Investigating Iraqi EFL learners' useof selected idiomatic expressions

Abstract EN

This research is devoted to study the performance of Iraqi EFL learners with reference to idiomatic expressions in modern Standard English.By definition , an idiom is a linguistic unit in which the meaning of a given construction cannot be understood from the words that compose it.

Evidence shows that English idiomatic expressions represent a rather problematic area for EFL learners .

Thus , this study aims at theoretically investigating the English idiomatic expressions and practically studying the Iraqi EFL learners' performance in dealing with these expressions by means of a specialized test designed for this purpose .

It is hypothesized that Iraqi EFL learners face difficulties in dealing with idiomatic expressions in both recognition and production levels .

The test includes two questions , each with 25 items.

Results show that , at the recognition level ( question 1) , most Iraqi EFL learners fail in recognizing the idiomatic expressions , whereas at the recognition level the percentage of learners unable to employ the given idiomatic expressions increased including the avoided items , which are considered as incorrect in both first and second questions .

The findings arrived at support the above mentioned hypothesis .

The study ends with some of the recommendations for EFL teachers and learners and the way they encounter such expressions in spoken and written English .

The present study falls into fivesections.

The first section includes general definitions of idiomatic expressions in English from scholars’ and linguists’ points of view.

The second section deals with the idiomatic expressions in modern Standard English with reference to the definitions , characteristics and types of idiomatic expressions.

The third section is devoted to investigate the predicted Arabic counterparts to the English idiomatic expressions and the aspects of similarities and differences of these constructions in both languages .

Sectionfour includes the test which is made for the students from the third stage of the College of Basic Education to measure their total performance at the recognition and production levels with a discussion of the main types of errors which are committed by them.

Finally , the fifth section summarizes the main conclusions and findings of the present study