In this chapter, we shall present or introduce
the means, approaches…etc. through which
we can solve the problems and eliminate the difficulties facing the teaching and
learning of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English in Sudan.
In doing this we will make, of course, use of the principles, techniques,
strategies etc. of teaching/learning vocabulary since these two components (IEX
& MWV) are mainly vocabulary matter. The
emphasis will be, here, on the well-known tool, in vocabulary and language learning/teaching
literature: contextualization. The teaching/learning
theory, which will underlie this task, is the mentalistic view of language/the
cognitive approach: explicitness and conceptualization. However, this chapter will include the following:
·
A brief recall of the problems/difficulties facing the
teaching and learning of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English
in Sudan: Recapitulation of what detected in Chapter 5 (Section 6.2).
·
Teaching and Learning of idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English in perspective (Section 6.3). This encompasses in general:
-
Principles, approaches…etc. of teaching/learning language.
-
Principles and approaches of teaching/learning vocabulary.
-
Principles and approaches of teaching/learning idiomatic expressions
and multi-word verbs of English.
A further emphasis will be given through
the chapter discussing vocabulary teaching techniques and learning strategies
with close reference to those related to idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs.
·
Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in Context (Section 6.4)
·
Teaching and Learning of idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English in context (Section 6.5).
·
The explicit taught course on idiomatic expressions and
multi-word verbs (given to the subjects of this study) (Section 6.6)
This course will be discussed under
the following sub-headings.
-
Introduction: the rationale and objectives of the ETC.
-
What are the teaching/learning theories/approaches behind the
course?
-
Course source(s) and outlines/contents
-
Course evaluation: evaluating the course materials: using Harmer’s
materials evaluating form.
-
Implementing the course: classroom practices, lesson plan, handouts,
methodology techniques, timing etc.
·
The post-test: the impact of the course….measuring the
effectiveness of the explicit taught course, on idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs, on the performance of the subjects (Section 6.7): the post-test: description,
administration, marking and analysis: results and findings.
·
Summary and Conclusion (Section 6.8)
6.2
Recapitulation of the Problems/Difficulties of Teaching/Learning of
IEX and MWV of English in the Context of Sudan
In this section, we shall recall
the problems/difficulties of teaching and learning of IEX & MWV of English
in the context of Sudan. These problems/difficulties
were detected on the basis of the three elicitation techniques used to obtain
the data at this stage in this study: the teachers’ questionnaire, the students’
questionnaire and the pre-test. The reader is reminded that in the previous
chapter (5), we have grouped these obstacles under two main categories: the first
encompasses the external problems/difficulties whereas the second includes the
internal problems/difficulties.
However, these problems/difficulties
will be provided briefly in this section using the same classification above.
„ The external problems/difficulties
of Teaching and Learning of IEX/MWV
These problems/difficulties are general
in nature but closely related to the teaching and learning of the English language
in general and hence, they have their influence in the teaching/learning of IEX
and MWV. These problems/difficulties were
obtained by surveying the English language syllabuses used in Sudan Universities,
evaluating the materials etc., as well as the relevant questions in the students’
/ teachers’ questionnaire. Moreover, the researcher observation and experience
as a student and teacher can, subjectively, support this listing of problems/difficulties.
These extrinsic problems/difficulties could be summarized as below:
1. The Status of the English Language in Sudan
At the present time, English has the
status of a foreign language in Sudan. It
is taught only as a subject in school and as a university requirement for all
university students regardless of their major subjects of study. The exception to this case is the students
who take up English as a major/minor field of study in the departments of English,
at the faculties of Arts & Education. This status limited the students’ exposure to the language and,
hence, practice.
2. The general ELT Scenario in Sudan
The situation of the ELT in Sudan is
closely related to the status of English in Sudan (discussed in the previous paragraph).
English is considered and taught as the same as the other subjects with
the exemption of the students who specialize in English.
In sum, the ELT situation in Sudan is not satisfactory.
3. The English Language Syllabuses used in
Sudan Universities
The English language syllabuses used
at the university level in Sudan have been discussed in Chapter 2 of the present
study (see Chapter 2 and appendix 2 for further details). A study of these syllabuses revealed the absence
of an explicit and direct concern and treatment of IEX and MWV in these documents:
no course to dela with these multiword lexical items.
4. The Materials used in Sudan
Examining the materials used in Sudan
exhibits the paucity of the available teaching materials and sometimes the complete
absence of certain teaching aids. Scarcity of the necessary books, textbooks,
workbooks and references adds to the hardship of the Sudanese learners as well
as their teachers themselves.
5. Teachers’ Qualification/Education and Training
In general, there is dearth of the
qualified lecturers/teachers of English at the tertiary level in Sudan. The available cadre/staff who work in arts
and education faculties are asked to teach in other faculties (i.e. teaching ESP/EAP)
as well as their load in their respective faculties. Some of these teachers are not sufficiently
trained to cope with the problems/difficulties facing the teaching/learning processes
as action researchers. They are not familiar
with all the possible techniques and procedures required for teaching/learning
of language.
6. Methodology used in Teaching English in
Sudan
As in most Arab countries, the ‘grammar-translation’
method is used in Sudan, taking different and various shapes and practices, especially
in general education. The use of bilingual dictionaries: Arabic-English-Arabic.
The frequent and considerable use of the mother tongue in the classroom
by the students and their teachers themselves.
This excessive use of Arabic in the English classes minimizes the exposure
and the practice of the target language. And finally the students might have been exposed to faulty teaching
techniques, learning strategies etc.
7. The General and Academic/Educational Environment
The general academic setting, particularly
for those who specialize in English at their university education, is neither
convenient nor suitable for learning/teaching since the students are hardly got
exposed to English outside the classroom. The physical conditions of some of the universities and the large
number of students in classes minimize the stipulated exposure and practice and
the use of the effective teaching techniques as pair work, group work, discussion,
seminars etc.
8. The Evaluation System
The evaluation of the students is made
always on the basis of the final exams. Continuous
assessment: class work, homework and internal tests are rarely used to measure
the students’ performance and progress. This faulty examination system is not confined
only to the general education but it is also the general practice at the university
level.
„ The Internal Problems/Difficulties
of Teaching/Learning of IEX/MWV
Some of the intrinsic problems/difficulties
of teaching and learning of IEX/MWV could be gathered as below:
1. Definition, semantic problems/difficulties
(meaning and lexical/collocation);
2. Grammatical (syntactic and morphological);
3. Orthographical/phonological; and
4. Stylistic
Let us take up briefly these problems/difficulties
in the following pages.
Problems/Difficulties
of IEX/MWV
General
Introduction
MWV (e.g. step up, lay on, take up)
are commonly used by native speakers but constitute a well-known stumbling block
for foreign learners, who because of the associated problems of structure or meaning
may fall back on a more formal one word equivalent increase, provide, continue.
The vocabulary of English is full of short phrases consisting of a verb and a
particle such as up, down, through and across. Although they may appear simple, combinations
such as break down, make up and take out represent one of the most complex and
difficult problems for students of the language. There are various major areas of difficulty.
By the same token, IEX are one of the most interesting and difficult parts
of English vocabulary. They are interesting because they are colourful
and lively and because they are linguistic curiosities. At the same time, they are difficult because
they have unpredictable meanings or collocations and grammar.
1. Definition and Semantic problems/difficulties
: meaning and understanding : IEX
·
On the top of the list of problems/difficulties facing
the teaching and learning of idiomatic expressions, one can place the problems
of meaning. The meaning as a whole is
not deducible from the meanings of its component morphemes and tagmemes or any
sub-grouping thereof.
·
It is often impossible to guess the meaning of an idiom
from the words it contains.
·
In addition, idioms have stronger meaning than non-idiomatic
phrases. For example, ‘look daggers at
sb’ has more emphasis than ‘look angrily at sb’. The literal meaning of the words has little
or nothing to do with the real meaning of the idiom.
·
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is difficult or sometimes
impossible to guess by looking at the meanings of the individual words it contains.
For example, the phrase ‘be in the same boat’ has a literal meaning that
is easy to interpret, but it also has common idiomatic meaning:
I
found the job quite difficult at first. But
everyone was in the same boat; we were all learning.
Here,
‘be in the same boat’ means ‘to be in same difficult or unfortunate situation’.
·
Of all the difficulties the most familiar is that of meaning:
to the learner, idioms such as ‘fill the bill’ or ‘spill the beans’ do not mean
what they appear to mean. The sense of
the whole cannot be arrived at from a prior understanding of the parts.
·
They may have difficulties of understanding or interpretation
(especially when the form of an expression is a poor guide to its meaning).
Phrasal Verbs (MWV) often have composite
meanings which are not normally deducible from their parts, for example, make
out (understand), take in (deceive), come by (obtain).
·
‘I’m not going to put up with this kind of treatment any
longer’. All the words in this sentence
link with one another and help to make up the sense of the sentence, but 3 words
in particular (put, up, with) are firmly linked together: They operate as a unit,
and have one meaning: ‘tolerate’ or ‘endure’.
·
Ambiguity, John put up with Mary (= stay with and tolerate)
Other
Semantic Problems/difficulties: (IEX/MWV)
·
(Idiomatic/non-idiomatic distinction) receptively,
not being able to understand the(se) multi-word verbs which are also idioms.
·
There are many MWV which are complete idioms and have
to be learnt as units e.g., show someone up (= humiliate), make something up (=
invent), make someone out (= expose) and so on.
·
How do we know whether 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? An idiom can be recognized by a number of simple tests, and these have
to do with meaning rather than grammar. One test is to ask whether one word can be substituted for the whole
phrase fall out. (We can substitute ‘happen’
and ‘occur’). Another test is to ask whether
the second word can be deleted. (It can’t)….
in
MWV we distinguish 3 types of sub-classes (in respect of the idiomatic/non-idiomatic
distinction):
a)
The verb and particle keep their individual lexical meanings, as in ‘look
over’ (inspect), ‘set up’ (organize).
b)
The verb alone keeps its basic lexical meaning and the particle has an
‘intensifying’ function: find (out) = (discover), sweep (up), spread (out).
c)
The verb and the particle are fused into a new idiomatic combination, the
meaning of which is not deducible from its parts, for example, bring up (educate),
come by (obtain), put off (postpone), turn up (appear), come in for (receive).
The lexical values of the particles have been lost, and the entire verb-particle
combination has acquired a new meaning.
A
French speaker would surely understand ‘continue’ more readily than ‘continue’
more readily than ‘take up’, while a native speaker might have difficulty in explaining
the sense of the combination in terms of its constituent parts. They may have trouble in discriminating accurately
between various meanings of the ‘same’ item – those of put out, for example, or
take in.
Multi-word verbs are often of particular
problem for foreign learners of English for the following reasons:
One
reason is that in many cases, even though students may be familiar with both the
verb in MWV and with the particle, they may not understand the meaning of the
combination, since it can differ greatly from the meanings of the two words used
independently. For example, make, put,
out and off are all very common words which students will encounter in their first
weeks of learning English, and yet the combinations, make out and put off are
not transparent. Make out can mean ‘perceive’
or ‘deter’ amongst other meanings, these meanings are unrelated to the meanings
of the individual words in the combinations. The fact that MWV have a number of different
meanings adds to their complexity. The
meaning of a multi-word verb, for example, often bears no relation to the meaning
of either the verb or the particle which is used with it. This means that MWV
can be difficult both to understand and to remember. Neither does it help that multi-word verbs
have several meanings nor that their syntactic behaviour is often unpredictable.
Collocation
·
One of the difficulties facing the learner wishing to
write (or speak) acceptable English is the difficulty of knowing exactly which
nouns or adjectives can combine with particular MWV. A native English speaker will know that it is natural and normal
to say carry out an investigation NoT *carry out a conversation. Combinations of words that are all natural
and normal to native speakers are called Collocations. The actual noun…etc that can combine with a
particular MWV are called as Collocates. (So ‘conversation’ is one of the collocates of ‘carry on’).
·
In fact a close study of MWV (and of more complex idioms
containing MWV such as ‘make up one’s mind’) brings to light curious anomalies
of form and meaning.
While
we can equally well talk of ‘angling for’ or ‘fishing for compliments’, where
the verbs are as freely interchangeable as when they are used in a literal sense,
we would not say of a friend that ‘he had difficult in making up his thoughts’
(as distinct from ‘his mind’). And while
we might want to say of him that
‘he found it hard to hit the nail on the head’, we would not substitute
‘strike’ for ‘hit’ unless we were thinking literally of his skill with the hammer
rather than figuratively of his inability to say precisely what he meant.
Among collocational pitfalls of this
kind the mature speaker of the language picks his way with unconscious ease.
The foreign student, though, looks for clear guidance on many hundreds
of multi-word verbs in current often in considerable detail.
·
Knowing how many words, and which words, to substitute
is important for the learners, because failure to make the right choices, may
result in combinations that no native speaker would produce. It is for this reason, among others, that many
foreign learners stear clear of English idioms altogether. The student therefore needs clear guidance
on these fine points of lexical detail.
·
One recurrent problem faced by foreign learners wishing
to use or understand English Idioms is that while some are entirely fixed others
allow the speaker a measure of choice...the choices open to him may vary both
in kind and in degree. Faced with the idiom burn one’s boats, for example, he
must understand that while the verb ‘burn’ can be used in many of the tenses associated
with its non-idiomatic use, idiomatic ‘boats’ can only occur in the plural form.
Moreover, while ‘bridges’ (also plural) can be substituted for ‘boats’
with no change of meaning, ‘ships’ cannot not.
The extent to which the term of an idiom can be altered in these various
ways is largely unpredictable, so errors can easily be made.
·
There are frequently strong collocational associations
between multi-word verbs and other words. Thus
in some cases a particular word or small set of words is the only one normally
found as the subject or object of a particular verb.
·
A problem commonly facing the user of a MWV or large idiom
is that of deciding how fixed it is. Take
for example, the complex expression:
Buck
one’s ideas up.
How invariable
is this?
Can ‘up’ be
deleted?
Is ‘thoughts’,
say, freely substitutables for ‘ideas’?
Students
(need clear guidance on fine points of lexical detail such as those, as also on
the question whether singular ‘idea’ is as acceptable as plural ‘ideas’, since
without it they may produce such variants as buck one’s idea or buck one’s notions
up.
2. Grammatical Problems
n (General)
The same combination of words may be
used in a variety of grammatical structures. Think of ran up as used in A girl
ran up. The spider ran up the wall, The soldier ran up a flag and Would you mind
running me up the road? Here the sentence
patterns are all quite different, even though the meanings are related….
And
again, they may need help in distinguishing between multi-word verbs which are
related in form (level off and level up; sign in, sign in, and sign out) though
not necessarily in meaning.
n Preposition/adverb particle distinction
Some particles
such as ‘about, over, round and through’ can be used as both adverbs and prepositions
in particular MWV combinations, although in other combinations they are used either
adverbially or prepositionally. This distinction/difference affects the grammar
of the whole sentence.
·
Generally, problems arising from the special nature of
these verbs: their different structural patterns (e.g. with pronouns).
·
Objects, particles and pronouns’ position.
In
verb + particle combination the verb is often separated from its particle so we
can say: put down that book or put that book down.
But
in verb + preposition combination the separation is not possible in this way.
Compare:
‘John
is looking after the children’ and
*’John
is looking the children after.
Pronoun
object :
Put
it down not * put down it.
Look
it up not * look up it.
Take
it away not * take away it.
John’s
looking after the children.
*
John’s looking the children after.
John’s looking after them.
*
John’s looking them after.
Other
illustrations of the various and different syntactic patterning of MWV with regard
to:
·
Noun object position in relation to particle/preposition:
They
call the man up./
They
call up the man. (particle)
They
call on the man (preposition)
*They
call the man on.
·
Position of personal pronoun object:
They
call him on. (particle)
*They
call him on (preposition)
They
call on him (preposition)
·
Position in relative clause:
*The
man up whom they call (particle)
The
man on whom they call (preposition)
·
Adverb insertion:
*They
call early up the man (particle)
They
early call up the man (particle)
They
call early on the man (preposition)
*They
call on early the man (preposition)
Therefore, preposition/(adverb) particle distinction is very useful since
it influences the syntactic behaviour of these verbal combinations (i.e. MWV).
n Form and Definition problems
·
There are superficially similar sequences to MWV consisting
of verbs and prepositional phrases:
John called from the office.
John called after lunch.
John called from under the table.
In this combination the prepositional particle (from, after, from under)
is more closely related/connected with the head of the prepositional phrase.
·
There is a verb-adjective combination that is very similar
to MWV.
He put the cloth straight… (V + adj)
He put it out (MWV + adv. particle)
Other examples of verb + adjective combinations
are : cut short, set free,….
n Syntactic
problems / difficulties
WORD
ORDER
A syntactic difference/problem is that the particle in MWV can often stand
either before or after a noun whereas it can only stand after a personal pronoun:
Call
up the man./
Call the
man up.
Call him up.
*Call
up him.
Call up ‘him,
not his ‘sister (it has contrastive emphasis / stress so, in this case, the given
word order is acceptable: v + particle + pronoun).
Transformation:
The
Transformation possibility (or impossibility) of some idiomatic expressions. Do they admit passivization, (pro) nominalization etc?
Passivization:
The general basic rule in passivization is knowing whether the combination
is transitive or intransitive: e.g. take off:
He took off his hat. (transitive) transformation is possible.
The plane took off at 10o clock (intransitive) (not possible)
‘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). An
expression like, ‘it was raining cats and dogs’ (‘it was raining heavily’) obviously
cannot be made passive because of the underlying meaning.
But this will not always explain what is possible and what is not possible
as far as altering the structure of idioms is concerned, and learners may need
some help on this difficult task. Other
examples of acceptance (or non) of passivization are:
John
called up the man. „
The
man was called up.
John
put up with the man. „
The
man was put up with
Look at these 2 sentences:
1. She always looked after her father when he
was ill.
2. Jane arrived after her uncle, who was early.
Sentence 1 contains MWV while the 2nd is simply a verb + preposition. Because it is a structural unit, transformation
can be applied to ‘look after’ which cannot be applied to ‘arrived + after.
‘Look after’ can, for example, be made passive: ‘He was always looked after
by his daughter when he was ill’. The
second sentence ‘Jane arrived after her uncle who was early’ can not be made passive. ‘Look after’ is not only a structural unit,
it also a semantic unit.
Nominalization
Some MWV can be transformed into nominalized forms (derived – noun forms)
while other do not admit this transformation.
The following examples are illustrative.
break down „ a breakdown
make up„ a makeup/make-up
But ‘draw out’ does not admit nominalization: *drawout.
n Morphological
problems / difficulties
One
recurrent problem faced by foreign learners wishing to use or understand English
idioms is that while some are entirely fixed others allow the speaker a measure
of choice.
…the choices
open to him may vary both in kind and in degree.
Faced with the idiom burn one’s boats, for example, he must understand
that while the verb burn can be used in many of the tenses associated with its
non-idiomatic use, idiomatic boats can only occur in the plural form. Moreover, while bridges (also plural) can be substituted for boats
with no change of meaning, ships cannot. The
extent to which the form of an idiom can be altered in these various ways is largely
unpredictable, so errors can easily be made.
n Semantic
and Grammatical Level
Complex
Idiom : fixed collocation of some constituents:
Sometimes, a pair of words such as ‘make up’ or ‘blow off’ seem to have
an additional word (or words) attached to them in such a way that the whole phrase
forms one complex idiom (one semantic and grammatical unit). Consider in this respect
‘make
one’s mind up’ and ‘blow of steam’.
It
is not always easy for the learner to see that the extra words form part of a
larger whole, one that must be learned as a single unit.
To sum up the problems / difficulties of MWV at the grammatical level we
pull together some particular grammatical problems associated with multi-word
verbs.
·
For example, there are restrictions on the position(s)
in which an adverb can be placed in relation to the object of a verb.
·
Some particles, such as about, over, round and through
can be used as both adverbs or prepositions in particular multi-word verbs, although
in other combinations they are used either adverbially or prepositionally.
·
Some multi-word verbs are not normally used with pronouns
as objects, others are normally only used with pronouns as objects. (e.g with
reflexive pronoun: X writes himself out: By the age of 45, he wrote himself out).
3. Orthographical /phonological problems / difficulties
Orthographical level
IEX & MWV are subject to the general orthographical rules. However, there are some exceptions of these
general rules. An illustrative case is
the derived-noun forms. It is possible
to give firm guidance o how nouns in Particle + base form and Particle + ing form
are regularly written or printed. British
and American practice is to write them fully joined, as in downturn, offprint;
outpouring, upbringing and they appear in that form in dictionaries.
As regards the major class ‘base form (of verb) + particle’, some uncertainty
is inevitable in making recommendations to users/learners.
The difficulty arises from the fact that many of the nouns exist in two
written forms (fully linked and hyphenated) in British English, and individual
users and printing houses differ in the conventions that they favour.
Phonological
level
Since the tests used in obtaining the data in this study are in written
forms, the phonological aspect cold not be tested.
However, the information arrived at, here, is based on the relevant questions
in the 2 questionnaires used in this survey. There are problems arising from the special
nature of MWV, their special stress patterns.
For instance, the (adverbial) particle in MWV is normally stressed, and,
in final position, bears the nuclear tone, whereas the preposition (in verbal
combinations) is normally unstressed and has the tail of the nuclear tone on the
lexical verb:
He
called ‘up the man.
The
man was called ‘up.
He
‘called on the man.
The
man was ‘called on.
4. Stylistic Problems / Difficulties
MWV, such as step up, lay on, take up, are commonly used by native speakers
but constitute a well-known stumbling block for foreign learners, who because
of the associated problems of structure and meaning may fall back on a more formal
one word equivalent – increase, provide, continue. IEX often have stronger meaning than non-idiomatic phrases. For example, ‘Look daggers at someone’ has
more emphasis than ‘Look angrily at someone’, but they mean the same thing.
6.3 Teaching and Learning of Idiomatic Expressions
and Multi-Word Verbs of English in Perspective
Idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs’ learning strategies and teaching
techniques are a part of vocabulary learning strategies and teaching techniques
which in turn are part of language learning strategies and teaching techniques
(and the latter are part of the general learning strategies and teaching techniques).
6.3.1 Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Teaching Techniques
To begin this section, let us define the term vocabulary:
What
is Vocabulary?
Vocabulary
can be defined roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language. However, a new item of vocabulary may be more
than a single word: for example, post office and mother-in-law, which are made
up of two or three words but express a single idea. There are also multi-word idioms such as ‘call
it a day’, where the meaning of the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis
of the component words. A useful convention
is to cover all such cases by talking about vocabulary ‘items’ rather than ‘words’.
(Penny Ur’s definition) Bearing in mind the above definition we find that
idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs are vocabulary items.
6.3.1.1 What needs to be taught / learned?
Regarding vocabulary teaching and learning the question of what to be taught/learnt
could be raised.
1.
Form (pronunciation and spelling): the learner has to know what
a word sounds like (its pronunciation) and what it looks like (its spelling).
2.
Grammar: the grammar of a new item will need to be taught if
this is not obviously covered by general grammatical rules.
3.
Collocation
4.
Aspects of meaning:
a. Denotation, Connotation, appropriateness
b. Meaning relationships:
Synonyms
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Co-hyponyms
Superordinates
Translation.
5. Word formation
6.3.1.2 Vocabulary Learning Strategies
The rise in the importance of strategy use in second language learning
grew out of an interest in the learner’s active role in the learning process. It is not easy to arrive at a definition of
what strategy is, but to deserve attention from a teacher a strategy would need
to:
1. involve choice, that is, there are several strategies to choose
from
2. be complex, that is, there are several steps to learn
3. require knowledge and benefit from training
4. increase the efficiency of vocabulary learning and vocabulary
use.
There
are numerous strategies which have these features.
Learners not only need to know about these strategies, but need to have
skill in using them.
6.3.1.3 A taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies
Gu
and Johnson (1996) taxonomy
·
belief about vocabulary learning,
·
meta-cognitive regulation,
·
guessing strategies,
·
dictionary strategies,
·
note-taking strategies,
·
memory strategies (rehearsal),
·
memory strategies (encoding) and
·
activation strategies
Williams (1985) identifies five potentially trainable strategies for working
out the meaning of unfamiliar words in written text. These include:
1. inferring from context
2. identifying lexical familiarization
3. unchaining nominal compounds,
4. synonym search and
5. word analysis
Williams
suggests that these become the focus of deliberate, intensive teaching.
The
following taxonomy tries to separate aspects of vocabulary knowledge (what is
involved in knowing a word) from sources of vocabulary knowledge, and learning
processes.
Let us look at each of these types of strategies in turn.
Planning
vocabulary learning
Teachers should be able to justify the time and effort spent on guessing
strategy to themselves, their learners and others teachers.
In any list of vocabulary learning strategies, guessing form context would
have to come at the top of the list. It
is the most important way that Language users can increase their vocabulary. It deserves teaching time and learning time.
A well planned vocabulary development programme gives spaced, repeated
attention to this most important strategy.
The ‘importance could be attributed to
·
the strategy accounts for most vocabulary learning by
native speakers.
·
The enormous number of words that can be dealt with the
perhaps learned through this strategy.
·
The effectiveness of the strategy
·
The benefits of the strategy in contributing to reading
and listening comprehension
·
Though the fact that learners differ widely in their control
of this skill, training can narrow these differences.
·
The need for this skill in dictionary use.
6.4 Teaching and Learning Vocabulary from / in Context
One feature of the everyday situations in which we inquire about the meaning
of words (vocabulary items) is that we are frequently told that ‘it depends on
the context’. (‘Give me the context in
which you met the word; and I’ll tell you its meaning.’) It is often impossible to give the meaning
of a word without ‘putting it in a context’; and dictionaries are useful in proportion
to the number and diversity of the ‘contexts’ they cite for words/vocabulary items.
Frequently, and perhaps most typically of all, the meaning of a word is
explained by giving a ‘synonym’ with an indication of the contextual limitations
governing the use of the word in question. Facts,
such as these – the diversity of the ways in which, in practice, we state the
meaning of words, the ‘circularity’ of the vocabulary, and the relevance of ‘context’
– are important in teaching / learning vocabulary items. Let us now look at the most important of all
of the vocabulary learning strategies in detail.
6.4.1
Learning words from context
Incidental learning via guessing from context is the most important of
all sources of vocabulary learning. This
is particularly true for native speakers learning their first language. It should also be true for second language
learners, but many do not experience the conditions that are needed for this kind
of learning to occur.
6.4.1.1 Conditions necessary for learning from context and how they can
be established?
·
How successful learners can be at guessing?
·
How much and what kind of learning can occur from this
guessing? And
·
The kinds of clues available for guessing.
·
How learners can be helped to become skilful at guessing
from context?
6.4.1.2 Intentional and incidental learning of vocabulary
Learning vocabulary from context is often seen as something opposed to
the direct intentional learning and teaching of vocabulary. This is an unfortunate view and the position taken in this study
is that they are complementary activities, each one enhancing the learning that
comes from the other.
In this study, learning from context (and teaching in context) is taken
to mean the incidental learning of vocabulary from reading or listening to normal
language use while the main focus of the learners’ attention is on the message
of the text. The texts may be short or
long. Learning from context thus includes
learning from extensive reading, learning from taking part in conversation, and
learning from listening to stories, films, television or the radio.
Learning from context does not include deliberately learning words
and their definitions or translations even if these words are presented in isolated
sentence contexts. Context sentences and
phrases are valuable aids in intention, language – focused vocabulary learning
and part of the confusion behind the learning from context/learning from lists
argument is to see the difference as relying on the presence or absence of context,
rather tan the distinction of incidental learning and language – focused intentional
learning. (However, we accept that all
learning involves conscious attention). Because of the importance of guessing from
context, it is worthwhile for both teachers and learners to spend time working
on guessed from context?
·
What proportion of unknown words can be guessed from context?
To
answer this question properly, we need to look at guessing from context which
occurs under realistic and favourable conditions.
·
Guessing where learners already know a large proportion
of the words in the text. This is necessary
for learners to be able to use the clues for guessing the unknown words.
1.
A critical factor in successful guessing is the learners’ vocabulary
size, because this will affect the density of unknown words in a text.
In most studies of second language learners, getting the optimal ratio
of unknown to known running words may involve using simplified or adapted texts.
2.
The actual words not known by each learner
This
means that the choice of words to be examined needs to take account of actual
learner knowledge, and cannot rely on teacher intuition or the unsystematic choice
of words from a text. (The availability of context clues).
3.
Learner skill is a critical factor in guessing (best guessers/averages)
4.
Learners must be given credit for guessing that are not 100%
correct but which make a small but positive contribution to knowledge of the meaning
of the word.
Learning
by guessing from context is a cumulative procedure by which learners gradually
develop their knowledge of words. It is
likely, at least for some words, that the initial meetings with a word in context
simply give rise to a vague knowledge of the form of the word and the awareness
that it is unfamiliar and thus should get some attention next time it occurs.
5.
It is important to distinguish between guessing from natural
contexts and deliberate learning with specially constructed or chosen contexts.
6.
Quantity of reading (with the opportunity for previously met
items to recur within a certain time) may be an important factor in learning from
context.
6.4.1.3 How much vocabulary is learned from context?
How much learning occur from normal reading?
·
Working out the meaning of a word from context.
Remembering
the meaning of a word worked out from context.
·
It is important to see learning as involving even small
increases in knowledge of a word.
Learning
from context is a cumulative process where meaning and knowledge of form are gradually
enriched and strengthened.
·
It is important to see if the contexts and conditions
for learning are typical of normal reading.
n There
are several things that can happen to an item met in context.
·
It is guessed correctly to some degree and at least partially
learned. (This may happen for 5% to 10%
of the words).
·
It is guessed correctly to some degree but nothing about
it is learned. This probably happens to
many words.
·
It is guessed incorrectly.
·
It is ignored, possibly because it is not important for
the wanted message in the context.
n Texts
on unfamiliar topics could be better sources of learning from context. This is
an intriguing hypothesis which has very important implications for teachers and
learners, particularly with regard to choice of text and pre-teaching about the
information in the text.
n Incidental vocabulary
learning from context is small in the actual number of items learned.
- Incidental
vocabulary learning is only one of the various kinds of learning that can occur
when learners read. Not only can they begin to learn new words
and enrich known ones, they can also improve grammatical knowledge, become more
familiar with text structure, improve reading skills, learn new information and
learn that reading can be an enjoyable activity.
- Small
gains become large gains if learners do large quantities of reading.
- Learning
rates can be increased considerably by some deliberate attention to vocabulary.
n It is important
that learners do large quantities of interesting reading. Large quantities for second language learners
means something like a graded reader of a suitable level every week.
n Second language learners should not rely
closely on incidental vocabulary learning from context; there needs to be judicious
attention to decontextualized learning to supplement and be supplemented by learning
from context. Direct vocabulary learning
and incidental learning are complementary activities.
n [Unfamiliar topics] Easy guessing – poor
vocabulary learning.
n Inferring from context followed up by
consulting a dictionary.
n Finding an L1 synonym – effective
paraphrase?
n Vocabulary Learning is best regarded as
a cumulative process.
6.4.1.4 What can be learned from context?
What
is being learned?
·
New label for familiar concept. (unfamiliar concept: both the concept and the
lable need to be learned).
·
When deliberately learning vocabulary where the meaning
is already provided by a translation or definition, well chosen contexts can provide
information about grammatical features of the word.
·
Typical collocates, ‘situations of use and’ finer aspects
of meaning.
6.4.1.5 What clues does a context provide and
how effective are they?
The major motivation for analyzing and classifying the various kinds of
context clues is to provide a checklist for training learners in the skill of
guessing from context.
·
(learners’ inferencing procedures)
What
knowledge sources the learners used and how they combined knowledge from various
sources.
Haastrup classified
the knowledge sources using Caron’s (1971) three categories.
·
Interlingual = clues based on L1 (loan words
in L1) or knowledge of other languages.
·
Intralingual – clues based on knowledge of English.
·
Contextual – clues based on the text or informants’ knowledge
of the world.
·
Known concepts in familiar collocations.
·
There is a variety of other factors that can affect guessing
from context. Artley (1943) includes typographical
aids such as the use of italics, quotation marks or bolding; word elements such
as the stems and affixes of words; and pictures and diagrams (Artley calls most
of the kinds of clues described by Ames ‘structural clues’.)
·
In addition to these clues, there are what Jenkins and
Dixon (1983) and others call ‘mediating variables’. These mediate between the learners and the information in the text,
strengthening or weakening the chances of guessing and learning from context.
They include the following:
1.
Number of occurrences. The
more often an unknown word occurs the greater the chance of guessing and learning
it.
2.
Proximity of recurrence. The
closer the repetitions the more likely the clues from each occurrence will be
able to be integrated.
3.
Variability of contexts. The
more different the context in which a word recurs the greater the range of clues
available.
4.
Presence of relevant clues.
Some contexts have useful clues, some do not.
5.
Proximity of relevant clues.
The nearer the clues are to the unknown word, the more likely they are
to be used.
6.
Number of relevant clues. The
more clues there are, the easier the guessing.
7.
Explicitness of relevant clues. A clearly signaled synonym within context helps learning.
8.
Density of unknown words are close to each other, they will be
harder to guess….that successful guessing related to second language learners’
vocabulary size. This is at least partly
because the greater the learners’ vocabulary size, the greater the number of known
words in the surrounding context.
9.
Importance of the unknown word to understanding the text. The more needed a word is, the more likely
a learner will put effort into the guessing.
10.
Prior knowledge of the topic.
Real world knowledge can play a vital part in guessing. Learners who already have a topic-related script
or schema can use this to help guessing.
11.
Familiarity of the concept.
If the concept is already known, guessing is easier. If the concept is strange and unusual, guessing
is difficult.
12.
Familiarity of the referents.
If the ideas in clues are familiar to the learners, guessing is easier.
13.
Concrete Vs abstract referents. If the ideas in clues are not abstract, then guessing is easier.
14.
Amount of polysemy (having several related meanings). If the word is not polysemous, then guessing
is easier.
6.4.1.6 What are the causes of poor guessing?
·
Form of the word to be guessed (put up with, for good)
·
Similarity between the learners’ first language and the
second language.
6.4.1.7 Do different learners approach guessing in the same way?
(variables that
related to the person doing the guessing)
There are different ways of approaching the guessing task and different
ability, knowledge and skills that learners bring to the guessing task. There are several studies that examine second
language learners’ approaches to guessing from context. In general, a good guesser uses a variety of
clues, checks various types of clue against each other, does not let the form
of the word play too large a part and does not arrive at a guess prematurely. Proficiency in L2 is a major factor
in successful guessing. The studies show
that there are substantial clues in the context that are available to the sensitive
reader but also that not all readers can make good use of these clues.
6.4.1.8 How can teachers help learners improve learning from context?
The most important ways in which teachers can help learners improve learning
from context are:
1.
helping them to find and choose reading and listening material
of appropriate difficulty.
2.
encouraging them to read a lot and helping them gain a lot of
comprehensible spoken input.
3.
improving their reading skills so that they read fluently and
with good comprehension
4.
providing training in guessing from context.
These ways are ranked in order of importance with the most important first. The reason for this ranking is that guessing
from context seems to be a sub-skill of reading and seems to draw heavily on other
reading skills. Good guessers are god
readers (McKeown, 1985). The four ways
described above can be more generally described as: matching learner and text,
quantity, general skills approach, and a particular skill. It may be that training in guessing helps vocabulary
learning simply because it encourages learners to give deliberate thought that
attention to vocabulary items.
6.4.1.9 How can learners be trained to guess from context?
·
Some English teachers gave native speakers training in
guessing from context by: teaching them a rule: ‘When there is a hard word in
a sentence, look for other words in the story that tell you more about that word’
and giving practice in applying the rule with corrective feedback.
·
Buikema and Graves (1993) found positive effects for training
teenaged native speakers in guessing from context. The training involved: introducing the learners
to the idea of using clues to guess and the value of looking for many clues.
·
Training resulted in better guessing, particularly if
learners’ attention was directed to clues in the context.
6.4.1.9.1 Learning from context and attention – drawing
activities
There is some evidence that a combination of attention – drawing activities
such as presenting words to learners before reading (Jenkins, Stein and Wysocki,
1984) and defining words as they occur in context (Elley, 1989) increases the
amount of vocabulary learning.
…having
words highlighted in their computerized text probably increased dictionary look-up
and therefore learning.
Attention
– drawing can be done in the following ways:
1. Drawing attention to the word:
Pre-testing
Pre-teaching
Seeing a list before reading
Highlighting (colour, bold, italics) in the text
Having a list while reading.
2. Providing access to the meaning:
Gloosing
Teacher defining through pre-teaching
Teacher defining while listening to the text
Hyper-text look-up
Dictionary look-up
3. Motivating attention to the word:
Warning of a test
Providing follow-up exercises
Noting contexts while reading (e.g. filling a notebook)
6.4.1.9.2 Do gloosing and dictionary use help vocabulary
learning?
There is now considerable evidence that when learners’ attention is drawn
towards unfamiliar words and there are clear indications of meaning, vocabulary
learning is much greater than when learners read without deliberately focusing
on new vocabulary. The dictionary can
be substantial contributors to the process of vocabulary learning. A study of inferencing and dictionary look-up
behaviour found that learners who were good at inferring preferred to confirm
their guesses by consulting a dictionary. Learners differed greatly in their skill at inferring.
6.4.1.9.3 Formats for testing or practicing guessing
researchers have used a variety of formats for testing or practicing guessing. These range from fixed deletion close procedures
where the missing item is a blank, to unrelated texts where learners guess words
with the real word form present. There
are several factors that need to be considered when deciding on a format for guessing.
·
The effect of the word form.
·
Previous knowledge of the word to be guessed
·
The density of unknown words and the size of the context
·
The types of words to be guessed.
6.4.1.9.4 Features of formats for testing or practicing
guessing
1. Word form:
A blank space instead of the word
A nonsense word
A real word
2. Selection of words and contexts:
real randomly sampled contexts
real selected contexts
contrived contexts
3. Size and relationship of contexts:
isolated sentence contexts
isolated paragraph contexts
continuous text contexts
6.4.1.9.5 Steps in the guessing-from-context strategy
There is no one procedure for guessing from context but most procedures
draw on the same kind of clues. Some procedures
work towards the guess in an inductive approach. Others work deductively from the guess.
·
A ‘deductive’ approach is more suited to younger learns
who will be less analytical in their approach and to advanced learners who are
familiar with the various clues and wish to concentrate on developing fluency
in guessing.
·
An ‘inductive’ approach, such as that described by Clarke
and Nation (1980) is useful for making learners aware of the range of clues available
and for developing the sub-skills that may be needed to make use of the clues.
The aim of all guessing procedures is to help learners become fluent and
skilful at guessing from context so that the guessing does not interrupt too much
the normal flow of reading.
Let
us look at Clarke and Nation’s five-step ‘inductive’ procedure.
Step-1 Decide on the part of speech of the unknown word.
Step-2
Look at the ‘immediate context’ of the word, simplifying it grammatically
if necessary.
Step-3
Look at the ‘wider context’ of the word, that is relationship with adjoining
sentences or clauses.
Step-4
Guess
Step-5
Check the guess.
Is the guess the same part of speech as the unknown word?
Substitute the guess for the unknown word.
Does it fit comfortably into the context?
Break the unknown word into parts.
Does the meaning of the parts support the guess?
Look up the word in the dictionary.
This
procedure is strongly based on language clues and does not draw on background
context knowledge. There are two reasons
for this. First, linguistic clues will
be present in every context background clues will not; this procedure aims at
being generalisable as possible.
Second
using background knowledge as the main source of information is likely to result
in less vocabulary learning than more system-focused sources of information.
The
‘deductive’ procedure involves the following steps: (See Bruton and Samuda 1980)
Step-1 Guess the meaning of the word
Step-2 Justify the guess using a variety of clues.
Step-3 Readjust the guess if necessary.
The
advantage of this procedure is that it places the guess at the forefront of the
activity and allows intuition to play a part. It also works well as a group and
class activity.
Whichever approach learners tend to favour, they need not follow a rigid
procedure when guessing but they should be aware of the range of possible clues
and should have the skills to draw on them.
6.4.1.9.6 Training learners in the strategy of guessing
from context
Guessing from context is a complex activity drawing on a range of skills
and types of knowledge. It is worth bearing in mind that it is a sub-skill of
reading and listening and depends heavily on learners’ ability to read and listen
with a good level of proficiency. Learning
a complex guessing strategy will not adequately compensate for poor reading or
listening skills and low proficiency. Developing these reading and listening skills
is the first priority.
·
When learners are given training in guessing from context,
they should work with texts where at least 95% of the running words are familiar
to them. This will allow them to have
access to the clues that are there.
·
In addition, the words chosen should be guessable. Not all words have enough clues….
·
Training in guessing should be given plenty of time.
·
Involving the class working together with the teacher,
in groups, pairs and then individually.
·
Training can focus on the sub-skills:
Determining
part of speech,
Doing
‘What does what?’
·
Training should also involve going through all the steps,
gradually getting faster and faster.
The
teacher can model the procedure first, gradually handling over control to the
learners.
Learners can
report on guessing in their outside reading and listening and others can comment
on their attempts.
There
can be regular guessing – from – context tests using isolated sentences and connected
texts. Learners improvement on these texts can be
recorded as a means of increasing motivation.
6.5 TEACHING AND LEARNING OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
AND MULTI- WORD VERBS OF ENGLISH IN CONTEXT
What needs to be taught/learned?
6.5.1 Form: pronunciation and spelling
The learner has to know what an IEX/MWV sounds like (its pronunciation)
and what it looks like (its spelling). These
are fairly obvious characteristics, and one or the other will be perceived by
the learner when encountering the item (IEX/MWV) for the first time. In teaching, we need to make sure that both
these aspects are accurately presented and learned.
6.5.2 Grammar
The grammar of IEX and MWV will need
to be taught since this is not obviously covered by general grammatical rules.
These items/components (may) have an unpredictable change/fixation of form
in certain grammatical contexts or (may) have some idiosyncratic way of connecting
with other words in sentence; it is important to provide learners with this information
at the same as we teach the base form.
When teaching a new MWV, for example,
we might note if it is transitive or intransitive. Similarly when teaching an IEX, we may wish
to show/present its form regarding number: whether it could be used in plural/singular
or both or draw learners attention to the fact that it could not be made passive.
6.5.3 Collocation
The collocation typical of idiomatic expressions multi-word verbs are
another factor that makes a particular combination sound ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in
a given context. So that is another piece of information about a new item which
it may be worth teaching.
When introducing words like conversation
and research, for example, we may note that you carry on the former and carry
out the latter; similarly make up sb mind/thought, burn sb boats/bridges but not
ships.
Collocations are also often noted in
the dictionaries, either by providing the whole collocation under one of the head-words,
or by a note in parenthesis.
6.5.4
Aspects of meaning:
1. denotation,
connotation, appropriateness.
The
meaning of an IEX/MWV is primarily what it refers to: its denotations; this is
often the sort of definition that is given in a dictionary.
A less obvious components of the meaning of an IEX/MWV is its connotation:
the association, or positive or negative feelings it evokes, which may or may
not be indicated in a dictionary definition.
For example, the IEX ‘X is an old hand at sth’ as understood by most British
people, has positive connotations of ability/experience.
A more subtle aspect of meaning that often needs to be taught is whether
a particular IEX/MWV is the appropriate one to use in a certain context or not.
Thus it is useful for a learner to know that a certain IEX/MWV is very
common, or relatively rare, or ‘taboo’ in polite conversation, or tends to be
used in writing but not in speech, or is more suitable for formal than informal
discourse, or belongs to a certain dialect.
For
example, you may know that educate/cancel are virtually synonymous in denotation
with bring up/put off, but they are more formal, tend to be used in writing more
than in speech, and in general much less common.
2
Meaning relationships
How the meaning of one IEX/MWV relates to the meaning of others can also
be useful in teaching. There are various
such relationships: here are some of the main ones:
·
Synonyms: IEX/MWV that mean the same, or nearly the same,
for example, a saving grance and go on may serve as synonyms of a redeeming feature
and go ahead respectively.
·
Antonyms: IEX/MWV that mean the opposite; a closed mind
and sign in are antonym of an open mind and sign out.
Hyponyms:
IEX/MWV that serves as specific examples of a general concept.
·
Co-hyponyms or co-ordinates: other IEX/MWV that are the
of same kind;
·
Superordinates: general concepts that cover specific IEX/MWV;
·
Translation: IEX/MWV in the learners’ mother tongue that
are (more or less) equivalent in meaning to the IEX/MWV being taught.
All
these can be exploited in teaching to clarify the meaning of a new IEX/MWV, or
for practice or test materials.
6.5.5 Word formation: Expresssion s combination
IEX/MWV can often be broken down into their component ‘bits’.
Exactly how these bits are put together is another piece of useful information.
-
perhaps mainly for more advanced learners.
Sometimes,
IEX/MWV are built by combining hyphenated words: spick-and-span, follow-up, take-off.
6.6 The Explicitly Taught Course (ETC) on
Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs
The
present section will focus on the explicit taught course (ETC) on idiomatic expressions
and multi-word verbs given to the subjects of this study.
The discussion will try to cover the following issues:
·
The rationale and the objectives of the ETC (6.6.1)
·
What are the teaching/learning theories that underlie
this course? (6.6.2)
·
The sources and the contents of the ETC (6.6.3)
·
The Evaluation of the possible materials of the ETC (6.6.4)
·
The implementation of the course (6.6.5)
6.6.1 The Rationale and the objectives of the ETC
After the identification, the analysis and the discussion of the problems
difficulties of teaching/learning of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs
in the context of Sudan, using the teachers’ / students’ questionnaire as well
as the pre-test given to the subjects of this study, there felt a need to introduce
an explicit taught course on these multi-word lexical items. Therefore, the course might be described as
remedial in nature among other characteristics. The main objective of the ETC is to start the students understanding
an during idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English successfully.
6.6.2 What are the teaching/learning theories that underlie the course?
No one knows exactly how people learn language although a great deal of
research has been done into the subject. Certain theories have, however, had a
profound effect upon the practice of language teaching (and continue to do so)
and it seems sensible, therefore, to consider some of them, below, for comparison
and selection.
Let’s
first make up the Behaviourism.
In Behaviourism, the idea of conditioning is based on the theory that you
can train an animal to do anything (within reason) if you follow a certain procedure
which has three major stages, stimulus, response and reinforcement. In the classic
form of the theory a rat is placed in a box: A signal light is operated (the stimulus),
the rat goes up to a bar in cage and presses it (the responses) and a tasty food
pellet drops at its feet (the reinforcement). If the rat’s behaviour is reinforced a sufficient
number of times it will always press the bar when the light comes on.
In a book entitled ‘Verbal Behaviour’ (see B.F. Skinner 1957) the behavioural
psychologist Skinner applied this theory
of conditioning to the way humans acquire language. Language, he suggested, is a form of behaviour
in much the same way as the rat pressing the bar exhibits a form of behaviour
the same model of stimulus – response – reinforcement accounts for how a human
baby learns a language.
Behaviourism, which was after all a psychological theory, was adopted for
some time by the language teaching profession, particularly in America, and the
result was the audio-lingual method still used in many parts of the world. This method used consistent and unending drilling
of the students followed by a positive or negative reinforcement. The language habit was formed by this constant
repetition and the reinforcement of the teacher. Mistakes were immediately criticized, and correct
utterances were immediately praised.
The second approach we shall discuss briefly, in this section, is mentalism/cognitivism.
The term cognitivism is often used loosely to describe methods in which
students are asked to think rather than simply repeat.
It stems to a large extent from Noam Chomsky’s reaction to Skinner’s book
and is based on his theory of competence andperformaqnce. The strength of the attack can largely be produced
by the asking of questions such as :
If
all language is learnt behaviour, how is it that young children can say things
they have never said before?
How
is it possible that adults all through their lives say things they have never
said before?
How is it
possible that a new sentence in the mouth of a four-year old is the result of
conditioning>
Language is not a form of behaviour Chomsky maintained.
On the contrary, it is an intricate rule-based system and a large part
of language acquisition is the learning of this system. There are a finite number of grammatical rules
in the system and with a knowledge of these an infinite number of sentences can
be performed in the language. It is competence
that a child gradually acquires, and it is this language competence (or knowledge
of the grammar rules) that allows the child to be creative as a language user
(e.g. experimenting and saying things that he has not said before).
Language teaching has never adopted a methodology based on Chomsky’s work:
after all Chomsky never intended that his theory should have anything to do with
adult language learning and has repeatedly made this clear. Nevertheless, the idea that students should be allowed to create
their own sentences, based on an understanding of a rule, is widely accepted in
many classrooms. This idea is clearly
in opposition to the audio-lingual method since we are talking about letting the
students, on their own, ‘have a go’ at the language.
In respect of the cognitive approach we quote Paiget:
‘Fifty years of experience have taught us that knowledge does not result
from a mere recording of observations without a structuring activity on the part
of the subject. Nor do any apriori or
innate cognitive structures exist in man; the functioning of intelligence alone
is hereditary and creates structures only through an organization of successive
actions performed on objects….’
Cognitions are phenomena like images, mental ideas and particular thoughts
which form part of the conscious experience of an individual.
Chomsky’s (1959) review of Skinner’s ‘Verbal Behaviour’ questioned the
core of behaviourist approach to language learning.
Chomskyan generative linguistics, along with Piagetian psychology have
succeeded in highlighting the previously neglected mental make-up of learners
as a central force in the process. As
a consequence, consciousness raising of language learners is an important factor
in language learning/teaching.
6.6.3 The sources of the ETC
The proposed explicitly taught course on idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English appears to me suitable and appropriate in support of the cognitive
approach (discussed in the previous section) since it focuses on the following
issues:
·
Learners’ awareness
·
Learners’ centredness;
·
Learners’ active involvement;
·
Explicitness;
·
Conceptualization and
·
Systematicness
The ETC on IEX/MWV draws mainly on the following books/references etc.
1. Ronald E.Feare 1980 Practice with Idioms (App.6a)
2. A Practical English Grammar: Ch.38 (App.6.b.I)
3. A Practical English Grammar: Exercises Book 2 (App.
6.b.II)
4. Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal verbs: Supplementary
Materials:
Theme panels
(App. 6.c.I)
5. Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs: Exercises (App.6.c.II)
6. Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms: Supplementary materials:
Theme panels
(App.6.d.I)
7. Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms: Exercises (App.6.d.II)
8. Collins COBUILD Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs Workbook (App.6.e)
Note
that the actually implemented course was done on the basis of the first three
sources while the remaining 5 serve as alternatives to choose from. That is, in conducting the ETC we confined ourselves to: Practice
with Idioms and A Practical English Grammar, while the rest are given as options
to build on the proposed materials.
In what follows, we will consider briefly these 8 documents in turn.
6.6.3.1 Ronald E.Feare 1980 : Practice with Idioms (App.6.a)
After
studying this workbook and evaluating it in the language of Jeremy Harmer 1983:
the form of evaluating materials, we can say that the book is suitable and appropriate
for our students. The purpose of this
workbook is to encourage the active participation of the learner in acquiring
knowledge of the meaning and structure of idiomatic expressions/multi-word verbs. However, to give the reader an idea about the
book we present, in the coming pages, the outlines of the above-mentioned source.
It contains mainly 3 sections divided further into 16 chapters.
Outlines
of Practice with Idioms
n Section
I
Chapter 1 : Intransitive verb + particle
Chapter 2 : Intransitive verb + preposition
Chapter 3 : Intransitive verb + particle + preposition
Chapter 4 : Review
n Section
II
Chapter 5 : Transitive Verb + movable particle
Chapter 6 : Transitive Verb + immovable
particle (type A & B)
Chapter
7 :
Transitive Verb + preposition (type
I)
Chapter 8 :
Transitive Verb + preposition (type
II)
Chapter 9 :
Transitive Verb + preposition (type
III)
Chapter 10 :
Transitive Verb + particle + preposition
Chapter
11 :
Review
n Section
III
Chapter 12 :
Nominal Forms : Pairs of nouns
Chapter 13 :
Nominal Forms : adjective + noun combinations
Chapter 14 :
Adjectival Forms : pairs of adjectives
Chapter 15 :
Adjective Forms : various compounds
Chapter 16 :
Various adverbial forms
In short, the coursebook is divided into chapters according to grammatical
categorization: the chapters covering intransitive verbal constructions (1- 4)
form section one of the book; chapters dealing with transitive verbal combinations
(5 – 11) form section two. Chapters encompassing
nominal, adjectival and adverbial forms (12 – 16) constitute section three.
It is believed that verbal forms are more useful in general and deserve
far greater concentration and effort. This
is the reason why they occupy this space.
The purpose of this workbook was to encourage the active participation
of the learner in acquiring knowledge of the meaning and structure of idiomatic
expressions and multi-word verbs. It is believed that students of English especially
those of the intermediate and advanced levels at which this book is aimed, are
capable of searching for and discovering much of the relevant information regarding
proper IEX/MWV usage with only minimal guidance and instruction from the teacher.
This active involvement in the learning process can be of much greater
benefit to the student than simple memorization.
The writer explained the means which was used to realize the active involvement:
‘To achieve this goal, the author has chosen to employ inductive, problem-solving
techniques in this workbook. Much emphasis has been placed on the ability to guess
meaning from the context within which an idiom is used, and on the ability to
figure out the grammatical features, which distinguished certain sets of idioms’.
(Feare 1980:ix).
He
went further to assert that the results would be positive and greater if these
important skills are acquired.
‘Once students are equipped with the necessary skills for analyzing and
understanding idiomatic forms, they will be in a much better position to expand
their knowledge beyond the scope of this workbook’
(Ibid.IX)
Direct
classroom practices/procedures: Working through a chapter
In the following pages, we shall consider the detailed description of how
to work through a chapter, given by the writer of the book. This description has a great importance in direct classroom practices
and procedures. The present ETC on IEX/MWV
made a good use of this thorough description. The author suggests the following steps to
be taken in implementing the workbook in its different and various parts.
·
Part I. A guessing
exercise which begins each chapter, requires the student to analyse the contextual
setting of the IEX/MWV and to extract an appropriate definition or synonym.
In addition, the student is asked to underline those clues in the sentence
which help them to guess for possible meaning of the IEX/MWV.
This exercise also promotes class discussion and tends to limit student
dependence on dictionaries as a source of definition. It is important to realize that there are no ‘correct’ answers at
this initial stage. The student is merely
trying to provide some possible acceptable meanings for the IEX/MWV. No attention
should be given at this point to the grammar of the IEX/MWV, as this is covered
thoroughly in following parts and would be a premature consideration.
·
Part II. A
meaning exercise provides the student with a way to check the guesses made
in Part I. The definitions are listed on the left side of sentences which have
blanks to be filled in with appropriate IEX/MWV: the sentences are comprised of
context clues which are very similar to the ones found in Part I. The student can take a synonym/definition and
check the context of the sentence, go back to Part I to match up the synonym/definition
and context with the correct IEX/MWV, and then place that IEX/MWV in its proper
blank. The instructor would guide the
student in this process, helping him to notice similar contexts when difficulties
arise. In this way the student can develop his ability to discover the meaning
himself before resorting to outside references, such as dictionaries.
·
Part III provides a detailed explanation
of each IEX/MWV Information includes a listing of the mot common noun phrases
which are associated with each IEX/MWV. When
necessary further useful points on grammar or meanings are given.
Some examples sentences show how the common noun phrases are useful with
the particular IEX/MWV. A set of possible discussion topics is also
provided to encourage feedback and the sharing of ideas with each other and with
the instructor.
·
Part IV focuses on the grammatical features
which tie the IEX/MWV in each chapter together. A brief introduction provides the student with the basic grammatical
framework of the chapter. The student
is then asked to compare and analyse sets of contrasting sentences, some correct
and some incorrect, which draw out the relevant grammatical features.
After he has tried to discover the rules by answering the questions posed,
the student finds an explanation of the information which he tried to uncover.
·
Part V is a multiple-choice test of IE/MWV
understanding and retention. The student
is required to choose the IEX/MWV which has the best meaning in a given context.
Review is cumulative through each of the first two sections of the book,
so in later chapters the student must be careful to follow the correct grammar
rules as well as pay attention to the important contextual information.
In addition to discussing why an answer is correct, it is also useful to
discuss the inappropriateness of other choices as a way to differentiate between
the various IEX/MWV.
·
Part VI Sentence Writing: requires the student
to write a brief, original sentence using an IEX/MWV in correct response to a
specific question. The context is provided
but must be developed appropriately.
Review
All the exercises and parts of each chapter in sections I and II build
on the MWV from previous chapters, so that MWV already learned are constantly
being reviewed. This also applied to section
III (IEX), although verbal forms are not included as review.
The review chapters for sections I and II also provide valuable reinforcement
of grammatical forms, as well as useful information about changing the verbal
combinations into nominal (nouns) and passive (verb) forms. In addition, topics for paragraph writing,
role playing and further discussion are provided as interesting ways for students
to apply the knowledge they have learned.
Guidelines
for the Teacher
The author clarifies the role of the teacher in this workbook as well as
other guidelines. Until students begin
to feel comfortable with the new approach in this workbook, all exercises should
be done in class, preferably as group activities or on an individual-student basis
with the instructor moving around the room offering advice. Optimally, the first two chapters would be
done entirely as group activities. It
is the author’s suggestion that the first two exercises in each chapter also be
done in class in order to promote discussion and to discourage students from looking
ahead to part III to find the answers. Only
the last two exercises in each chapter re recommended for outside homework at
any stage or level. The instructor will
probably be most involved in the third and fourth parts of each chapter, as they
delineate the semantic and syntactic features of IEX/MWV, and therefore require
mor explanation.
Also,
there are some other instructions and guidelines given to the instructor:
·
Use of this workbook requires some basic awareness of
English grammar. Such terms as subject, verb, preposition and transitive/intransitive
should be well understood before an instructor attempts to use this book.
·
The author would strongly suggest that the instructor
preview the chapters before work with the students begins, especially those units
which deal with the important grammatical characteristics.
·
The instructor should find the exercises to be self-explanatory
for the most part and should have little trouble in advising student of the work
to be done. The instructor should soon
feel comfortable in guiding students through their work, helping them to discover
and understand for themselves the rules and concepts associated with the various
idiomatic expressions/multi-word verbs.
Guidelines
for the student and the student role
After providing the instructor with some suggestions and guidelines for
handling the material in this work book as well as indicating explicitly his role,
the author writes the following to the student:
‘In
this work book, you will be studying the grammar rules of idioms, as well as meanings….
This
brief introduction should give you an idea of the new material you will be learning
in this book, but learning new material is not all that you will be doing. Slowly but surely you will be learning new
ways to guess the meaning of unfamiliar idioms by yourself. A student who develops the necessary skills
of guessing will be better prepared to learn the new, and more difficult idioms
he or she encounters outside of class’.
Contents
of the exercises/activities that appeared in Feare 1980: Practice with Idioms
TABLE
– 80
CONTENTS
OF THE EXERCISES/ACTIVITIES APPEARED IN FEARE 1980:
PRACTICE
WITH IDIOMS
Source
CUP: Dictionary of Idioms, 1998
6.6.3.8 Collins COBUILD Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs Workbook (app.6.e)
There are 2 dictionaries by the COBUILD in respect of Phrasal Verbs and
Idioms: the Collins COBUILD Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs and the Collins COBUILD
Dictionary of Idioms. These 2 sources
are accompanied with 2 workbooks: the Collins COBUILD Phrasal Verbs Workbook and
the Collins COBUILD Idioms Workbook. However,
in this section, we will devote much time and space, for practical considerations,
for the phrasal verbs workbook.
This workbook was written by Malcolm Goodale (1993). The fact that the author is a teacher (at the United Nations in
Geneva) makes it a practical teaching and learning material since it is originated
from real teaching and learning situations. This
stimulating book helps students from an intermediate and advanced level to master
the meaning of phrasal verbs and use them effectively and appropriately.
Practice is approached through the individual particles, such as in, out,
and up, as described in the Particles Index of the Dictionary.
The units of workbook material offer carefully graded exercises that can
be used in class or for self-study.
The following points cold be mentioned as general characteristics of the
workbook:
·
Based on the evidence of COBUILD (using Cambridge International
Corpus) including real examples
·
Around 300 phrasal verbs given detailed treatment
·
Graded activities to promote thorough understanding and
natural use
·
Guidance on synonyms and register, in the section entitled
‘Language Comments’.
·
Full answer key included, to allow for successful independent
use.
In the introduction to this workbook, the writer clarified its approach,
the nature and content of the book, how to use it, and general information about
sections division and exercises:
‘… Though the workbook can be used on its own, more benefit will be gained
by working closely with the Dictionary.
The workbook practices the most important
phrasal verbs, with around 300 different meanings. Almost 50% of these are formed with 18 common
verbs. Six common verbs (bring, come,
get, go, put and take) account for nearly 30% of the phrasal verbs in this workbook.
This workbook is a vocabulary book rather than a grammar book.
There are ten units of material centred
on the following particles: away, back, down, in, off, on, out, over, up as well
as other particles. The first nine units
deal with single particles and these units are arranged in alphabetical sequence
in the book; the final unit concentrates on seven more particles.
All the units follow a similar format, and can be studied in any order. As this book is designed both for class-work and self-study, an
answer key to be practiced in each section of the unit….
If a category of meaning includes phrasal
verbs which are particularly difficult to understand, the first exercise, asks
you to complete the definitions of some or all phrasal verbs, subsequent exercises
involve matching phrases or sentences; choosing the phrasal verb that best fits
a grapped sentence, from three alternatives provided; deciding on an appropriate
phrasal verb to fill a gap, where no alternatives are given…
At the end of each unit there is a
separate section on revision exercises, so that you can check your progress’.
(Malcolm
Goodale, 1933:iv)
Overall, ‘Collins COBUILD Phrasal Verbs Workbook’ is a useful and practical
text that enables the learners to master this component of vocabulary. These characteristics make this book indispensable
in teaching and learning phrasal verbs which represent a major part of multi-word
verbs – the second element of the present study title. Examples of the material appeared in this book
are provided in appendix 6.e.
It will not be out of place if we mentioned below (in or presentation of
the different and various possible resources to draw on in developing the explicit
course on IEX/MWV) the Collins COBUILD Idioms Workbook.
Collins
COBUILD IDIOMS WORKBOOK (1996):
Malcolm Goodale continued his effort to provide the readers with ‘workbooks’
to accompany COBUILD Dictionaries: after writing Collins COBUILD Phrasal Verbs
Workbook (1993), discussed above, he published Collins COBUILD Idioms Workbook
in 1996.
It focuses on 250 of the most common idiomatic expressions in current use
in British and American English. It is
organized in 30 chapters, each of which looks at a group of IEX centering around
a particular theme. The material is suitable
for both class work and self-study. The fact that it is written by a teacher makes it a reliable material
since it is based on real classroom interaction and experience.
As his first workbook on phrasal verbs, this text is useful and closely
relevant to the present study since it provides opportunities for practicing idiomatic
expressions.
6.6.4 Evaluating the materials for the Explicitly Taught Course (ETC)
In this section we will be involved in the selection of the materials for
the Explicit Taught Course on IEX/MWV for the subjects of the study: the Sudanese
learners of English at the tertiary level. These
materials are workbook(s) and others of supplementary kind (i.e. to complement
the workbooks, course books, dictionaries/references etc.) The desire to look for new materials stems
from a dissatisfaction with what is being currently used and we shall compare
a number of different and various alternatives.
Whatever the reasons for considering whether or not certain materials are
appropriate for the target students, the decision that we take is vital.
It is vital because we will take at least some of our ideas from the textbook,
and may use it as the basic syllabus for the course.
Before attempting to evaluate the materials in the ETC, we have come to
some conclusions about our students and what their needs (problems and difficulties
etc.,) are (see chapter 5). This knowledge
is necessary for us to be able to judge the materials in the light of our knowledge
of the students who may eventually use them. After drawing up a profile of the students
(our subjects) and their needs; we can then go about evaluating materials that
seem to be suitable for the students in two ways. One of these ways is to study the book etc., and see how well it
matches our students and their needs. In doing this, Harmer materials evaluation
from is useful: Jermy Harmer, 1983 (pp.241/244) (see appendix 9 of this research).
Another is to implement/pilot the course.
The ETC materials were tried out on the Sudanese students at university
level and the results were measured (POT). Once again, after such experimentation
the materials evaluation form is useful here.
Thee are two steps, then, in the evaluation of the materials (used in ETC):
the first is having a profile of the students and their needs which leads us to
conclusion about the type of material(s) which would be appropriate for them,
and the second, subsequent step, is applying this knowledge to the completion
of the materials evaluation from (MEF), which aims to measure how far the materials
under consideration match up to student needs and the general methodological principles
and techniques of teaching/learning these multi-word lexical items.
Armed with knowledge about our students we can (now) evaluate materials
that seem to be more or less appropriate for our students’ personalities, needs
and problems and difficulties.
In the materials evaluation from questions are asked which demand the answer
‘yes’ or ‘no’ and an additional comment. The
materials evaluation form has seven major headings.
1. Practical considerations,
2. Layout and design,
3. Activities,
4. Skills,
5. Language type,
6. Subject and content, and
7. Guidance
Using
the M.E.F., we arrived at the following about the materials used in the ETC:
1. Practical consideration:
The price of the materials is right
for the students. The integral parts of
the course are available.
2. Layout and design:
The materials look attractive to the
students (this does not necessarily mean full-colour photographs). The design is suitably scientific-looking in
a clear and interesting way.
3. Activities:
The range of language input and that
there is a variety of communicative activities in the materials is reasonable.
There is a substantial amount of language input and that there is a variety
of communicative activities. The practice activities are useful and motivating
and the presentation of language takes place in realistic and motivating contexts.
4. Skills:
The ETC material answers the students’
needs (from the description of the problems/difficulties that we have previously
discussed). The right and necessary skills
are included (guessing from context) and the balance between the different (macro/sub-skills)
is appropriate for the students: reading comprehension and guessing vocabulary
from context etc.
5. Language type:
The language in the materials is realistic.
The language is at the right level for the students.
It is of the right type. The progression
of ‘new’ language is logical and appropriate for the students. That is, how and in what order, students are asked to produce new
language. In general, the students are
able to build on what they already know so that there will be some connection
between what they have just learnt and what they are learning now (in the ETC).
The materials provide a sequence that is intelligible to the learner rather
than unconnected items thrown into a course at random.
Reconsider the 3 main sections of Practice with Idioms:
I.
Intransitive Verbal combinations
II.
Transitive Verbal combinations
III.
Nominal, adjectival and adverbial forms
6. Subject and Content:
When analyzing the topics etc. included in the course we found that they
matched up to the students’ personalities, backgrounds and needs. The subject and content are relevant to our
students’ needs, are – at least sometimes – realistic, they are interesting for
the learners and there is sufficient variety to sustain motivation.
7. Guidance:
There is sufficient guidance not only for the teacher but for the students. For the teacher, there re clear explanations
of how the material can be used to its maximum advantage. For the student, the materials are clear, easy
to follow (in terms of instructions, etc.) and have clearly stated objectives
that both students and the teacher(s) can understand.
For
the above mentioned reasons we recommend that the materials should be used.
6.6.5 The Implementations of the explicitly taught
course on Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs
In the previous sections (6.6.3 and 6.6.4) an attempt has been made to
present and examine eight sources of materials to draw on in building up the explicitly
taught course on IEX and MWV for the Sudanese learners of English at the tertiary
level. These sources are:
1.
Practice with Idioms (Feare 1980)
2.
A Practical English Grammar
3.
A Practical English Grammar Exercises Book 2
4.
Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs: Themes Panels
5.
Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs: Exercises
6.
Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Idioms: Themes
Panels
7.
Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Idioms: Exercises
8.
Collins COBUILD Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs Workbook + Collins
COBUILD Dictionary of Idioms Workbook.
Generally speaking when checking the suggested materials, for the ETC on
IEX/MWV of English, against the evaluation criteria listed below, we found that
these materials share, more or less, these conditions and, thus, they seem suitable
and appropriate for the Sudanese Learners of English at the university level:
q Teaching Skills (Performance) and Knowledge
(Information)
The emphasis of the students needs is on both skills instruction and knowledge
instruction: There is a balance between performance and information.
q Scope
·
The range of skills taught matches the range specified
in our instructional objectives.
·
The skills can be taught in the allotted time.
q Sequence
·
Skills required for the performance of other skills are
taught first.
·
Skills are cumulative
q Manageable
Steps
Instruction
is presented in steps that are appropriate for the target audience.
q Lesson
Structure
·
There is a structured ‘lesson’ to teach specified objectives.
·
The lessons contain a section that teaches instructional
background.
·
Information required to perform the skills under specified
conditions is provided.
·
A detailed description of how to perform the skill is
provided.
·
The lessons contain useful examples.
·
Students are encouraged to practice skill taught in formal
exercises.
·
Exercises clearly relate to the performance of the skill.
·
Exercises require the use of skills taught in previous
lessons (are cumulative)
·
Integrative exercises are provided (the skills are practiced
“in context”).
·
Enough exercises are provided for adequate practice.
·
Feedback is provided about required responses
·
Feedback gives clear description of required response.
·
Where appropriate, feedback is explained in detail.
·
Feedback “anticipates” students’ concerns, problems, and
questions and addresses them.
q Format
The instructional format of the materials is appropriate.
q Appropriateness
·
Content is appropriate for the age of the target population.
·
Mechanics of the materials (instructions, response mode,
feedback etc.) are appropriate for the target population.
·
Instructional style is appropriate for the purpose of
the materials
·
Content is closely related to instructional objectives.
q Accuracy
and Completeness
Content is accurate and complete.
q Interest
and student motivation
·
Lessons ‘build in’ for successful learning.
·
The materials use a variety of motivational techniques.
·
Content is presented in an interesting style.
q Cultural
Bias and Stereotypes
·
The materials are free from bias and stereotypes
·
The materials contain positive role models for the target
population.
q Quality
of Writing
·
The materials do not contain spelling, typographical or
grammatical errors.
·
The style is clear, concise and interesting.
q Method
of Delivery
The materials are compatible with the desired method of delivery of instruction:
a combination of teacher directed and independent/individual student basis.
From the above eight materials discussed in the previous sections, the
researcher piloted the first three of them: those are namely:
- Practice
with Idioms (Feare1980).
- A Practical
English Grammar (A.J. Thomson & A.V. Martinet)
- A
Practical English Grammar: Exercises Book 2
In what follows, we shall try to give a brief account of the administration
of the ETC to the subjects of the present study.
Despite the paucity of research on the possibility of improving L2 vocabulary
knowledge/mastery through the explicit instruction, we hypothesized that our learners
could benefit from explicit teaching of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs.
We believe that such instruction would give EFL learners an exposure to
a good dose of knowledge to:
·
understand the concepts of idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs
·
familiarize themselves with these two terms
·
raise their awareness
·
involve them in the teaching/learning processes: the input
must be accomplished through interactional opportunities that the learners get
in the acquisition/learning process itself.
·
Train the students on vocabulary learning strategies,
especially the guessing-from-context strategy.
The
Target Audience
The course was intended for the Sudanese university students majoring in
English at the third level. For justification
of the choice of the 3rd year students, see Chapter One: Section 1.3.5.
Sampling
In order for the samples to be representative, we selected the students
of English departments, faculties of Education and Arts of Khartoum and Elneelain
universities respectively. The following were the numbers of subjects.
TABLE
– 83
NUMBER
OF SUBJECTS (STUDENTS) PARTICIPATED IN THE ETC
