correctly to this item.

Item: 29 ‘last straw’

The IEX means ‘final annoyance’. The idea as well as the equivalent form are found in the subjects’ mother tongue (Arabic). As a result a considerable proportion of them (81%) succeeded in selecting the required definition.

Item: 30 ‘white lie’

This IEX is frequent and used by the majority of the informants. It is a part of their L₁ vocabulary store and speech. Consequently, it was answered correctly by 99% of the testees.

Item: 31 ‘small talk’

Though the context of this nominal idiom is more or less revealing less than half of the candidates (43%) matched it with the suitable definition ‘informal conversation’.

Summary for Section 2.b

In general, the numbers of wrong/correct answers and the percentages state that, in the nominal idiom category, the subjects do not have problems / difficulties. This high achievement (411 correct VS 189 wrong answers: Percentage-wise: 68.50 / 31.50) is a result of the fact that the lexical units tested are of high frequency as well as their availability in the Students L₁ (Arabic). In other words, the lexical items, ‘flesh and blood, ‘pins and needles’, ‘ins and outs’, ‘last straw’, ‘white lie’ and ‘small talk’ have their counterparts in the students’ mother tongue.

Adjectival Idioms

Table 65 summarizes the items tested in the adjectival idiom category, the number of correct/wrong answers and their total percentages.

TABLE – 65

PRT: Q.2 ADJECTIVAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT/WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
32	Tom had seen the movie three times before, so the outcome was rather cut and dried the fourth time.	00		100
33	When the Immigration Service learned that George’s wife was not a U.S. citizen, it declared the marriage null and void.	19		81
34	The heart operation was so difficult that most of the time it was touch and go.	00		100
35	To me, the points in his lecture were clear-cut; he was not just full of hot air.	97		03
36	The policeman managed to stay level-headed in the confrontation with the armed bank robbers.	00		100
37	Tom had second thoughts about sharing his problem with his family, so he decided to remain close-mouthed about it.	88		12
Total		204	34%	396	66%

From Table 65 adjectival idioms, we note the following:

Item: 32 ‘cut and dried’

All the testees were not able to match this adjectival idiom the suitable synonym ‘routine’ in ‘Tom had seen the movie three times so the outcome was rather cut and dried for the fourth time’.

Item: 33 ‘null and void’

This IEX has the synonym ‘illegal’ in ‘When the Immigration Service learned that George’s wife was not a U.S. citizen, it declared the marriage null and void’. Only 29% succeeded in replying correctly.

Item: 34 ‘touch and go’

The meaning of this IEX is ‘obscure’ for all the subjects thus they failed to select the correct synonym ‘risky’.

Item: 35 ‘clear-cut’

The form of the IEX and its context are revealing as well as its frequency of occurrence. This aids the majority of the test-takers (97%) to choose the correct definition ‘clearly stated’.

Item: 36 ‘level headed’

The meaning of this item is not clear for all the testees. As a result they failed to match with its suitable equivalent.

Item: 37 ‘close-mouthed’

The components of this adjectival are clear indication of its composed meaning. Thus 88% of the students opted for the right answer: uncommunicative.

Summary for Section 2.c: adjectival idioms

To conclude, the tabulation of the items tested in the adjectival idioms section and the discussion follows reveals the following:

The learners have some problems with matching an adjectival idiom with its equivalent definition/synonym. From a total of possible answers (600) they got 204 (34%) correct and 396 (66%) wrong. The lexical items tested in this section are not available in the students L₁. Moreover, some of them are not transparent: ‘touch and go’, and ‘level-headed’ while others are neither familiar nor frequent.

Adverbial Idioms

TABLE – 66

PRT: Q.2 ADVERBIAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT/WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
38	Even though I’ve tried many times to repair my car, time and again it won’t start.	10		90
39	John finally was able to quit smoking for good; he’ll never touch another cigarette.	81		19
40	By and large, Tom is an easy-going person in almost everything he does.	10		90
Total		101	33.67%	199	66.33%

Table 66 provides the items tested in the adverbial idiom unit, the number of correct/wrong answers and their (total) percentages.

Item: 38 ‘time and again’

Though this adverbial idiom is well-known and frequent (the famous TV show…), its meaning ‘repeatedly’ selected only by 10% of the respondents. This might lead us to the limited exposure of the learners to the authentic discourse in the target language.

Item: 39 ‘for good’

This adverbial idiom is another instance of a frequent lexical unit yet its meaning ‘forever’ cannot be arrived at by knowing the meanings of the individual words. However, there is high achievement in this item—81%.

Item: 40 ‘By and large’

Its meaning ‘generally’ escaped the majority of the test-takers (90%) since the meanings of the parts are poor guide to the meanings of the IEX.

Summary for Section 2.d

To sum, the discussion of the adverbial idioms, provided above, displays that our learners meet problems/difficulties while trying to tackle the meaning aspect of adverbial constructions: 101 correct answers (33.67) Vs 199 (66.33) wrong answers. The three IEX in question are not known to the majority of the students despite their frequency of occurrence and their importance in everyday English language use.

Summary for Q.2

This question has the objective of knowing whether the students could choose/select the suitable synonyms/definitions (from a list) which match the meanings given in certain contexts. The elicitation technique used, here, is substitution/matching. The sections encompass verbal, nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms.

In general, the performance of the subjects in this question revealed the following:

Total number of possible answers = 4000

Number of correct answers = 1415 (35.38%)

Number of wrong answers = 2585 (64.62%)

Therefore, the learners have problems/difficulties while trying to match (an MWV / IEX with their equivalent synonyms/definitions – a semantic problem.

Question Three: Errors Identification/Recognition

Here, 40 sentences were provided and the testees had to indicate which (sentences) are correct and which are not. Twenty marks are given to this task. Each correct answer is given ½ mark. The students’ marks in this question will be provided in appendix 8.

In marking this sub-test no attempt was made to penalize the wrong guessing (since in this test type, there is 50% possibility of getting the correct answers by chance) by subtracting more than ½ mark for each wrong answer. However, the multiplicity of the items in this question (40 items) as well as the intended arrangement of the tested items in set(s) meant to reduce this chance factor.

The problems/difficulties examined / centered on are:

· adverb(s) position(s) in relation to objects / particles / prepositions;

· particles / prepositions positions in relation to object nouns, object pronouns, etc.

· form / order of IEX (i.e. singular / plural) and the arrangement of the lexical items (the components) within IEX.

The tabulation of the students’ performance (numbers and percentages of correct/ wrong answers) is based on the following categories.

· verbal idioms

· nominal idioms

· adjectival idioms and

· adverbial idioms

TABLE – 67

PRT: Q.3 VERBAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT/WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
1	The student got ahead his school	100		00
2	The student got ahead in school	100		00
3	My friend caught slowly on	20		80
4	The teacher touched quickly on many ideas	07		93
5	The teacher quickly touched on many ideas	07		93
6	The teacher touched on quickly many ideas	00		100
7	A student came up a question	97		03
8	A student’s question came up	96		04
9	The president cleared carefully up the problem	03		97
10	The president cleared it up	38		62
11	The lawyer stuck to it	86		14
12	I can tell the twins apart easily	04		96
13	I can tell apart the twins easily	00		100
14	The student found it out quickly	10		90
15	The student found out it quickly	02		98
16	The senator put the bill through Congress	99		01
17	The senator put the bill Congress through	100		00
18	I carefully kept an eye on the child	82		18
19	I kept a careful eye on the child	79		21
20	I carefully kept eyes on the child	56		44
21	I kept careful eyes on the child	58		42
22	Mary put her scholarship to good uses	20		80
23	Mary put her scholarship to good use	35		65
24	I turned it over to my associates	89		11
25	I turned over it to my associates	89		11
26	You should set time aside for a meeting	28		72
27	You should set aside time for a meeting	05		95
Total		1310	48.52%	1390	51.48%

Looking at Table 67 Verbal Idioms (items 1 – 27), we discuss in detail the tested items below:

Item: 1 * ‘The student got ahead his school’.

In item one, the verbal construction ‘got ahead’ is an example of intransitive verb with particle. Thus the verbal combination cannot be followed by an object.

In the incorrect sentence above (item-I), the verbal idiom was followed by an object which is not possible for intransitive forms.

Item: 2 The student got ahead in his school

For item 2 (The student got ahead in (his) school), the verbal idiom, here, can be followed by a preposition phrase ‘in school’. Therefore sentence 2 is correct. However, all the test-takers succeeded in seeing the difference between intransitive and transitive verbs and answered correctly the two items.

Item: 3 * ‘My friend caught slowly on. (intr verb + particle)

This item is based on the following rules:

“No adverb can be placed between the verb and particle, which shows that the verb and particle are one unit of grammar. Only a manner adverb, which tells (us) how something was done (quickly, quietly, slowly), can be placed both before and after the verb + particle.

Most adverbs, including time adverbs such as early, are placed after the verbal idioms”.

Note the correct forms of the above sentence:

My friend caught on slowly (adverb is placed after the verbal combination)

My friend slowly caught on (adverb is placed before the verbal combination)

Only 20% of the students managed to discover that the sentence in this item is erroneous.

Item: 4 – 6 (intr verb + pre)

The teacher touched quickly on many ideas.

The teacher quickly touched on many ideas

*The teacher touched on quickly many ideas

Adverbs may not be pleased between a preposition and a noun phrase, which shows that the preposition and the noun phrase are a grammatical unit. Therefore, sentence 6 is incorrect.

Adverbs may be placed between the intransitive verb and preposition, (but not between an intransitive verb + particle such as ‘show up’:) From this rule (as well as the rules governing the adv. Position discussed in item 3), sentences 4 & 5 correct.

Only 7% of the subjects recognized (discovered) the correctness of 4 & 5 whereas for # 6 none of the subjects were able to identify its incorrectness.

Item: 7 – 8

7.* A student came up a question.

8. A student’s question came up

Sentence 7 is incorrect: the equivalent correct form is:

A student came up with a question

The omission of the preposition ‘with’ makes the sentence unacceptable. 97% of the restees recognized the incorrectness of item 7.

Sentence 8 is correct: the intransitive verbal idiom (came up: V + preposition) is put at the end of the sentence. For item 8, 96% of the subjects were able to identify the correctness of the sentence. The verbal idiom, here, is composed of an intransitive verb + particle + preposition. The preposition should be followed by a noun phrase, forming a noun phrase.

Item: 9 – 11

Item:9 *The President cleared carefully up the problem.

Item:10 *The President clear up it.

Item:11 The lawyer stuck to it.

In item 9 an adv. May not be placed between the verb + the particle (or between the particle and object) because the verb and the particle are connected in both meaning and grammar. As a result, sentence 9 is incorrect: the adv. is misplaced. The correct position is as follows:

The president cleared up the problem carefully.

OR

The president cleared the problem up carefully.

This is due to the grammar of intransitive verbs with prepositions and transitive verbs with particles.

For sentence 10 the correct realization, when using a pronoun is:

The President cleared it up.

The general rule for ‘pronouns’ is that they always precede particles (so sentence 10 is incorrect), but always follow prepositions (thus, 11 is correct).

Item: 12 – 13

12. I can tell the twins apart easily

13* I can tell apart the twins easily

The item, tested, here, is transitive verb with immovable particle (type A): i.e., particle only comes after the object.

Sentence 12 is correct since the noun object position with regard to the verb and particle is correct. Only 4% got this item correct.

For item 13, it is incorrect because the particle in this combination may only be placed after the object. None of the testees was able to discover that this sentence erroneous.

Item: 14 – 15

14 The student found it out quickly

15* The student found out it quickly

Here, the verbal combination should follow this pattern:

Verb + Pronoun + Particle:

(the pronoun position is in the middle)

Though this combination permits the noun object to come before as in:

The student found out the answer quickly.

(cf* the student found the answer out quickly).

When a pronoun object is used, the particle can only be placed after it. Thus, 14 is correct while 15 is not.

In 14, 10% of the subjects succeeded in answering correctly while for item 15 only 2% were able to see its incorrectness.

Items: 16 – 17

16 The senator put the bill through Congress

17* The senator put the bill Congress through

In the transitive verb + preposition combination, here, the transitive verb will be followed by an object (the bill), and the preposition will be followed by a noun phrase (Congress).

The NP cannot precede the preposition, therefore, 16 is correct while 17 is not.

However, almost all the subjects (99% and 100%) respectively) got questions/items 16 & 17 correct. The rule, here, is clear and easy so the majority of them answered the 2 items correctly: The prepositional phrase should come after the preposition.

Items: 18 – 21

18. I carefully kept an eye on the child

19. I kept a careful eye on the child

20* I carefully kept eyes on the child

21* I kept careful eyes on the child

In the set of items, tested here, the verbal idiom(s) can only occur with one special object (eye).

The noun form in the object cannot change in any way.

Very often an adjective form (careful) can be placed in front of the noun.

Accordingly, sentences 18 & 19 are correct while 20 & 21 are erroneous. The singular form, here, is the only correct form.

82% and 79% of the subjects recognized the correctness of items 18 and 19 while 56% and 58% respectively identified the inappropriateness of 20 and 21.

Items: 22 – 23

22* Mary put her scholarship to good uses.

23. Mary put her scholarship to good use.

The verbal idiom in certain construction can only occur with one special noun (use, here) in the noun phrase following the preposition.

The noun cannot change form in any way.

Consequently, item 23 is correct form, with added adjective (good), while 22 is incorrect: no change in form (singular / plural) is possible. The correct form, here, is the singular one. 20% of the test-takers noted the incorrectness of 22 while 35% identified the correctness of 23.

Items: 24 – 25

Item 24 I turned it over to my associates

Item 25* I turned over it to my associates.

A pronoun form will always be placed before the particle. Thus, 24 is correct (correct position of (object) pronoun. While 25 is not.

However, in both items tested here, 89% of the students managed to see that 24 is right while 29 is erroneous.

These high percentages might be attributed to the sense / intuition of the students who arrived at the right decisions by comparing the 2 utterances.

Items: 26 – 27

26 You should set time aside for a meeting

27 You should set aside time for a meeting.

Although the normal position for the object (in this verbal combination) is before the particle (# 26), with certain idioms the object may follow the particle (set aside time): movable particle: come before or after. Therefore, both 26 and 27 are correct. A relatively considerable number of the subjects (28%) succeeded in seeing the correctness of 26 but only 5% of them discovered the correctness of the second sentence (27).

Summary for Section 3.a

The tabulation and the discussion of the items focused on, in the verbal combination section, in this question, tell us that the subjects, in general, experienced some difficulties / problems in this category. The total numbers and percentages of correct / wrong answers are as follows :

Total number of possible answers = 2700

Number of correct answers = 1310 (48.52%)

Number of wrong answers = 1390 (51.48%)

It goes without saying that the nature (type) of this (sub) question is responsible for this (high) number of correct answers (the 50/50 chance factor). However, the subjects’ errors centered, here, on the following issues:

· adverb(s) position(s) in relation to the verb, object etc.

· particles/prepositions place(s) in relation to noun objects, pronoun(s) objects.

TABLE – 68

PRT: Q.3 NOMINAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT / WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
28	The manager put his heart or soul into his work	95		05
29	The manager put his heart and soul into his work	95		05
30	The car suffered a lot of wear and tear	18		82
31	The car suffered a lot of tear and wear	03		97
32	The race – car driver had many closer calls	07		93
33	The race – car driver had many close calls	47		53
Total		265	44.17%	335	55.83%

Nominal Idioms: Items: 28 – 33

Item 28*: The manager put his heart or soul into his work.

Item 29 : The manager put his heart and soul into his work.

With these nominal idioms, the pair of forms can only be joined by the conjunction ‘and’. Thus, 28 is incorrect conjunction while 29 is correct conjunction.

The high achievement of the subjects in these 2 items (95% of them answered both items correctly) might be ascribed to the students’ sense or their ability to compare the 2 sentences and then figure out the right conjunction.

Items: 30 – 31

30 The car suffered a lot of wear and tear.

31* The car suffered a lot of tear and wear.

In these nominal idioms, the order of idioms should be fixed. The two words cannot exchange position in any situation. As a result, # 30 is correct sentence (correct order) while 31 is not (incorrect order).

18% of the testees responded correctly to item 30 while only 3% of the subjects recognized that sentence 31 is not correct.

Items: 32 – 33

32* The race-car driver had many closer calls.

33 The race-car driver had many close calls.

The adjectives in these idioms are restricted in form. In general, only one particular adjective can be used with any noun form to create special idiom, and this form cannot be deleted or altered in any way. Therefore, the comparative (closer) made sentence 32 incorrect: no alternation is possible.

Summary for Nominal Idioms

A careful look at the table of ‘nominal idioms’ in this question displays that the learners succeeded in answering correctly 265 (out of 600 possible answers) (44.17%) while they failed in 335 (55.83%) answers. This indicates a relative difficulty in recognizing the correct nominal forms from the erroneous ones. The errors committed, here, could be groped as below: misuse of the conjunction within the IEX, form and order of the components of the IEX (i.e. plural / singular and the arrangement of the elements).

TABLE – 69

PRT: Q.3 ADJECTIVAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT / WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
34	The lecturer’s speech was sweet and short.	11		89
35	Tom and Jerry had a man-to-man talk.	96		04
36	Tom and Jerry had a men-to-men talk.	87		13
37	Fatima and Sara had a women-to-women talk	79		21
38	Fatima and Sara had a heart-to-heart talk	78		22
Total		351	70.20%	149	29.80%

Table 69 adjectival idioms

Items: 34 – 38

Item 34* The lecturer’s speech was sweet and short.

This sentence is not correct (wrong order) the correct order is (short and sweet).

The order of the forms is fixed. The two words (short/sweet) cannot change position in any way.

11% of the learners identified the incorrectness of this sentence since it seems as a correct form. The remaining *89%) were not able to recognize this deviance.

Item 35 - Tom and Jerry had a man-to-man talk

Item 36* - Tom and Jerry had a men-to-men talk

Item 37* - Fatima and Sara had a woman-to-woman talk

Item 38 – Fatima and Sara had a heart-to-heart talk.

Although the adjectival idioms, here, are made from different parts of grammar (noun, preposition, noun), as adjectives, they cannot be changed in any way, 35 is correct singular form while 36 is incorrect. When applied to woman/women, ‘heart-to-heart’ is used more frequently and carries the same meaning. Thus, 37 is wrong while 38 is correct.

Summary for the adjectival idioms

Interestingly, that the learners were able to get correctly 351 (70.20%) Vs 149 (29.80%) wrong answers in the adjectival idioms section. In this category, the tested items are ‘sweet and short’ man-to-man (and its variants), and heart-to-heart. In the 1^st item the general result is failure in identifying whether the sentence is correct or not while in the remaining the students succeeded in recognizing the correct forms from the incorrect ones. This cardinal number of correct answers might be ascribed to the students’ ability to compare the set of items to arrive at the right ones rather than their mastery of the ‘grammar’ which governs these expressions.

TABLE – 70

PRT: Q.3 ADVERBIAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT/WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
39	Day in and day out, Bob stays at home	12		88
40	Day out and day in, Bob stays at home	07		93
Total		19	9.50%	181	90.50%

Table 70 Adverbial idioms

Items 39-40 (various adv. forms)

39 Day in and day out, Bob stays at home

40* Day out and day in, Bob stays at home

The adverbial idiom(s), here, cannot be changed inform in any way. 39 percent order while 40 is incorrect order.

Summary for the adverbial idioms

The presentation and the discussion of the 2 adverbial idioms, tested in this question, display that the testees do not have mastery over these adverbial forms: 19 (9.50%) correct answers compared to 181 (90.50%) erroneous ones. The students’ non-familiarity with the adverbial idioms in question as well as their ignorance of the right order of the expression is the apparent reason for this failure.

Summary for Question 3

This sub-test aimed at knowing the students’ ability in identifying/recognizing the correct IEX/MWV from wrong ones on the basis of the grammatical and semantic rules which govern the use of these two lexical items. The problems/difficulties examined in this question are:

· Adverb position in relation to the verb and object.

· Particle/preposition place with regard to the verb

· Particle/preposition distinction and their influence on grammar (especially pronouns’ position)

· The fixation of the form (singular/plural, comparative, superlative etc.) and the order (the arrangement of the components within IEX).

These vocabulary components were examined under the following categories: verbal, nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms. The elicitation technique used, here, is error(s) recognition/identification. Statistically, the students’ categories: verbal, nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms. The elicitation technique used, here, is error(s) recognition/identification. Statistically, the students’ performance in this question could be summarized as follows:

Total number of possible answers = 4000

Number of correct answers = 1945 (48.63%)

Number of wrong answers = 2055 (51.37%)

It is clear from the above summary that the students have some problems/difficulties in identifying the correct MWV/IEX from the wrong ones. The apparent reasonable achievement (more or less I half the answers are correct and the other are wrong) might be ascribed to the nature (type) of the elicitation technique used in this question (2 options with 50/50 chance of getting the correct answers) rather than the subjects’ mastery of the ‘grammar’ which governs these lexical items.

Question 4: Multiple-choice items

In this sub-test the subjects were required to choose the idiomatic expression, which has the best meaning in a given context, by drawing a circle round the letter of the correct answer. 40 items were provided with 4 options against each of them. 20 marks devoted to this question. ½ mark is allotted for every correct choice. The students’ scores in this question will be provided in appendix 8. Again, as in question 3, in marking this sub-test, no attempt was made to penalize the wrong guessing (since there is possibility of getting the correct answers by 25% chance) by subtracting more than ½ mark for each wrong answer. However, the multiplicity of the options within each item and through the whole sub-test (40 items) hopes/intended to compensate for this chance factor: the possibility of arriving at the correct answers by mere guessing.

The students’ performance (numbers and percentages of correct/wrong answers) is tabulated below encompassing the following units:

· Verbal idioms

· Adjectival idioms

· Adjectival idioms and

· Adverbial idioms.

In this question, the multiple choice technique is used covering the following sections/categories: verbal, nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms. The test-takers have to opt for one of the 4 options given against each of the 40 items which formed this sub-test. In what follows a tabulation of the lexical units/vocabulary items tested, the number of correct/wrong answers and their percentages is provided.

Table 71 tells us about the items tested in the verbal idioms section, the number of correct/ wrong answers and their percentages.

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
1	An elephant in a circus really__________. a. falls through b. shows up c. stands out d. stands in	13		87
2	Because San Diego has poor bus system, it is difficult to __________ if you don’t have a car. a. come about b. get around c. get ahead d. break in	21		79
3	Don’t leave without me! Please ________. a. get ahead b. hold on c. catch on d. fall through	74		26
4	I prefer to ____________one topic in great detail, instead of touching on many topics. a. run over b. come on c. catch on d. go into	93		07
5	He’s so stubborn that he ___________ all his opinions. a. sticks to b. goes through c. takes after d. sticks for	06		94
6	It’s hard to __________ in a car when the streets are very crowded a. get ahead b. go through c. get around d. get through	21		79
7	Joe tries hard, but he doesn’t catch on easily; sometimes it’s difficult to ________ him. a. get through to b. look forward to c. try for d. take after	05		95
8	I’ll go back to work, when I ____________ this sickness. a. turn into b. go without c. get over d. get about	98		02
9	They work hard, and too quickly for me to ____________ them. a. get over b. look upto c. work upto d. keep up with	04		96
10	Do you ever fail to do your duties or do you always _____________ them? a. carry out b. believe in c. live up to d. carry in	00		100
11	It look many years for me to ___________ an important position in my company. a. keep up with b. work up to c. settle down d. make out	43		57
12	Did the policeman _______________ the mistake you made? a. point out b. take of c. make up d. take in	49		51
13	I asked him to go to the research center to ___________ some information a. find ____out b. look ______ out b. make ____up d. look ______ up	38		62
14	A big traffic jam came about when a drunk driver _____________ an accident. a. looked out for b. brought about c. brought up d. came about	03		97
15	I understand the first three grammar rules, but please ___________ the last rule for me again briefly. a. fill in b. get through to c. touch on d. touch in	07		93
16	After you left France, did you __________ French in school? a. take up b. do over c. engage in d. take on	02		98
17	A four-foot person _______________ any where he goes. a. turn to b. stands out c. goes out d. take on	00		100
18	The parents didn’t like yard work so they ____________ it _____________ their sons. a. drew ____ from b. touch ______ out c. filled ______ in d. left ________ to	77		23
19	The salesman ___________ the customer __________ a long discussion. a. dress ____ from b. left ________ to c. engaged ____ in d. engaged ___about	06		94
20	The bill for our expensive dinner ________ $200. a. turned to b. came to c. took of d. lent to	77		23
21	You shouldn’t __________ a serious problem; deal with it as though it were very important. a. find fault with b. make light of c. take charge of d. keep an eye on	16		84
22	I made so many mistakes that I had to ____________ my work _____________. a. do ____ over b. put ___ to good use c. play ___ by ear d. lay _____ to rest	97		03
23	I’m so tired and tied down in my work that I can’t _____ my work life and my home life _____________________. a. lay ____ to rest b. put ____ above c. tell ____ part d. do _____ over	00		100
24	After the debater found fault with his opponent, his opponent completely ______ the debater’s criticisms __________ and won the debate easily. a. did ____ over b. pointed ____ out 9 c. pulled __ to pieces d. put ___ above 10.	00		100
25.	The class was so good that I ________ a lot __________ it. a. put ______ above b. got ______ out of c. put _____ to use d. put ______ out	96		04
26	I want to get the problem off my chest so I’ll _______ it _________ him. a. have ____ out with b. engage _____ in c. leave ____ up to d. go ______ out	00		100
27	The engine needed repair because it was ________ too much smoke. a. drawing from b. giving off c. giving away d. giving up	11		89
Total		857	31.74%	1843	68.26%

Verbal idioms (items 1 – 27)

Item: 1 An elephant in a circus really…

In this item, the correct answer is ‘C. stands out’ among the 4 given options. 13% of the subjects opted for the right answer, 70% selected b. shows up while the rest (17%) chose d. stands in. Nobody selected ‘a. falls through’. Shows up is selected by the majority of the testees because it is a plausible distractor: It seems/it looks as a suitable MWV in that context: the clue(s): ‘circus’ led to this option.

Item: 2 Because San Diego has poor bus system, it is difficult to…..if you don’t have a car.

The blank, here, should be filled by get a round, only 21% of the learners opted for the right answer. The remaining (79%) selected options which do not fit the context ‘come about’ and ‘get ahead’. None of them went for the answer ‘break in’.

Item: 3 Don’t leave without me! Please……

The correct answer in this sentence is b. hold on.

74% of the testees chose the right MWV. The rest of them (26%) opted for ‘catch on’. The other 2 options (a. get ahead and d. fall through) were excluded from the subjects’ choice. The considerable success (74%) in this item may be due to the help provided by the context i.e., the clues.

Item: 4 I prefer to ___________ one topic in great detail, instead of touching on many topics.

The verbal combination which fits in this blank is go into. Since the context is revealing, a cardinal number of the candidates (93%) found it easy to select the required answer. The rest (7%) selected the erroneous option (run over).

Item: 5 He’s so stubborn that he…… all his opinions

This item required the answer. a. sticks to

Only six of the test-takers (6%) answered this item successfully. The remaining (94%) opted for ‘c. takes after’ (50%) and ‘d. sticks for’ (44%). Those who do not know the suitable MWV, needed to fit the intended meaning, chose ‘C’ while those who know the meaning confused the particle(s): ‘for’ instead of ‘to’.

The appropriate verbal idiom in this sentence is: c. get around.

The MWV tested here, has already been focused on in item 2 of this Q. but in a slightly different context. Again, the same proportion of the subjects (21%) were able to respond correctly to this verbal combination. The rest (79%) of the testees divided as follows: 25% for the plausible distractor for get through, 40% for go through, and 14% for get ahead.

Item: 7 Joe tries hard, but he doesn’t catch on easily; sometimes it’s difficult to ______

The right answer is the verbal construction a. get through to (which is composed of Verb + Particle + Preposition) was chosen only by 5% of the students. The meaning ‘to make sb understand….’ is not known to the majority of them.

Item: 8 I’ll go back to work, when I _____ this sickness.

The suitable MWV is: c. get over.

Almost all the testees (98%) were capable of recognizing the correct response. This could be attributed to the richness of the context (i.e. the availability of context clues) as well as the frequency of occurrence of this lexical unit.

Item: 9 They work hard, and too quickly for me to ____ them.

The right answer is d. keep up with which was selected by only 4% of the learners. Its meaning (have the same/required standard) is not mastered by the majority of the testees.

Item: 10 Do you ever fail to do your duties, or do you always ___ them?

The right answer in this sentence is c. live up to.

None of the test-takers selected the suitable answer. Their choices divided between 2 options: carry out (74%): the most plausible distractor (in meaning but which is not correct from the grammatical point of view: since it consists of Verb + Particle the pronoun (them) should come between the two parts of the verbal combination which is not in the sentence), 26% selected ‘carry in’.

Item: 11 It took many years for me to ____ an important position in my company.

The suitable verbal combination is b. work up to.

Though the meaning is more or less transparent, less than half of the subjects (43%), were able to select the right answer. Probably this is due to the confusion between this verbal construction and what seems similar one: settle down which forms a plausible option for 57% of the test-takers.

Item: 12 Did the policeman _________ the mistake you made?

The suitable answer in this sentence is ‘a. point out’. Almost half of the subject answered this question correctly. The remaining opted for ‘make up and take in’. Presumably some of the learners are conversant with this verbal combination and its collocate (mistake) while others think that the required MWV is ‘make up’ meaning ‘invent’ or ‘take in’ (= count).

Item: 13 I asked him to go the research centre to _____ some information _____ for me.

The right option in this utterance d. look _____ up which is a useful and frequent verbal construction (especially in the academic register….). Yet only 38% of the candidates answered this question correctly. Others (62%) opted for the plausible distractor ‘find ____out’ and the similar in form, to the correct answer, ‘look____ out’.

Item: 14 A big traffic jam came about when a drunk driver ______ an accident.

The correct choice, in this context is b. brought about which was selected by only small proportion of the subjects (3%). The remaining (97%) failed to select the correct option and went for wrong answers such as ‘brought up’ and ‘came about’ which do not suit the context.

Item: 15 I understand the first three grammar rules, but please _________ the last rule for me again briefly.

The required MWV is c. touch on which was chosen only by 7% of the informants. Instead, they opted for erroneous answers such as: fill in (48%) and the similar in form, to the correct answer, touch in. This low achievement took place despite the clarity and the richness of the context.

Item: 16 After you left France, did you _________ French in school?

The blank, here, should be filled by a. take up. Only 2% of the testees were able to select the right response. This could be ascribed to the ignorance of the meaning of this verbal construction. The 98% of them went for wrong combination such as ‘engage in’ and ‘rake over’. Nobody opted for the MWV: ‘do over’.

Item: 17 A four-foot person ________ any where he goes.

The space in this sentence should be filled with b. stands out.

The same lexical unit has been tested in item 1 of this sub-test. However, in item 1, 13% of the test-takers managed to answer this question correctly but in the present context none of them were able to choose the correct answer. Probably the context, here, is very poor.

Item: 18 The parents didn’t like yard work so they ______ it _____ their sons.

The right answer in this item is d. left to which was selected successfully by 77% of the subjects. This might be attributed to the transparency of the component parts of the verbal construction (left and to) as well as the richness of the whole context; full of context clues. The rest (23%) went for ‘drew _____ out’ whereas, nobody selected ‘touched _____ out’ and ‘filled _____ in’.

Item: 19 The salesman ________ the customer __________a long discussion.

The suitable selection in this sentence is c. engaged _____ in

Only 6% of the testees succeeded in choosing the right verbal combination. The similar construction ‘engaged about’ was selected by 50% of the candidates while the 2 options ‘a. drew _____ from’ and ‘b. left ____ to’ were opted for by the rest (44%).

Item: 20 The bill for our expensive diner _____ $200.

The space, here, needs the verbal combination: b. came to which was got correctly by 77% of the testees. The clarity of the context and the compositionality of the meaning (i.e. the meaning of the whole sentence can be arrived at from the knowledge of the meanings of the constituent parts) help the test-takers to achieve this success. For the 23% they selected the plausible distractor: ‘turned to’.

Item: 21 You shouldn’t _____ a serious problem: deal with it as though it was very important.

The required MWV in this space is b. make light of. 16% of the informants selected the correct answer. The option: a. find fault with was chosen by 34% of the subjects while the rest (50%) went for the clearly wrong options: c. take charge of and d. keep an eye on.

Item: 22 I made so many mistakes that I had to ______ my work _________.

The suitable verbal construction in this item is a. do _____ over. This correct lexical unit was chosen successfully by 97% of the subjects. This high achievement is a result of the familiarity of the learners with this item (particularly in the class room vocabulary) as well as the frequency of use and occurrence. A small portion of the testees (3%) got this question wrong by selecting b. put to good use which does not suit the context.

Item: 23 I’m so tired and tied down in my work that I can’t _______ my work life and my hme life _______.

The right answer should be c. Tell ____ apart for which none of the subjects opted. The meaning of this MWV is obscure for the learners thus they failed to select the correct answer. The erroneous options ‘a. lay __ to rest’ and ‘b. put ___ above’, formed over 80% of the students’ wrong selections.

Item: 24 After the debater found fault with his opponent, his opponent

completely ______ the debator’s criticisms ____ and won the debate easily.

Nobody, in this question, opted for the MWV, C. pulled ____ to pieces, which is the suitable answer in the given context. The subjects’ lack of the knowledge of the meaning of this verbal combination, which fits the context of the sentence, made them select

b. pointed ____ out (50%) while the other half left the question unanswered.

Item: 25 The class was so god that I ____ a lot ____ it.

The desired answer in this context is b. got ____ out of, which was selected successfully by 96% of the informants. The clarity of the context as well as the compositionality of the meaning of the verbal construction in question, aids the subjects in making the right choice. The rest of the testees (4%) chose the unsuitable MWV ‘put ____ to use’.

Item: 26 I want to get the problem off my chest, so I’ll _____ it _____ him.

The space here should be filled with a. have _____ out with.

None of the subjects were able to choose the right answer. This failure might be attributed to the non-clarity of the context as well as the non-familiarity of the students with the verbal construction on focus which is at the same time an IEX. I.e., an idiomatic verbal combination (a phrasal verb). The erroneous answers centred on

‘b. engage _____in’, and ‘c. leave ____ up to’.

Item: 27 The engine needed repair because it was _____ too much smoke.

The needed answer in this sentence is b. giving off, which was got right by 11% of the candidates. 45% opted c. ‘giving away’ and 44% chose ‘d. giving up’. None of the subjects selected the different in form: a. drawing from. It seems that the students know the verb which fits the context but failed to choose the correct particle.

Summary for the Verbal Combination(s) Section

In this section of question 4, we have examined the verbal construction. The test-takers got 857 (31.74%) answers right and 1843 (68.26%) wrong. These numbers and percentages provide the evidence of the difficulty encounters the learners while dealing with MWV. The problems/difficulties are more or less semantic (meaning): the students do not know the meanings of these MWV, especially those who are idiomatic: have non-literal meanings. This failure in knowing the meanings of some MWV might be increased when the MWV on focus is neither frequent nor be found in rich context: (the on-availability of context clues). Moreover, there is the ‘interlingual cause’: the non-existence (or exactly the dearth) of the verbal combinations in the students’ mother tongue (Arabic).

TABLE – 72

PRT: Q.4 NOMINAL IDIOMS; TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT / WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
28	Tom won’t buy that old car because it has too much ________ on it a. ups and downs b. odds and ends c. wear and tear d. give and take	17		83
29	Alone in the house at night without electricity, I was on ___________ a. hear and soul b. ups and downs c. pins and needles d. part and parcel	76		24
30	The sixth time he called me at midnight was the ___________ a. lost cause b. ups and downs c. hot air d. big shot	49		51
31	The criminal was ignored completely by his own _____________ a. big shot b. old hand c. flesh & blood d. part & parcel	95		05
32	When it’s a matter of ________ I’m usually the one who has to compromise a. ins and outs b. give and take c. white lie d. heart and soul	96		04
35	It was the ___________ when my neighbour played his stereo loudly for the length time at night. a. part and parcel b. last straw c. ups and downs d. insand outs	61		39
37	From his clear-cut answers, I can tell the professor is an _____________ at responding to questions from his students. a. eager beaver b. in and out c. old hand d. all out	90		10
38	That speeding motorist almost didn’t see me; that was a _____________ a. hot air b. close call c. lost cause d. big shot	90		10
40	At first I accepted his suggestion, but later I had ___________ about it. a. second thoughts b. heart & soul c. small talks d. neck to neck	54		46
Total		628	69.78%	272	30.22%

Nominal Idioms: Items (28 – 32, 35, 37, 38 & 40)

Item: 28 Tom won’t buy that old car because it has too much _____ on it.

The blank should be filled by c. wear and tear which was opted for by 17% of the learners. This nominal idiom (consists of noun and noun) is neither frequent nor familiar for the subjects thus not known to the majority of them. 83% of the students chose either a. ups and downs or b. odds and ends.

Item: 29 Alone in the house at night without electricity I was on _________.

The answer should be c. pins and needles which was arrived at by 76% of the testees. This is attributable to the following:

The availability of the concept / idea of this IEX in the mother tongue of the subjects (Arabic).

The clarity of the context: it is rich of context clues: alone, at night, without electricity.

The relative transparency of the components of the IEX: ‘pins and needles’.

Item: 30 The sixth time he called me at midnight was the ______.

The required answer in this context is b. last straw which was selected by almost half of the test-takers (49%). This moderate achievement might be ascribed to the availability of the equivalent meaning in the subjects’ L₁ (Arabic) as well as the fact that the given context is revealing.

Item: 31 The criminal was ignored completely by his own ____

The right response to this question is c. flesh and blood which was chosen successfully by 95% of the test-takers. This success might be due to the availability of the concept and the equivalent expression in the subjects’ mother tongue (Arabic).

Item: 32 When it’s matter of _____ I’m usually the one who has to compromise.

The stipulated answer in this utterance is b. give and take, which was gone for by 96% of the testees. This high percentage is a result of the students’ mastery of this IEX since it is found in their mother tongue (Arabic) in terms of concept/idea and the equivalent expression.

Item: 35 It was the ____ when my neighbour played his stereo loudly for the tenth time at night.

The blank should be filled, here, by b. last straw, which was done correctly by 61% of the testees. Note that this IEX has been reexamined, here to verify/confirm the students’ mastery (or non) of this frequent and familiar IEX in their mother tongue and the target language. The 39% opted wrongly for ‘c. ups and downs’.

Item: 37 From his clear-cut answers, I can tell the professor is an ____ at responding to questions from his students.

The space in this question needs the answer C. old hand which was selected by 9% of the test-takers. Despite the absence of the equivalent expression in the subjects L₁ (Arabic) they succeeded in choosing the right answer and this might be because of the transparency and familiarity/frequency of the context.

Item: 38 That speeding motorist almost didn’t see me, that was a _____.

The required reply in this sentence is b. close call, which was gone for by 90% of the subjects. The reason of this success might reside in the testees previous knowledge of another similar lexical item: ‘close shave’ which aids them choose correctly the right IEX. The remaining (10%) opted for the plausible distractor (or what t seems so): c. lost cause.

Item: 40 At first I accepted his suggestion, but later I had ______ about it.

The adequate IEX in this context is a. second thoughts which was chosen by more than half of the subjects (54%). The concept/idea of this expression is available in the students’ L₁ (Arabic) as well as the richness of the context: the clues: at first, later. The 46% of the testees went wrong for the plausible distractor ‘small talks’ which does not fit the context and the intended meaning.

Summary for the Nominal Idioms’ Section

The table, examined above, exhibits that the subjects succeeded in getting 628 (69.78%) correct versus 272 (30.22%) wrong answers. This success in the nominal idiom category is probably the result of the availability of these IEX in the learners’ L₁ : Arabic has equivalents to these lexical units. With the exception of (28. ‘wear and tear’ and 40. second thoughts) all the tested nominal idioms have their counterparts in Arabic. (‘second thoughts’ itself has its concept in the students’ language).

TABLE – 73

PRT: Q.4 ADJECTIVAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT / WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
33	Students usually dislike homework because often it’s simply too ______________ a. pins & needles b. last straw c. cuts and dried d. up and about	05		95
34	I hope that the teacher doesn’t declare my test _________ because I cheated. a. hot air b. null and void c. last straw d. free and easy	11		89
36	He went _________ to put his heart and soul into it. a. neck and neck b. first rate c. all-out d. spick and span	06		94
Total		22	7.33%	278	92.67%

Adjectival idioms (items 33, 34 and 36)

Item: 33 Students usually dislike homework because often it’s simply too _______

The appropriate adjectival idiom in this text is c. cut and dried which was selected by only 5% of the candidates. The non-compositionality of the meaning (i.e. the meaning of the whole expression could not be deduced from the meanings of the individual words) as well as the relevant paucity of the context hinder the students success in choosing the necessary IEX.

Item: 34 I hope that the teacher doesn’t declare my test _____ because I cheated.

The acceptable adjectival idiom in this item is b. null and void which was opted for by only 11% of the test-takers. Probably the usage and style restriction (since it is mainly legal register) makes it infrequent and unfamiliar. Thus 89% of the subjects went for wrong options such as ‘a. hot air’ and d. free and easy’.

Item: 36 He went _____ to put his heart and soul into it.

The suitable answer in this question is c. all-out, which was got right by 6% of the learners. This compound adjective is not known to the majority of the test-takers.

Summary for the Adjectival Idioms’ section

The testees general performance in the adjectival idiom category of this question could be summarized as follows:

Statistically the number of correct answers 22 (7.33%) is very far from the number of the wrong ones 278 (92.67%). This low achievement is due to the nature of the lexical units tested here: cut and dried, null and void and all-out. The three of them are neither transparent nor familiar for the subjects. One item ‘null and void’ is of special register (legal). However, the learners were not able to succeed in mastering these adjectival idioms.

TABLE – 74

PRT: Q.4 ADVERBIAL VERBAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT / WRONG ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
39	An eager beaver will work very hard ___________ a. all-out b. day in & day out c. now and again d. first-rate	5		95
Total		5	5%	95	95%

Adverbial idioms – Item: 39

Item: 39 An eager beaver will work very hard _____.

The correct answer in this item is b. day in and day out which was selected by only 5% of the informants. The IEX is not transparent (you can not arrive at the meaning of the adverbial idiom by piecing together the individual words it contains). Thus its meaning ‘daily’ is not known to the subjects. However, some of them went wrongly for the plausible distractor (c. now and again).

Summary for the Adverbial Idioms’ category

5 students (5%) managed to answer the adverbial idiom in this question correctly. This leads to the possibility that the learners seem to have problems/difficulties especially when the parts are poor guide to the meaning of the whole expression.

Summary for Q.4

In general from the above discussion of the 40 items tested in this question, it is clear that although the learners specialized in English (i.e. took English as a major subject) they were not able to select the correct MWV/IEX which are suitable both in the context and the grammatical structure of English sentences.

The obstacles are mainly inability to figure out the meanings of MWV/IEX.

Statistically, the question displays the following:

Total number of possible answers = 4000

Number of correct answers = 1512 (37.80%)

Number of wrong answers = 2488 (62.20%)

The causes of this failure might reside in the target language (English): the potential and inherent difficulty of these 2 vocabulary components or the mother tongue of the students (Arabic): the absence of MWV from L₁ or the scarcity of the equivalents of some of the IEX therein.

Question Five

a. Sentence Writing

In this sub-question, the testees were asked to answer each question or statement by using the idiomatic expression in a meaningful, grammatical sentence.

30 situations were given and the students had to develop situations by writing short, meaningful grammatical sentence. 15 marks devoted to this task. ½ mark for each correct sentence writing. The students’ scores in this sub-question will be provided in appendix 8.

In this part Q.5, we are concerned with the students’ ability to produce correct and short sentence of accurate English. Although objective tests (e.g. multiple-choice) have been used to test the writing skill, their validity can be questioned. We cannot test writing without requiring the students to write. For this reason, most test of writing consists either in part or completely of some form of composition. Regarding the receptive and expressive errors distinction, the errors we must readily notice are those in expressive activity, the utterances of learners in meaningful discourse. But it is clear the errors of comprehension do also occur. These can obviously only be studied indirectly by inference from the learner’s linguist responses to utterances in the target language, e.g. answers to questions….

The study of expressive performance offers a direct source of information about the learner’s competence. It is generally assumed that a learner’s receptive abilities always exceed his expressive abilities.

The tabulation of the subjects’ performance (numbers and percentages of correct/ wrong answers) followed the same categorization adopted in (Questions 2 – 4) i.e. it includes the following sections:

· verbal idioms

· nominal idioms

· adjectival idioms and

· adverbial idioms

In what follows, a tabulation and a discussion of the questions / lexical items in consideration, the number of correct/wrong answers and their percentages. This will be done under the sub-headings: verbal, nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms.

TABLE – 75

PRT: Q.5a VERBAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT/WRONG

ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
1	When might you wish that some noise would die down?	31		69
2	To get ahead in life, what do you have to do?	04		96
3	How did your desire to learn English come about?	99		01
4	What kind of life do you want when you settle down?	75		25
5	Whom do you turn to when you have a problem?	03		97
6	If you could turn into an animal, which animal would it be?	06		94
7	Which parent do you take after? In what way?	09		91
8	As a student, you have to put up with many problems. Name one.	23		77
9	In your family, who do you look up to?	11		89
10	Why do some people make up excuses for their mistakes?	21		79
11	What was the most recent task which you put off?	97		03
12	Why is it bad to lead someone on?	41		59
13	What responsibilities tie you down?	01		99
14	What personal habit would you like to give up?	98		02
15	What would you hold against a criminal?	01		99
16	Who is putting you through school?	00		100
17	Have you ever taken unfair advantage of your parents?	01		99
18	If you hurt someone, what should you make a point of doing?	07		93
19	Why do foreign students sometimes find it difficult to make sense of TV programs in English?	95		05
20	When would you lay your problems to rest?	32		68
21	How do you lay your problems to rest?	00		100
22	Who do you talk your problems over with?	00		100
23	What might you take up with your parents?	00		100
Total		655	28.48%	1645	71.52%

Verbal Idioms (Items 1 – 23)

Item: 1

When might you wish that some noise would die down?

The MWV in this item is ‘die down’ meaning ‘diminished’. After understanding the intended meaning the students should produce their response including the MWV in focus. 31% of the subjects produced the required answer.

Item: 2

To get ahead in life, what do you have to do?

The tested verbal combination in this sentence is ‘get ahead’ meaning ‘to advance to…..’. Only 4% of the test-takers were able to provide the correct reaction. The remaining (96%) failed to understand the verbal construction and thus produce erroneous utterances.

Item: 3

How did your desire to learn English come about?

The input text is familiar and the context is revealing. As a result almost all the subjects (99%) succeeded in answering this question correctly.

Item: 4

What kind of life do you want when you settle down?

‘Settle down’ is another instance of a frequent verbal construction. Thus, a considerable number of the testees (75%) supplied the needed reply.

Item: 5

Whom do you turn to when you have a problem?

‘Turn to’ meaning ‘refer to / ask for sb help’ is not known to the majority of the learners only 3% were capable of producing the right answer.

Item: 6

If you could turn into an animal, which animal would it be?

The sense of the MWV in this context escaped 94% of the test-takers. Only 6% of them comprehended the stimulus and gave the suitable response.

Item: 7

Which parent do you take after? In what way?

Though the meaning of this verbal construction is clear (= resemble), only 9% of the testees provided the target reply. The majority of them confused it with ‘look after’.

Item: 8

As a student, you have to put up with many problems. Name one.

This 3-word verb is understood, in this context, by only 23% of the test-takers, despite its frequency and familiarity, who produced the sought answer.

Item: 9

In your family, who do you look up to?

This MWV was confused with (look after). Therefore, some answers such as (my little brother) were illustrative of the subjects’ failure in understanding and thus in producing the required reply.

Item: 10

Why do some people make up excuses for their mistakes?

‘Make up’ meaning ‘invent’ in this text was responded to correctly by 21% of the candidates.

Item: 11

What was the most recent task which you put off?

‘Put off’ is an example of a very frequent multi-word verb. Consequently 97% of the learners produced the right answer. The remaining (3%) might have confused it with ‘put up’ and ‘put on’.

Item: 12

Why is it bad to lead someone on?

The counterpart of this verbal combination is available in the students’ mother tongue (Arabic). Therefore, 41% of the subjects were able to see the intended meaning and react correctly to the question.

Item: 13

What responsibilities tie you down?

This MWV which means restrict in this context was not understood by almost all the testees (99%). The relevant paucity of the context: lack of context clues…. Etc. might create this failure.

Item: 14

What personal habit would you like to give up?

‘Give up’ is one of the frequent verbal idioms. The frequency of occurrence helps the majority of the students (98%) to comprehend the input and provide the required reply. The rest (2%) might mix it up with: ‘give in’.

Item: 15

What would you hold against a criminal?

Hold against (sb) meaning ‘blame’ is an obscure MWV: i.e. the meaning of the whole could not be arrived from knowledge of the individual words it contains. As a result almost all the subjects (99%) failed to respond to this item successfully. Strange and erroneous answers such as: ‘*I would hold against a criminal a pistol’ is illustrative of this failure.

Item: 16

Who is putting you through school?

Nobody produced the intended reply to this question. The subjects do not the meaning the MWV in question.

Item: 17

Have you ever taken unfair advantage of your parents?

None of the testees was able to provide the adequate answer to this question. This failure is a result of misunderstanding of the sense embodied in this sentence and hence inability to give the right response.

Item: 18

If you hurt someone, what should you make a point of doing?

‘Make a point of’ is what is termed in the relevant literature as a complex idiom. However, only 7% of the informants succeeded in giving the required reply.

Item: 19

Why do foreign students sometimes find it difficult to make sense of TV programs in English?

‘Make sense of’ though it is a complex idiom was dealt with successfully by 95% of the test-takers. This might be ascribed to the frequency of occurrence of this expression as well as its familiarity: it constitutes a part of the class-room vocabulary.

Item: 20

When would you lay your problems to rest?

This IEX is, more or less, transparent as well as the existence of its equivalent in the mother tongue of the learners (Arabic). Therefore, a considerable number of them (32%) arrived at the correct interpretation and, hence, the correct production.

Item: 21

How do you lay your problems to rest?

‘Lay….to rest’ is an instance of what is called in the relevant literature as non-compositional: the meaning could not be deduced from the knowledge of the parts. Therefore, its meaning ‘bring to an end’ / ‘resolve’ failed to be understood / seen by all the test-takers.

Item: 22

Who do you talk your problems over with?

‘Talk over with’ meaning ‘discuss’ is not clear for all the subjects of this study. As a result, they were not able to provide the appropriate answer.

Item: 23

What might you take up with your parents?

‘Take up with’ though its apparent simplicity was not known to the testees. Therefore, none of them was able to produce the correct reply.

Summary for the Verbal Combinations Section

To round up this section, let’s recap the general performance of the subjects in the verbal idioms category, in this sub-test. The testees were able to produce 655 (28.48%) sentences correctly (out of a total number of 2300) and a number of 1645 (71.52%) of erroneous ones (this include the left undone questions). Thus the subjects’ achievement in this part is not satisfactory. The faculty production was, to a large extent, due to misunderstanding of the verbal construction in question and, hence, of the whole utterance. This inability to comprehend the ‘stimulus’ leads to a considerable deficiency in the production: the writing of the required responses. Again, the fact of the paucity of the MWV in the subjects; mother tongue (Arabic) contributed (with the inherent and the potential difficulty of these verbal constructions in English) to this failure at both receptive and productive levels. In a word, the problems/difficulties are comprehension cum production ones.

TABLE – 76

PRT: Q.5a NOMINAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT /

WRONG ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
24	Which of your flesh and blood do you love the most?	90		10
25	In what situation would you be on pins and needles?	95		05
26	What was the last close call that you had?	94		06
27	Are you an old hand at anything? What?	04		96
Total		283	70.75%	117	29.25%

Nominal Idioms (Items 24-27)

Item: 24

Which of your flesh and blood do you love the most?

The IEX ‘flesh and blood’ has its counterpart in the students’ mother tongue (Arabic) thus 90% of them got this item correct.

Item: 25

In what situation would you be on pins and needles?

The concept/idea of the expression ‘on pins and needles’ and its equivalent are found in the learners’ L₁ (Arabic) hence 95% of them succeeded in giving the required response.

Item: 26

What was the last close call that you had?

The nominal idiom ‘close call’ as used in this item has the meaning ‘narrow escape’. 94% of the informants responded successfully to the question. This high achievement is probably is the result of the students’ previous knowledge of another nominal idiom ‘close shave’ which has the same meaning.

Item: 27

Are you an old hand at anything? What?

This IEX is not known to the students. Consequently, 96% of them failed to produce the necessary reply.

Summary for the Nominal Idioms Category

Unlike the learners’ performance in the other sections of this question (verbal, adjectival, and adverbial) they succeeded in providing 283 (70.75%) correct answers versus 117 (29.25%) wrong ones.

This success might simply be as a result of the students’ mastery over the lexical units tested in this section. ‘Flesh and blood’ and ‘on pins and needles’ have their counterparts in the subjects’ L₁ (Arabic) while ‘old hand’ does not have equivalent therein (thus it was got right only by 4%).

‘Close call’ despite its absence from the students L₁, was understood and responded to successfully by 94% of them. This is probably they are familiar with the similar in form and in meaning ‘close shave’.

TABLE – 77

PRT: Q.5a ADJECTIVAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT /

WRONG ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
28	Why do people prefer speeches that are short and sweet?	68		32
29	Why should a teacher’s explanation be clear-cut?	99		01
Total		167	83.50%	33	16.5%

5.a.c Adjectival Idioms (Items 28 and 29)

Item: 28

Why do people prefer speeches that are short and sweet?

The IEX ‘short and sweet’ does not have its equivalent in the students’ mother tongue (Arabic) but because of the compositionality of its meaning (the meanings of the individual words have relation with the meaning of the whole) and the richness of the context : availability of clues, (68%) of the testees were capable of providing the adequate answer.

Item: 29

Why should a teacher’s explanation be clear-cut?

This IEX is, more or less, compositional (we can arrive at the meaning of the expression by putting together the meanings of the constituent words). The familiarity and richness of the context help almost all the test-takers (9%) to supply the required response.

Summary for the adjectival idioms’ section

Two items were examined in the adjectival category: ‘Short and sweet’ and ‘clear-cut’. The testees provided 167 (83.50%) right utterances and 33 (16.50%) erroneous ones.

The richness of the contexts and the familiarity of the topics in these two sentences might aid the test-takers in this considerable success. Moreover, the meanings of the composing words (‘short and sweet’ in #28 and ‘clear-cut’ in #29) are relevant to the meaning of the whole expressions.

TABLE – 78

PRT: Q.5a ADVERBIAL IDIOMS: TESTED ITEMS, NO. OF CORRECT / WRONG ANSWERS AND PERCENTAGE OF ADVERBIAL IDIOMS (ITEM – 30)

Sl. No.	Item / Sentence	No. of Correct answers	%	No. of wrong answers	%
30	Why is it necessary to study vocabulary time and again?	02		98
Total		2	2%	98	98%

Section 5.a.d Adverbial Idioms

Item: 30

Why is it necessary to study vocabulary time and again?

This adverbial idiom is of one of the most frequent and well-known IEX (there is a TV program/show which has the same title) nevertheless 98% of the subjects failed to comprehend the meaning of this expression and hence were not able to produce the appropriate reply. However, its meaning ‘repeatedly’ was seen only by 2% of the testees: they might make good use of the familiarity of the context and the clues: ‘necessary’, and ‘study vocabulary’.

Summary for the Adverbial Idioms Category

In this section, almost all the testees failed to answer the question adequately. Despite the frequency of occurrence of the item tested in this part, they were not able to respond successfully. However, this hints to the students’ difficulty with understanding some adverbial idioms.

Summary for Q.5.a

In sum, the task in this party of Q.5 is to write meaningful, grammatical sentences in responses to statements/questions. It is a controlled, receptive-productive sub-test.

The MWV/IEX in these sentences should be re-used in providing the required answers.

The overall performance of the testees is as follows:

Total number of expected answers = 3000

Number of correct answers = 1107 (36.90%)

Number of wrong answers = 1893 (63.10%)

The statistics above demonstrates the students’ difficulty with writing meaningful and grammatical sentences on the basis of stimuli consisting MWV/IEX.

The reasons of the students’ failure might reside in the potential and inherent difficulty of the tested MWV/IEX (intra-lingual problem) or the absence/scarcity of some of these lexical units from the learner’s mother tongue (inter-lingual aspect.

Question Five (b) : Paraphrase

In this part, the testees were asked to re-write a given passage. 5 marks were allotted to this task.

In this sub-question, the task is both receptive and productive. It is the understanding of a highly informal idiomatic style and then convert it into normal/ordinary style.

This apparently productive-expressive task, (which is more or less open-ended since it’s controlled composition) requires/leads to relatively subjective judgement.

For convenience the connected passage is divided sentence-wise (a sentence might contain more than one IEX/MWV).

The possible paraphrasing is given below (sentence-wise) between the lines of the original text (the input passage) in italic:

Sam is a real cool cat.

(Sam is really a calm person)

He never blows his stack and hardly ever flies off the handle.

(He never loses control of himself and hardly ever becomes too angry)

What’s more he knows how to get away with things….

(Furthermore, he knows how to manage, his business (financially) by using a few tricks).

Well, of course he is getting on, too.

(Needless to say, he, too is getting older).

His hair is pepper and salt, but he knows how to make up for lost time by taking it easy.

(His hair is beginning to turn grey, but he knows how to compensate for wasted time by relaxing).

He gets up early, works out, and turns in early.

(He rises early, exercises, and goes to bed early).

He takes care of the hot dog stand like a breeze until he gets time off.

(He manages his shop without visible efforts, until it is someone else’s turn to work there).

Sam’s got it made; this is to for him.

(Sam is successful, he reached his life’s goal).

Paraphrase involves interpreting a passage and then by a process of substitution, reformulation expressing the meaning of it. Our starting point in this case, then, is the authoritative interpretation. We know what was the learner ought to be trying to say. However, since ‘paraphrasing’ involves both interpretation and expression, errors may occur in either of these processes. Our suggested assumption, here is that the failures are mainly those of comprehension. The first task, as always, is to identify errors. Since, here we are dealing with a ‘discourse’ it may be that while the learner can interpret all the words, he may not be able to interpret the logical and semantic connections or relations between the parts.

Since this sub-test (Q.5.b) is different in nature from the other sub-tests in this study (productive-receptive / open ended) and also it is different from the first part of Q.5, in that it is a connected passage (discourse), the question has been analysed (statistically and linguistically) on its own. The total score of the passage would be 5marks.

However, the overall-performance of the testees in this task is as follows:

Some phrases seem to contain a large proportion of random copying.

In general, quite a good number of test-takers missed scores for wrong interpretation as well as some very odd features of production: faulty paraphrasing.

TABLE – 79

PRT: Q.5B STUDENTS’ MARKS ON THE PARAPHRASE TASK

Marks out of 5	Frequency (No. of students)
1	60
2	30
3	10
Total	100

From the table above, we can conclude that the subjects’ performance in this sub-test is very poor. The students have dramatic problems / difficulties in dealing with colloquial idiomatic discourse. Their problems might be in both reception (comprehension) and production (paraphrasing) but it was manifestal in the latter (i.e. rewriting).

The reader should be reminded that this part of question five has not been treated statistically as the rest of the pre-test questions (counts of the correct/wrong answers and their percentages) because it is a production of a discourse 9atext) and it is open-ended question. Therefore, we adopt an evaluation using the marks obtained by the subjects (marks-wise). For practical reasons, among the various ways of marking re-writing tasks, we have used the ‘impression method’. The paraphrase is given a mark based on the marker’s impression of it as a whole. The marker marked the written task on the basis of his general impression only. He did not attempt to analyse why he had given it the mark he had. The main criteria is the student’s ability to understand and re-write the text i.e., the ability to convey meaning in other words. In general, 90% of the testees scored below 3 marks.

5.3.3.2 Summary for the Pre-test

In sum, the pre-test given to the subjects of this study is composed mainly of five sub-tests which further divided (with the exception of Q.1 & 5.b) into four sections: Verbal, nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms. The students’ general performance varies from one elicitation technique (blank filling, multiple-choice, sentence writing / paraphrase…etc) to another and fro one category (verbal, nominal…etc) to another.

However, from the tabulation/presentation and the discussion follows, the testees overall performance could be described briefly as follows:

Statistically, we have the summary below:

Total number of expected answers = 18000

Number of correct answers = 6942 (38.57%)

Number of wrong answers = 11058 (61.43.%)

The statistics confirms that the learners have some problems/difficulties while dealing with idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs.

In an objective test, as the one conducted in this research, the proportion of the correct answers to the wrong ones is expected to be ‘high’ but the percentage(s) obtained (38.57/61.43) is low.

Linguistically, the problems / difficulties faced the learners centred around the following levels:

Grammatical

Lexico-Semantic

Stylistic

For the grammatical level, the examples below are illustrative:

· Not able to distinguish between transitive and intransitive MWV (which affects the grammar of the whole verbal construction/idiomatic expression).

· Failure to differentiate prepositions (particles) from adverbs (particles) which has its influence of the position(s) of adverbs, norms object, pronouns objects etc.

· The place of adverbs in relation to MWV.

· The order and forms of the components of IEX: The arrangement of the individual words in a given expression (e.g. give and take not * take and give) and morphology of the constituents of the IEX: singular/plural (He’s burnt his boats not his boat) and the choice of the current conjunction: e.g. heart and soul not heart or soul.

· Transformation problems: not able to transform from active to passive and from verbal from to nominalized ones.

Under the lexico-semantic category, we observe the following:

· Collocation problems: e.g. carry on a conversation not * carry out a conversation.

· Fixation or non-fixation of the items/elements within IEX: replacing ships for boats in He’s burnt his boats.

· The meaning and understanding (comprehension) problems/difficulties.

At the stylistic level, we count in:

· The inability to use the appropriate MWV/IEX in the relevant context(s).

· Moreover, the failure to comprehend and paraphrase, for example, a highly idiomatic colloquial text into normal or ordinary one.

And finally, the logical analysis of the results, provided in this pre-test, attributed the subjects failure/non-mastery over these 2 lexical items to the internal factors as well as external factors. Among the formers ones are reasons related to the target language (intralingual). These are due to the potential or inherent difficulty of IEX/MWV) in the system of the English language. In the same source (i.e. the internal reasons), we might count the influence/transfer of the subjects L₁ : Arabic e.g. the scarcity of MWV in Arabic as well as the relevant non-conformity between the IEX in Arabic and those in English: i.e. the non-availability of the exact counterparts or equivalents in the students’ mother tongue and the target language.

As for the external factors which affect the performance of the subjects on IEX/MWV, the following general elements could be pointed out:

· Absence or inattention to these vocabulary units in the syllabus used in Sudan universities.

· Faculty teaching materials;

· Faulty teaching methods; strategies, techniques….;

· Dearth of references, text-books etc.;

· Paucity of the academic environment;

· The general status of English language in Sudan and the ELT situation in particular;

· Unawareness of the students/teachers of the important of IEX/MWV in English Language and everyday use.

However, apart from their mention here, these extrinsic variables, listed above, have been verified and confirmed by the teachers’ and students’ questionnaire(s) presented and discussed in the present chapter.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

In this chapter, we have discussed the three elicitation techniques which have been used at this stage i.e. before the introduction of the ETC (the teachers’ questionnaire, the students’ questionnaire and the press) to get information about the teaching and learning of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs in the context of Sudan. The main objective of the tools used in the present study is to detect the problems/difficulties facing the students as well as their teachers while dealing wit these two overlapping components of vocabulary. The literature review and what have been established in the theoretical background/framework of this dissertation revealed that there are various and different obstacles which might be encountered by the native speaker and the foreign language learner.

In what follows, I will try to pull together the salient points made about the problems/difficulties of teaching learning these multi-word lexical items, on the basis of the empirical data obtained in this study. That is, a recapitulation of the findings of the two questionnaires as well as the pre-test given to the subjects of the present study. Let us start by bringing together the findings of these three elicitation tools under the sub-headings:

1) findings of the teachers’ questionnaire,

2) findings of the students’ questionnaire,

3) findings of the pre-test

1. FINDINGS OF THE TEACHERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE

However, an attempt has been made to group the findings of the teachers’ questionnaire under the following headings: Syllabus, Materials, Learner analysis/role + affective domain, Specific problems / difficulties of T / L IEX / MWV, Classroom methodology, strategies, techniques and the inclusion of an explicit taught course (ETC) on IEX & MWV.

n n SYLLABUS

n

· There is a general dissatisfaction about the status of vocabulary course(s) among the other components of the English syllabuses used in Sudan universities. Thus, there is discontent with the place of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs in the vocabulary course(s). In other words, vocabulary was felt to be neglected area in the syllabuses and hence the subsequent neglect of these 2 important sub-components of vocabulary.

· The majority of the teachers were of the opinion that the problems/difficulties of the Sudanese university students of English are related to the absence of IEX/MWV from the syllabus(es) used in Sudan.

n MATERIALS

· Almost all the teachers are not familiar with the recent literature on teaching/learning of IEX/MWV. This is o close relevance to the general paucity of books/references, textbooks, workbooks, dictionaries, etc. on the English language in general in Sudan. Many teachers think that the available books etc. do not help them as well their students to improve their use and knowledge on those lexical items. They do not develop the required mastery over IEX/MWV.

· IEX / MWV are some of those areas of language where a well motivated learner can make giant strides on his own if he is given the right kind of materials to work on (including vocabulary enhancement exercises)

n n LEARNER ANALYSIS / ROLE + THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN

(ATTITUDE / FEELING TOWARDS IEX/MWV).

· The majority of the students are not conversant with the terms idiomatic expressions and multi-word verb.

A small proportion of the learners can define these multi-word lexical items.

· The learners steered clear away from IEX/MWV using some avoidance strategy such as expressing the meaning in a different way replacing, for instance, an MWV with a SWV or express the sense of an IEX in unidiomatic way.

The non-native learners often show a tendency to avoid using vocabulary in an idiomatic way.

The informants are for the suggestion that ‘It is important to change the view which is based on the hypothesis that the mastering of IEX/MWV could be restricted only to the native speakers’.

· The teachers agreed to the suggested essential role of the learner in the following 2 complementary statements:

1. IEX and MWV are some of those areas of language where a well-motivated learner can make giant strides (quick progress) on his own if he is given the right kind of material to work on (including vocabulary development activities).

2. In learning/teaching of IEX/MWV the active involvement in the learning process can be of much greater benefit to the student than simple memorization.

n SPECIFIC PROBLEMS/DIFFICULTIES OF TEACHING / LEARNING IEX/MWV

· The teachers’ feedback confirmed the existence of the following problems/difficulties among other obstacles facing the students while learning IEX/MWV:

- The use of the particle and/or preposition with the verbs – a collocation problem.

- Not being able to understand the MWV which are also IEX.

- Generally, problems arising from the special nature of MWV: their difficult

structural patterns (e.g. with pronouns), their special stress patterns and so on.

· Apart from the problems/difficulties cited in the above paragraph the following are also encountering the students while learning IEX/MWV :

Less attention is paid to these multi-word lexical items in the English Language syllabus they are dealing with.

- The learners faulty definition/perception of IEX/MWV.

- The students’ poor knowledge/mastery of the learning strategies and skills especially the guessing-from-context strategy.

· The majority of the respondents restated that IEX/MWV are important areas of everyday English Language use.

As a result, the teachers are for the suggestion that IEX/MWV are areas that need attention and development in the Sudanese learner. Moreover, the teachers’ responses confirmed that these multi-word lexical units are some of the most difficult areas of English for the foreign learners.

The teachers’ answers also bore out the utility of IEX/MWV in respect of the possibility of using materials which already established meanings to express/form new meaning.

· In their responses the lectures indicated that the idiomatic knowledge of language is essential.

· The teachers mentioned the following as problems/difficulties they have themselves faced while teaching IEX/MWV.

- The students limited exposure to the target language and, hence, limited practice of natural and authentic expressions.

- It was felt that there were no opportunities for the students to use IEX/MWV in the classroom.

- The student are not equipped with the necessary strategies for guessing the meanings of unknown lexical items.

- The learners’ ignorance of the target language culture and context.

- The scarcity of MWV in the L₁ of the students (Arabic)

· It was found that the majority of the students cannot understand some IEX/MWV when reading newspapers and magazines, listening to English programmes broadcast over the radio, watching movies and TV programmes i.e. they experienced comprehension problems.

· The students have a definition problems: they confuse or associate IEX/MWV with proverbs and colloquial language.

n CLASSROOM METHODOLOGY, TECHNIQUES, STRATEGIES, ETC.

· The teachers agreed that the best way to teach/learn IEX/MWV is to treat them as new items and try to encourage the learners to guess their meaning from situation and context.

This is contrary to the prevailing classroom methodology in Sudan: one way lecturing in which there is no students interaction /involvement followed by memorizing lists of lexical items.

In learning/teaching of IEX/MWV, the active involvement in the learning process can be of much greater benefit to the student than simple memorization.

· The teachers supported the teaching strategy:

‘If a teacher/lecturer decides to cover the meaning aspect of MWV systematically the best way is probably to concentrate on the particle’.

· The respondents are against grouping IEX/MWV together and teaching them together, simply because of some words they have in common (e.g. let the cat out of the bag, rain cats and dogs; lead a dog’s life…etc or look out, look after, look up etc.) are taught together.

· The teachers favoured the method/technique which treats IEX/MWV as unusually long words (multi-word lexical items) and to teach them as one would teach any new word i.e. as they occur in a meaningful context.

· The adequate/efficient classroom strategies techniques such as discussions, group work, presentation problem, solving etc., were not followed in dealing with IE/MWV.

n THE INTRODUCTION OF AN EXPLICITLY TAUGHT COURSE (ETC) ON IEX/MWV

The results emerged from the present questionnaire reinforce our hypothesis that the Sudanese students of English knowledge and use of IEX/MWV are inadequate for coping with their academic requirements and the social and cultural aspect of the target language. Hence, there is a need for developing an explicit taught course on IEX/MWV. 80% of the teachers recommended the inclusion of a course on IEX/MWV in the English language syllabus in Sudan universities.

2. FINDINGS OF THE STUDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE

Overall, the first part (Questions 1 – 15) of the students’ questionnaire informed us that the subjects of the present study are homogenous. They are representing of the typical Sudanese university student of English as a foreign language.

The second part (Questions 16 – 27) revealed the following salient points about the students’ problems/difficulties while dealing with IEX/MWV.

· The students prefer using single-word verb rather than multi-word verbal combinations.

This avoidance could be attributed to the scarcity of MWV in the students’ mother tongue and hence they found difficulty while dealing with these multi-word lexical units.

· Specific evidence of the students’ problems with MWV is their inability to substitute a MWV with a SWV and vice versa.

· The majority of the students of this Study admitted that they faced difficulty in comprehending and replacing multi-word verbal constructions with their equivalent single word ones.

· A large proportion of the informants in this survey confessed that they lacked the talent of understanding and using these multi-word lexical units in speech and writing.

· Almost all the learners do not possess the skill of seeing the fine lexical and stylistic differences between English expressions: they could not distinguish the natural and potential realization, for example, of the social act of greeting when being introduced to another person (the idiomatic usage of the language).

· IEX are available in the students’ L₁ (Arabic) whereas for MWV, they are not frequent therein.

Thus, they faced more problems/difficulties with MWV and IEX.

· All the subjects of this survey agreed that IEX/MWV are important and necessary for the mastery of English.

· While reading/listening the learners find difficult in identifying idiomatic verbal combinations from non-idiomatic ones.

· The students favoured the role of the learner as an active participant in the process of learning these 2 vocabulary sub-components.

· The meaning/comprehension (semantic) problems top the list of the obstacles met the learners when dealing with IEX/MWV, while the grammatical problems come on the bottom. The central area is occupied by the phonological, stylistic and definition/ concept problems/difficulties among others.

3. FINDINGS OF THE PRE-TEST

In sum, the pre-test given to the subjects of this study is composed mainly of five sub-test, which further divided (with the exception of Q.1 and 5.b) into four sections: Verbal, nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms. The students’ general performance varies from one elicitation technique (blank filling, multiple-choice, sentence writing/paraphrase….etc) to another and from one category (verbal, nominal….etc) to another.

However, from the tabulation/presentation and the discussion followed, the testees’ overall performance could be described briefly as follows:

??????????? pg365-367

Statistically, we have the summary below:

Total number of expected answers = 18000

Number of correct answers = 6942 (38.57%)

Number of wrong answers = 11058 (61.43.%)

The statistics confirms that the learners have some problems/difficulties while dealing with idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs.

In an objective test, as the one conducted in this research, the proportion of the correct answers to the wrong ones is expected to be ‘high’ but the percentage(s) obtained (38.57/61.43) is low.

Linguistically, the problems / difficulties faced the learners centred around the following levels:

Grammatical

Lexico-Semantic

Stylistic

For the grammatical level, the examples below are illustrative:

· Not able to distinguish between transitive and intransitive MWV (which affects the grammar of the whole verbal construction/idiomatic expression).

· Failure to differentiate prepositions (particles) from adverbs (particles) which has its influence of the position(s) of adverbs, norms object, pronouns objects etc.

· The place of adverbs in relation to MWV.

· The order and forms of the components of IEX: The arrangement of the individual words in a given expression (e.g. give and take not * take and give) and morphology of the constituents of the IEX: singular/plural (He’s burnt his boats not his boat) and the choice of the current conjunction: e.g. heart and soul not heart or soul.

· Transformation problems: not able to transform from active to passive and from verbal from to nominalized ones.

Under the lexico-semantic category, we observe the following:

· Collocation problems: e.g. carry on a conversation not * carry out a conversation.

· Fixation or non-fixation of the items/elements within IEX: replacing ships for boats in He’s burnt his boats.

· The meaning and understanding (comprehension) problems/difficulties.

At the stylistic level, we count in:

· The inability to use the appropriate MWV/IEX in the relevant context(s).

· Moreover, the failure to comprehend and paraphrase, for example, a highly idiomatic colloquial text into normal or ordinary one.

And finally, the logical analysis of the results, provided in this pre-test, attributed the subjects failure/non-mastery over these 2 lexical items to the internal factors as well as external factors. Among the formers ones are reasons related to the target language (intralingual). These are due to the potential or inherent difficulty of IEX/MWV) in the system of the English language. In the same source (i.e. the internal reasons), we might count the influence/transfer of the subjects L₁ : Arabic e.g. the scarcity of MWV in Arabic as well as the relevant non-conformity between the IEX in Arabic and those in English: i.e. the non-availability of the exact counterparts or equivalents in the students’ mother tongue and the target language.

As for the external factors which affect the performance of the subjects on IEX/MWV, the following general elements could be pointed out:

· Absence or inattention to these vocabulary units in the syllabus used in Sudan universities.

· Faculty teaching materials;

· Faulty teaching methods; strategies, techniques….;

· Dearth of references, text-books etc.;

· Paucity of the academic environment;

· The general status of English language in Sudan and the ELT situation in particular;

· Unawareness of the students/teachers of the important of IEX/MWV in English Language and everyday use.

Problems and Difficulties facing the Teaching/Learning of IEX/MWV in Sudan

After having grouped the findings obtained by the three data collection tools used at this stage of this study in the previous pages, we shall present below the conclusions arrived at from these findings. This section mainly encompasses the following 2 categories:

General problems/difficulties: related to the general academic setting(s), the English language status and the ELT situation in Sudan.

Particular problems/difficulties of teaching/learning of IEX/MWV of English in Sudan (or elsewhere) could not be made in isolation of the general educational scene in that country. Some of these external problems/difficulties are: Language planning and syllabus: materials; methodology; teacher qualification/education and training, the academic setting/environment and the Evaluation system. The other (intrinsic/internal) problems/difficulties are those which closely relevant to the teaching/learning of IEX/MWV. These problems and difficulties could be described as the following: intra-lingual problems/difficulties; inter-lingual obstacles and teaching/learning, etc., induced problems/difficulties. However, in what follows, I will take these external and internal obstacles in turn.

n EXTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE TEACHING/LEARNING OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS & MULTI-WORD VERBS OF ENGLISH IN SUDAN

1. THE STATUS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SUDAN

During the colonial period 1889-1956 English had the status of a 2^nd language. It was the official language and the medium of instruction in the secondary school and at the tertiary level. The situation changed dramatically from that period up to the present day.

In general, now English has the status of a FL in Sudan. The means of official transactions and the medium of instruction at all educational levels is Arabic. English is taught only as a subject in school and as a university requirement for all university students regardless of their streams: major subjects of study. This status limited the students exposure to the language and, hence, practice.

2. THE GENERAL ELT SCENARIO IN SUDAN

The ELT scenario in Sudan is related to the previously discussed variable (the status of English Language in Sudan). English is taught as a subject as the same as other subjects. The exception to this is the students who major in English in the faculties of education/arts. Those students are subject of intensive courses in English to prepare them to teach English (particularly at the school level) or to work in external affairs, translation etc. Deteriorating standards of teaching/learning English, in both basic level (primary education) and general education as well as university level, are apparent in Sudan context. In fact no one is satisfied with the ELT situation in Sudan in general.

3. THE ENGLISH SYLLABUSES USED IN SUDAN UNIVERSITIES AND THE POSITION/PLACE OF IEX & MWV IN THESE SYLLABUSES

The English language followed at the tertiary level in Sudan have been discussed in chapter 2 of this study and presented in appendix-1. a study of these syllabuses revealed the absence of an explicit and direct treatment of IEX and MWV from these documents: no separate course to cater for IEX/MWV.

No special attention and emphasis are given to the vocabulary component in the syllabuses used in Sudan universities. Therefore, IEX & LWV, as they are Vocabulary components, are not given the concern they deserve.

4. MATERIALS

a quick look at the materials used in Sudan exhibits the paucity of the available teaching aids or the complete absence of teaching aids. Even (personal) efforts and initiatives by some lecturers in making teaching aids or additional teaching or supplementary teaching materials can have no effect as there may not be any place to either store or display them.

Scarcity of books, textbooks, workbooks, and references adds to the suffering of the learners in Sudan as well as their teachers themselves. The availability of the latest editions and the up-to-date publications, in general, is far beyond the reach of the educational institutions in Sudan.

5. TEACHERS’ QUALIFIFCATION/EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Generally speaking, there is dearth of lecturers/teachers of English at the university level in Sudan. Those who work in arts and education faculties are asked to teach in other faculties/colleges (teaching ESP/EAP) as well as their heavy load in their respective faculties/colleges. Some of these lecturers are not sufficiently trained to cope with the problems/difficulties facing T/L processes as action researchers. They are not familiar with all the possible techniques and procedures. The brain drain: the migration to the gulf countries and the change to other jobs (diplomacy, translation) is one of the permanent problems facing T/L of English in Sudan. As a result, Sudan suffers from a lack of trained and efficient lecturers of English.

6. METHODOLOGY

as in most Arab countries, the ‘grammar-translation’ method is manifested in different and various shapes and practices of language teaching/learning especially in general education. The use of bilingual dictionaries: Arabic-English-Arabic….There is a frequent and considerable use of L₁ in the classroom. The excessive use of Arabic in English classes, by students (and sometimes by their teachers), which minimized the exposure and practice of the target language, should be avoided if the situation is to be improved. The students are probably not exposed to adequate instruction….English is not taught as a set of skills (serving a communicative purpose…) it is considered to be as an informative (content) subject in which the students are given instruction (most likely one way lecturing not teaching) consisting of texts to be analyzed grammatically and lists of words to be memorized.

7. THE GENERAL ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT

The general setting, especially for those who specialize in English at their university education, is not convenient and suitable for learning/teaching since the students are hardly got exposed to English outside the classroom. This unhelpful environment for practicing English should be made more convenient and more conductive to teaching and learning in a proper and sound atmosphere.

The physical conditions of some of the universities and the large number of students in classes minimize the exposure and practice and the use of the effective teaching techniques as pair, group work, discussion, seminars etc. To resolve any teaching/learning problems, difficulties, a mere change in the courses or methodology would not be of any help and cannot bring any desirable results, unless the academic environment is made more convenient.

8. EVALUATION SYSTEM

The evaluation of the student is made only on the final exams. Continuous assessment : class-work, homework and tests are rarely used to measure the students performance and progress. This faulty examination system is not confined only to the Sudanese Certificate but is the general practice even at the tertiary level. The best student is one who scores highest in memorization or knowing only a limited number of texts and rules (especially grammatically rules).

In the previous pages, we have discussed briefly some of the general problems/difficulties which influence the teaching and learning of English in Sudan. These obstacles are presented and treated because they have their impact on the teaching and learning of the English language in general and thus their influence on the teaching/learning of any skill/sub-skill or any components. Since the above discussed factors are of general nature we have touched on them briefly.

However, in what follows we will discuss those obstacles, which seem of close relation with the teaching/learning of IEX/MWV. Some of these problems/difficulties are:

1. Definition, semantic problems/difficulties: meaning, lexical and collocational;

2. Grammatical (syntactic & morphological);

3. Orthographical/phonological and

4. Stylistic

INTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE TEACHING/LEARNING OF IEX/MWV IN SUDAN

After getting the feedback from the teachers’/students’ questionnaire as well as the pretest administered to the students, the following is a summary of the particular problems/difficulties of teaching/learning of IEX & MWV of English in the context of Sudan. On the basis of the errors made by subjects in the PRT it can be concluded that either the students did not know the IEX/MWV semantic and grammatical rules: formation rules etc. or they were exposed to bad techniques/strategies of teaching/learning. The particular/specific problems and difficulties of teaching and learning IEX and MWV could be gathered as follows:

Definition, semantic: meaning, lexical and collocational problems/difficulties;

Grammatical (syntactic & morphological);

Orthographical/phonological and

Stylistic

In the same internal category, there are other problems/difficulties such as:

- Students’ unawareness of the importance of IEX/MWV.

- Students are probably not exposed to appropriate instructions or else they either neglect or do not know/know very little about IEX/MWV.

- Lack of learning/learning strategies

- Faulty methods

- Bad techniques of teaching/learning vocabulary used by the teachers.

- Lack of the suitable learning/teaching materials: especially books, workbooks and IEX/MWV dictionaries.

- Non-familiarity with IEX/MWV.

Some specific instances of the linguistic problems/difficulties faced the Sudanese learners are:

For the grammatical level, the examples below are illustrative:

· Not able to distinguish between transitive and intransitive MWV (which affects the grammar of the whole verbal construction/idiomatic expression)

· Failure to differentiate prepositions (particles) from adverbs (particles) which has its influence of the position9s) of adverbs, nouns object, pronouns object etc.

· The place of adverbs in relation to MWV.

· The order and forms of the components of IEX: the arrangement of the individual words in a given expression (e.g. give and take not *take and give) and the morphology of the constituents of the IEX: singular/plural (He’s burnt his boats not his boat) and the choice of the correct conjunction: e.g. heart and soul not heart or soul.

· Transformation problems: not able to transform from active to passive and from verbal forms to nominalized ones.

Under the lexico-semantic category, we observe the following:

· Collocation problems: e.g. carry on a conversation not * carry out a conversation.

· Fixation or non-fixation of the items/elements within IEX: replacing ships for boats in He’s burnt his boats’.

· The meaning and understanding (comprehension) problems/difficulties.

At the stylistic level, we count in:

· The inability to use the appropriate MWV/IEX in the relevant context(s)

· Moreover, the failure to comprehend and paraphrase, for example, a highly idiomatic colloquial text into normal or ordinary one.

Overall, the present chapter has tried to answer the question ‘What are the problems/difficulties of teaching/learning of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English in the context of Sudan?’ Moreover, an attempt has been made to account for these problems/difficulties.