Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: Idiomaticity Revisited

Abstract

Idiomaticity has long been an area of intense research around the world. To date, many empirical findings have been disclosed and even more definitions and experimental tasks proposed. Yet little research accounts for the effect idiomatic tasks have on participants’ overall performance. The present qualitative study asserts that different experimental tasks and idiom sub-types have different effects on the comprehension/production of second language idioms and, furthermore, that qualitative data, combined with quantitative data, can supplement and complete more fully a researcher’s understanding of a particular issue under investigation than quantitative data alone. Pedagogical implications are discussed and future research directions explored. Keywords: figurative language, idiomatic competence, metacognitive strategies, second language idioms, vivid phrasal idioms Using the answers to two questionnaires given to 60 third-year adult learners of Spanish, French, and German, Liontas (2002a) has provided convincing evidence that (1) learners do want idioms to be an integral part of their language and culture training; (2) they can predict their performances on idiomatic tasks and, finally, (3) they have very specific beliefs about the importance of learning idioms, the nature of idiomatic learning, and the strategies that are most likely to facilitate such learning (p. 289). From the ensuing analysis of data, Liontas concluded that second language (L2) “instructors should introduce idioms more regularly and systematically to their students, regardless of the specific approaches they take to idiomatic learning” (pp. 306–307).

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