Keywords

English language -- Spoken English -- United States -- Study and teaching, English language -- Verb phrase -- Study and teaching

Abstract

This study examined occurrence of phrasal verbs in spoken English as evidenced in a popular American TV talk show and revealed to what extent phrasal verbs in spoken English are taught/reflected in ESL idioms books. The design of the present study consisted of four steps: a preliminary teacher survey, collecting and analyzing data of spoken and written English, determining two frequency lists, and comparing the two lists. The teacher e-mail survey was conducted to determine the role of phrasal verbs in ESL curricula and what the most popular idioms books for teaching phrasal verbs to ESL students are. For the purpose of determining a frequency list of phrasal verbs in spoken English, the "Oprah" show was selected as a source of spoken corpora. Then, the transcripts were analyzed for inclusion of phrasal verbs, and a frequency list was established. The next step was to find commonly used ESL idioms books as a source of written data. Ten different textbooks were selected, and a frequency list of phrasal verbs in written English was determined. The final step was to compare the two lists and to analyze the results. The findings of this study can have a concrete impact on the ESL classroom. A frequency list can be a tremendous help for students in mastering phrasal verbs. Teachers can base their instruction on a frequency list derived from spoken English rather than depending on a variety of idioms books with idioms taken from written corpora. A list can also serve curriculum designers and textbook writers to create more effective teaching materials.

Graduation Date

2001

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Format

PDF

Pages

131 p.

Language

English

Rights

Written permission granted by copyright holder to the University of Central Florida Libraries to digitize and distribute for nonprofit, educational purposes.

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0029153

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences

Accessibility Status

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