An experimental investigation of the effectiveness of input and output instruction via pictures in idiom comprehension of efl undergraduates

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Title:	An experimental investigation of the effectiveness of input and output instruction via pictures in idiom comprehension of efl undergraduates
Other Titles:	輸入與輸出教學法對提升英語為第二外語學習者慣用語理解效用之實驗探討
Authors:	黃馨儀;Huang, Hsin-yi
Contributors:	淡江大學英文學系碩士班胡映雪;Hu, Ying-hsueh
Keywords:	慣用語理解;概念隱喻和換喻;視覺輔助;輸入;輸出;以英語為外語教學法;Idiom Comprehension;Conceptual Metaphors and Metonymies;Visual Aids;Input and Output;EFL Pedagogy
Date:	2007
Issue Date:	2010-01-10 23:14:25 (UTC+8)
Abstract:	慣用語是隱喻性語言中一種，無法完全用字面上的意思來判讀的特性，也造成學生學習與認知上很大的障礙。對以英語為第二語言或外語的學習者而言，學習慣用語的策略已被侷限在將慣用語視為不可分割的單位以及透過上文下、其組成單字之字面意思、學習者的背景知識來瞭解其意思，甚至是以反覆背誦的方式來學習。然而，近年來，許多研究 (Boer & Demecheleer, 2001; Cacciari & Glucksberg, 1991; Gibbs, 1992; Gibbs and O’Brien, 1990; Gibbs, Bogdanovich, Sykes, and Barr, 1997; Glucksberg, 1993; Li, 2002; Nayak & Gibbs, 1990; Ruwet, 1983) 建議可藉由概念隱喻和換喻的功用和運用協助第二語言學習者瞭解並習得慣言語的意義。以往的慣用語研究多在分析和研究慣用語本身的特性，較少涉足有關學習的部分(Matlock, 1998).然而老師不可能只教特定某種類的慣用語，當學生在學習和本國文化沒有重疊性的英文慣用語時，仍有一定的障礙。(Boers et al., 2004).當學生必須在短時間內習得慣用語，視覺輔助或許會是一個好方法來幫助學生的認知思考及增強記憶能力。因此，在概念隱喻和換喻教學之外，再加入了視覺輔助的教學。Krashen(1982)提到教學中語言輸入的重要性，而Swain(1985)則是強調語言輸出的功能，語言輸出不僅是被動接受，還牽涉到概念思考和轉換。因此本實驗也將結合圖片和輸入與輸出教學法，將其運用在慣用語中隱喻和換喻的習得上。本研究即是比較(1)概念隱喻和換喻、(2)語言輸入、(3)語言輸出，這三者對提升以英語為外語學習者英語慣用語理解效用之實驗探討，是否能幫助台灣學生克服文化的障礙，達成英語慣用語認知的效果。此研究之目的在於第一，提升隱喻和換喻和慣用語的關聯是否能幫助受試者的慣用語學習; 而視覺輸入和視覺輸出是否能幫助受試者的慣用語學習，若是，其三者的學習效果為何；第二，提升隱喻和換喻和慣用語的關聯或視覺輸入或視覺輸出是否能幫助受試者是否能幫助受試者記住慣用語，若是，其三者的學習效果為何；第三，受試者理解概念隱喻之能力是否和慣用語之隱喻性的複雜度有關。總計有一百二十位學生參與本研究，依教學法分成三個組別。上述研究參與者均參與了十周的實驗，以問卷了解學生對學習方式的滿意度，以選擇題考卷測試慣用語的理解程度，受試者習得換喻和複合性隱喻的成效則是用寫作思考方式蒐集語料。研究結果發現，經過不同方式的教學後，三個組別的受試者皆能習得教授的慣用語，也能習得慣用語中的隱喻和換喻。而視覺輸出最能夠幫助受試學生提升其對陌生慣用語的理解和記憶。此外，理解概念隱喻之能力與慣用語之隱喻性的複雜度相關。 Previous researchers have demonstrated that it is problematic for ESL/ EFL students to understand English idioms (Cooper, 1998, 1999; Liu, 2003,; Qualls & Harris 1999l; Wu, 2002, 2003, Feng, 2006). Cooper (1999) stated, “because figurative meaning is unpredictable, idioms present a special learning problem for virtually all groups of learners” (p. 233). The strategies of learning idioms for second language or foreign language learners have been restricted to treating them as inseparable units and to predict their figurative interpretations by using contextual cues, the literal meanings of the individual components, the learners’ background knowledge, or even by rote. In recent years, some research claimed that conceptual metaphor can facilitate the learning and comprehension of idioms which was based on Conceptual Metaphor theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). Results of the research suggest that metaphorical and metonymical understanding plays an important role in idiom comprehension. (Gibbs and Orien, 1990; Gibbs, 1992; Hamblin and Gibbs, 1999; Ruwet, 1983.) However, there was still something missing in research of idioms. Studies on idioms do not look at learning (Matlock, 1998). A lot of research was related to idioms types, and the differences in processing and comprehending various types of idioms. However, in a classroom, it is not likely for instructors to teach certain types of idioms and to skip another. Besides, learners may have difficulties to comprehend the underlying metaphors and metonymies in a short time. Visual aids are the other way to enhance students’ learning in idioms. As a result, a pilot study has been done to investigate the utility of visual input to enhance learner’s understanding of idioms. The result shows that visual aids provide learners relevant contextual information when the linguistic input is ambiguous to them. According Krashen (1982), linguistic input is crucial to language acquisition. While Swain (1985) refers that linguistic output should be viewed as important as linguistic input. Linguistic output involved more than passive understanding. It is a way to know how much student comprehend the languages, and to see if students store what they have learned conceptually and turn the knowledge into their own. As a result, in the present study, idioms would be taught with not only metaphors and metonymies but also visual aids. The participants are divided into three groups with different ways of idiom teaching. The first group is taught with the underlying metaphors and metonymies, the second with the underlying metaphors and metonymies plus visual input and the third with the underlying metaphors and metonymies plus visual output. The present study is an investigation of the utility of (1)conceptual metaphors and metonymies, (2) visual input, (3) visual output in enhancing the idiom comprehension of EFL learners. Participants were 120 Chinese learners of English divided into three groups of different idiom teaching. Data are collected by means of multiple-choice test without the benefit of context to know how they comprehend the selected idioms after teaching. Results show that, three different treatments of idiom teaching can all increased their comprehension of unfamiliar idioms and facilitated the understanding of underlying metaphors and metonymies. The group of visual output outperformed other two groups in idiom comprehension and retention of memory. Also, the ability to comprehend conceptual metaphors and metonymies is correlated with the complexity of conceptual metaphors underlying idioms. This study implies how visual aids and hand-on experience facilitate the comprehension of idioms by linking the metaphorical meaning with life experience.
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