The impact of frequency effects on the acquisition of English phrasal verbs by Chinese EFL learners

Abstract

English phrasal verbs (EPVs) are prefabricated chunks which can be stored and retrieved as units, thus facilitating speech production (Wray 2002). This advantage makes learning EPVs highly beneficial for Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners but it is nonetheless a difficult task for them. In this study, EPVs are classified into four types according to their semantic and syntactic characteristics (McCarcy and O’Dell 2004). The theories of frequency effects suggest that word frequency and the number of times learners are exposed to the materials make a significant difference to language acquisition (Schmitt & Carter 2004). This helps with the design of learning methods: the one characterised by repeated copying and the other by multiple tasks including word meaning matching, blank filling, word order re-organizing and translation, to acquire the target EPVs. Therefore, types and learning methods form two independent variables, which need to be tested whether they are significantly interacted with the dependent variables, namely time to completion (TTC) and accuracy rates (AR). The results indicate that learners get higher TTC and lower AR when using EPVs with syntactic characteristics. Furthermore, the first learning method enhances learners’ AR when using EPVs with semantic characteristics, but the second learning method generally improves learners’ AR when using all types of EPVs. This study contributes to the current research on experimental studies of formulaic sequences and second language acquisition (SLA), especially in teaching and learning methodology.