Effects of Lexical Simplification and Elaboration on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Learning and Retention of Phrasal Verbs

Abstract

Abstract-This study aimed at investigating the effect of lexical simplification and elaboration on Iranian intermediate EFL learners' learning and retention of phrasal verbs. In order to achieve this goal, a PET test was run into 130 learners. When target participants were chosen, they were assigned into three groups including two treatment groups and one control group. Through a multiple choice test, 40 out of 60 phrasal verbs were selected as target phrasal verbs. Through 8 sessions of treatment, each group received a reading comprehension text that contained 5 phrasal verbs. But the way the phrasal verbs in two experimental groups were modified was different. One of them received elaborated input and the other group received simplified input; meanwhile, the control group received unmodified input. After eight sessions of treatment, an immediate multiple choice test was administered to find out which techniques had stronger effect on participant's learning and retention of phrasal verbs. After one month, the same test, with a different order of items, was administered as delayed posttest to check the participants' level of retention. According to the results of the study simplified input group significantly outperformed the control and elaborated group on both learning and retention of phrasal verbs.

The Effectiveness of a Proposed Program Integrating Focus on Form and Gamified Learning in Fostering Egyptian English Majors' Phrasal Verbs Comprehension and Production

“…Input type, group work implementation and digital games can remarkably foster PVs acquisition among EFL learners. To clarify, Ghorbanian and Jabbarpoor (2017) compared the influence of simplified, elaborated and unmodified written input on Iranian EFL intermediate level teenagers' PVs acquisition and retrieval. Based on their study findings, it was concluded that modifying input through either simplification or elaboration facilitated PVs acquisition and recall among the study participants.…”

“…In terms of register, most PVs are frequently used in informal colloquial spoken contexts (Ghorbanian & Jabbarpoor, 2017;Rodríguez-Puente & Obaya-Cueli, 2022). Hence, they are naturally employed in native speakers' daily conversations, movies, songs, newspapers headlines and talk shows (McCarthy & O'Dell, 2007;Badri-Ahmadi & Panahandeh, 2016;Ghorbanian & Jabbarpoor, 2017;Thyab, 2019;Ton, Tran & Dang, 2023). However, some PVs are used in formal contexts (McCarthy & O'Dell, 2007).…”

“…Despite their importance, PVs represent a major source of difficulty for EFL learners ( Jahedi & Mukundan, 2015;Badri-Ahmadi & Panahandeh, 2016;Ghorbanian & Jabbarpoor, 2017;Teng, 2018;Okoh & Ghampson, 2019;Ravn, 2021;Alshayban, 2022;Ton, Tran & Dang, 2023). This difficulty can be attributed to PVs high frequency, complexity, arbitrariness, unfamiliarity and opaque polysemous meanings in many cases (White, 2012;Badri-Ahmadi & Panahandeh, 2016;Garnier, 2016;Ghorbanian & Jabbarpoor, 2017;Alshayban, 2022;Ton, Tran & Dang, 2023). Therefore, many EFL learners avoid using PVs in communication (Jahedi & Mukundan, 2015;Ghorbanian & Jabbarpoor, 2017;Ton, Tran & Dang, 2023).…”

“…This difficulty can be attributed to PVs high frequency, complexity, arbitrariness, unfamiliarity and opaque polysemous meanings in many cases (White, 2012;Badri-Ahmadi & Panahandeh, 2016;Garnier, 2016;Ghorbanian & Jabbarpoor, 2017;Alshayban, 2022;Ton, Tran & Dang, 2023). Therefore, many EFL learners avoid using PVs in communication (Jahedi & Mukundan, 2015;Ghorbanian & Jabbarpoor, 2017;Ton, Tran & Dang, 2023). For instance, Barekat and Baniasady (2014) found that Iranian English majors avoid using PVs in their writing, thus making the goal of achieving native-like proficiency unattainable.…”