The influence of L1 frequency in instructed second language learning of L2 idioms

This study investigates the influence of L1 frequency on the acquisition of L2 idioms with an experiment employing structured input instruction based on the input processing model. Intermediate L2 Korean learners completed a pretest, computer-assisted instructional treatment session, and posttest. The tests included production, interpretation, and meaning tasks, which manipulated amount of context and idiom type (i.e., Shared L1-L2 idioms, which have linguistic representations in both languages and are subgrouped by high or low L1 frequency, and L2 Only idioms, which have no L1 equivalent). The results show that high L1 frequency had a consistently facilitatory effect on the learning of equivalent L2 idioms, but that context had the strongest effect on the learning of L2 idioms that have no counterpart in the L1.