Phrasal verbs in High School students’ L2 English writing: A language learner corpus study
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Date
2024
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Publisher
Universidad de Concepción
Abstract
El uso de los verbos fraseológicos (VFs) refleja un nivel avanzado de dominio del idioma. Debido a sus múltiples significados y funciones, el uso de éstos es esencial para lograr precisión en inglés. Su carácter polisémico y su manera de aparecer en ciertas composiciones o discursos contribuyen a una mayor naturalidad y fluidez en el habla. El presente estudio posee un enfoque léxico, que se centra en la importancia del vocabulario en el aprendizaje de idiomas. El análisis de VFs puede integrarse en este enfoque, considerando cómo las unidades léxicas contribuyen a la competencia comunicativa de los aprendientes. Basándonos en la lista de los VFs más frecuentes conocida como PHaVE List, analizamos el uso éstos en las composiciones escritas de 148 estudiantes, hombres y mujeres, de primero y segundo año de enseñanza media de un colegio de inmersión ubicado en Concepción, Chile. El objetivo fue determinar en qué medida se utilizan los verbos fraseológicos en las composiciones escritas de estudiantes bilingües de enseñanza media, según su edad, sexo y nivel escolar, como parte de lo que implica usar el lenguaje de la forma más natural posible al comunicarse en un segundo idioma. Se realizó un análisis de corpus a través de dos programas, Sketch Engine y ADELEX Analyser, y un análisis manual adicional, para examinar las variables mencionadas anteriormente. A la luz de los resultados, se observó que, dentro de este corpus de aprendiente, las estudiantes mujeres utilizaron un mayor número de verbos fraseológicos (p=0.026). Considerando el tema limitado a las ventajas y desventajas de estudiar desde la casa en pandemia.
The use of phrasal verbs (PVs) reflects an advanced level of mastery of the language. Due to their multiple meanings and functions, their use is essential to achieve fluency and accuracy in English. The present study has a lexical approach, which focuses on the importance of the lexicon and lexical units in language learning. The analysis of phrasal verbs can be integrated into this approach, considering how these lexical units contribute to the communicative competence of learners. Based on the list of the most frequent phrasal verbs known as PHaVE List, we analysed the use of these verbs in the written compositions of 148 students, male and female, of ninth and tenth grades at an immersion school of Concepción, Chile. The objective was to determine the extent to which phrasal verbs are used in bilingual high school students' written compositions, according to age, sex and school level, as part of what it is to use the language as naturally as possible when communicating in a second language. In this study, a corpus analysis was carried out, which means that the aforementioned compositions were analysed by two pieces of software, Sketch Engine and ADELEX, and additional manual analysis, to examine the variables previously mentioned. In light of the results, it was observed that, within this language learner corpus, female students used a greater number of phrasal verbs (p=0.026). Considering the topic limited to the advantages and disadvantages of studying from home in the pandemic.
The use of phrasal verbs (PVs) reflects an advanced level of mastery of the language. Due to their multiple meanings and functions, their use is essential to achieve fluency and accuracy in English. The present study has a lexical approach, which focuses on the importance of the lexicon and lexical units in language learning. The analysis of phrasal verbs can be integrated into this approach, considering how these lexical units contribute to the communicative competence of learners. Based on the list of the most frequent phrasal verbs known as PHaVE List, we analysed the use of these verbs in the written compositions of 148 students, male and female, of ninth and tenth grades at an immersion school of Concepción, Chile. The objective was to determine the extent to which phrasal verbs are used in bilingual high school students' written compositions, according to age, sex and school level, as part of what it is to use the language as naturally as possible when communicating in a second language. In this study, a corpus analysis was carried out, which means that the aforementioned compositions were analysed by two pieces of software, Sketch Engine and ADELEX, and additional manual analysis, to examine the variables previously mentioned. In light of the results, it was observed that, within this language learner corpus, female students used a greater number of phrasal verbs (p=0.026). Considering the topic limited to the advantages and disadvantages of studying from home in the pandemic.
Description
Tesis presentada para optar al grado de Magíster en Lingüística Aplicada
Keywords
Análisis basado en el corpus (Lingüística), Lingüística de corpus, Inglés Verbos auxiliares