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    Not just ‘small potatoes’: Knowledge of the idiomatic meanings of collocations

    Macis, M and Schmitt, N (2017) Not just ‘small potatoes’: Knowledge of the idiomatic meanings of collocations. Language Teaching Research, 21 (3). pp. 321-340. ISSN 1362-1688

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    Abstract

    © 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. This study investigated learner knowledge of the figurative meanings of 30 collocations that can be both literal and figurative. One hundred and seven Chilean Spanish-speaking university students of English were asked to complete a meaning-recall collocation test in which the target items were embedded in non-defining sentences. Results showed limited collocation knowledge, with a mean score of 33% correct. The study also examined the effects of frequency, semantic transparency, year at university, and everyday engagement with the second language (L2) outside the classroom on this collocation knowledge. Mixed-effects modelling indicated that there was no relationship between frequency and semantic transparency and the knowledge of the figurative meanings. However, a positive relationship was found between this knowledge and year at university, time spent in an English-speaking country, and time spent reading.

    Item Type: Article
    Peer-reviewed: Yes
    Date Deposited: 19 Sep 2017 10:22
    Publisher: SAGE Publications
    Additional Information: This is an Author Accepted Manuscript of a paper accepted for publication in Language Teaching Research, published by and copyright SAGE Publications.
    Divisions: Faculties > Arts and Humanities
    Research Centres > Creative Writing, English Literature and Linguistics
    Subject terms: Social Sciences, Education & Educational Research, Linguistics, collocations, idiomatic language, frequency, language use factors, semantic transparency, year at university, PHRASAL VERBS, LEARNERS, ENGLISH, COMPREHENSION, VOCABULARY, FREQUENCY, 1302 Curriculum And Pedagogy, 1702 Cognitive Science, 2004 Linguistics, Languages & Linguistics
    URI: https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/619104
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168816645957
    ISSN 1362-1688

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