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Acquiring Phrasal Verbs through Implicit and Explicit Instruction: Insights from Eye-tracking and Reaction time

Faraji, Mohammad Javad | 2020

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: English
  3. Document No: 53399 (31)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Languages and Linguistics Center
  6. Advisor(s): Rezaei, Saeed; Hassanzadeh, Mohammad
  7. Abstract:
  8. English language is peppered with phrasal verbs (PhVs) and native speakers use them frequently and endlessly in daily life. However, due to various semantic and syntactic difficulties, polysemy, unpredictability, and learners’ L1 differences, this omnipresent aspect of English language morphology poses formidable challenges for learners in terms of fluency and accuracy, and leads them to resort to avoidance strategies. The problem has also been exacerbated with the arbitrariness of PhVs’ teaching methods prescribed by various textbooks. In order to shed more light on the ongoing debate over implicit and explicit types of instruction as two viable approaches to tackling PhVs, this study aimed at juxtaposing the two distinguished methods of teaching. The explicit approach was operationalized as the PPP (Present, Practice, Production) model, and the implicit approach was narrowed down to task-based instruction (TBI) for the purposes of consistent pedagogical practice and intervention. To this end, this pioneering study serving as the interplay between second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive processing, triangulated evidence using offline alongside online techniques. On the offline side, the study took advantage of quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design in which three intact classes involving 63 male and female intermediate-level engineering students at Sharif University of technology were grouped into explicit, implicit, and control conditions. After briefing, the selected PhVs were presented to them during several treatment sessions. Three rounds of measures, including immediate, one-week and one-month delayed posttests were administered in order to record the short- and long-term effects of the intervention. Following that, and regarding the online phase, two experiments were held. First, using a well-equipped lab at Tehran University, students partook in an eye-tracking experiment where seven eye-movement metrics (i.e. time to first fixation, first fixation duration, total fixation duration, fixation count, visit duration, total visit duration, and visit count) were measured by a desk-mounted Tobii pro eye-tracker. Second, using a researcher-designed Android software program, students’ reaction time (RT) behavior towards PhVs was measured in terms of three metrics (i.e. true-answers time, false-answers time, and total answers time). The results of rigorous statistical analyses revealed that both explicit and implicit conditions significantly outperformed the control condition on the immediate and the first delayed posttest. However, the explicit protocol proved more durable than the other conditions after the one-month time lapse. In terms of eye-movement behavior, no meaningful difference was observed between explicit and implicit instruction which suggests a strong interface between them in the form of a continuum rather than a dichotomy. In addition, concerning RT data, the implicit condition was systematically more time-efficient, though this greater automaticity did not reach statistical significance. The findings provide important insights for SLA theory, curriculum design and classroom practice as far as PhVs' pedagogy is concerned. Presumably, in order to adopt a more efficient and sustainable approach to PhVs’ retention, designing a hybrid model of pedagogy composed of both explicit and implicit instruction seems most helpful; such a unique model may commence explicitly and carry on implicitly by executing appropriate tasks
  9. Keywords:
  10. Eye Tracking ; Reaction Time ; Implicit Teaching ; Explicit Instruction ; Task-Based Instruction (TBI) ; Present, Practice, Production (PPP)Model ; Phrasal Verbs

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