A Corpus Based Study on Malaysian ESL Learners’ Use of Phrasal Verbs in Narrative Compositions
The research investigated the use of phrasal verbs in two written tasks by Malaysian ESL learners. The data of the research was obtained from the EMAS (The English Language of Malaysian School Students) Corpus. The aim of the study was: (1) to investigate the distribution of phrasal verbs used in...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/11067/1/FPP_2009_27_A.pdf |
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| Summary: | The research investigated the use of phrasal verbs in two written tasks by Malaysian
ESL learners. The data of the research was obtained from the EMAS (The English
Language of Malaysian School Students) Corpus. The aim of the study was: (1) to
investigate the distribution of phrasal verbs used in the students‟ writing, (2) to identify
the types of phrasal verbs used, (3) to establish if the phrasal verbs used were accurate
syntactically and semantically, and (4) to determine if any avoidance behaviour and
simplification features were employed in relation to the use of phrasal verbs. The
research design comprised a qualitative technique through discourse analysis
supplemented with some descriptive statistics using the software Mono Conc Pro 2.2
(Barlow, 2003). The findings of the study showed that the total instances of frequency
counts for all phrasal verbs used at Form 1 level were 309 compared to 677 instances at Form 4 level. This is an indicator that the students at the higher level were more capable
of using phrasal verbs. Using Celce-Murcia and Larsen Freeman‟s (1999) classification
of phrasal verbs (literal, aspectual, and idiomatic), it was found that idiomatic phrasal
verbs were more difficult than the other types at both student levels. It was also seen that
the most inaccurate phrasal verb structures at both Form 1 and Form 4 levels were in the
tense form. The findings also showed that there was a highly positive progression in the
number of phrasal verbs used semantically accurate. In fact, out of a total of 309
instances of phrasal verbs used at the Form 1 level, 92% were semantically accurate and
8% are inaccurate. Also, of 677 instances of phrasal verbs used at the Form 4 level, 95%
were semantically accurate and 5% were inaccurate. The findings also showed that ESL
learners had adopted ways to overcome their inadequacy in the use of phrasal verbs of
the English language by using avoidance behaviour, simplification features and
compensation strategies. In fact, since the total number of avoided phrasal verbs at the
Form 4 level was less than that of the Form 1 level, it indicated that the proficiency level
was an affecting factor in avoiding different types of phrasal verbs in the students‟
writing. In order to prevent the problems identified in the study regarding phrasal verb
structures, and to further improve the teaching and learning of phrasal verbs among ESL
learners, some recommendations are proposed. |
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