Avoidance of Phrasal Verbs: The Case of Chinese Learners of English

Abstract

University of Hawai'i at M a anoaThis study investigates the avoidance of English phrasal verbs by Chinese learners. Six groups of Chinese learners (intermediate and advanced; a total of 70) took one of 3 tests (multiple-choice, translation, or recall), which included literal and figurative phrasal verbs, while 15 native speakers took the multiple-choice test. The results show that 3 factors (proficiency level, phrasalverb type, and test type) affect learners' avoidance of phrasal verbs. The authors speculate that the differences between first and second languages and the semantic difficulty of phrasal verbs may be reasons for the learners' avoidance. Incorporating the findings of 3 previous studies, this study claims that learners' phrasal-verb avoidance behavior is a manifestation of interlanguage development.

Creativity and Unnaturalness in the Use of Phrasal Verbs in ESL Learner Language

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Tracing Developmental Changes in L2 Learners’ Structuring of Phrasal Verbs: A Corpus Study of Native and Non-native Argumentative Essays

“…Despite a fair amount of research on the acquisition of figurative and idiomatic meanings of PVs (Akbari 2009, Geld 2009, Houshyar & Talebinezhad 2012, Lennon 1996, Liao & Fukuya 2004, Takahashi & Matsuya 2013, Waibel 2007, Yasuda 2010, very little research has addressed the learner's acquisition of their structural complexities. A recent effort by Gilquin (2015), however, brought to light this less studied, but yet important, aspect of learning PVs.…”

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