{"title":"Meaning‐Inferencing Versus Meaning‐Given Procedures: The Case of Idioms","authors":"Frank Boers, Xi Yu, Xiaofei Wang","doi":"10.1111/lang.12702","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Inferring the meaning of words and then verifying one's interpretations is widely believed to create relatively strong memories of the items. According to the available research, it is when the inferences are accurate that the learning outcomes are the most promising. The present study extends this inquiry to idioms. Fifty‐six ESL learners were presented with 21 English idioms (e.g., <jats:italic>toe the line</jats:italic>) in brief contexts and they were either prompted to infer the meaning of each idiom or they were given the meaning directly. After each inferencing attempt, the correct meaning was given as feedback. This initial learning stage was followed in the same session by a meaning‐recall task where the learners were again given the correct meanings as feedback. The results of a posttest administered one week later indicate that prompting learners to make inferences is beneficial compared to directly giving the meanings on condition that the inferencing was successful.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"118 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Language Learning","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12702","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Inferring the meaning of words and then verifying one's interpretations is widely believed to create relatively strong memories of the items. According to the available research, it is when the inferences are accurate that the learning outcomes are the most promising. The present study extends this inquiry to idioms. Fifty‐six ESL learners were presented with 21 English idioms (e.g., toe the line) in brief contexts and they were either prompted to infer the meaning of each idiom or they were given the meaning directly. After each inferencing attempt, the correct meaning was given as feedback. This initial learning stage was followed in the same session by a meaning‐recall task where the learners were again given the correct meanings as feedback. The results of a posttest administered one week later indicate that prompting learners to make inferences is beneficial compared to directly giving the meanings on condition that the inferencing was successful.
人们普遍认为，推断单词的意思，然后验证自己的解释，可以对这些单词产生相对强烈的记忆。根据现有的研究，当推理准确时，学习结果是最有希望的。本研究将这一研究扩展到习语。56名ESL学习者在简短的语境中看到21个英语习语（例如，toe the line），他们要么被提示去推断每个习语的意思，要么被直接告知每个习语的意思。在每次推理尝试后，给出正确的含义作为反馈。在最初的学习阶段之后，在同一个会话中，学习者再次被给予正确的含义作为反馈。一周后进行的后测结果表明，与在推理成功的情况下直接给出含义相比，提示学习者进行推理是有益的。
期刊介绍：
Language Learning is a scientific journal dedicated to the understanding of language learning broadly defined. It publishes research articles that systematically apply methods of inquiry from disciplines including psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, educational inquiry, neuroscience, ethnography, sociolinguistics, sociology, and anthropology. It is concerned with fundamental theoretical issues in language learning such as child, second, and foreign language acquisition, language education, bilingualism, literacy, language representation in mind and brain, culture, cognition, pragmatics, and intergroup relations. A subscription includes one or two annual supplements, alternating among a volume from the Language Learning Cognitive Neuroscience Series, the Currents in Language Learning Series or the Language Learning Special Issue Series.
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