The effects of English Idioms teaching on EFL Intermediate Learners’ speaking fluency

Bayez Enayati, Farhad Kakarash & Shaho Mohammad Shamami, Islamic Azad University, Branch of Mahabad, Iran, ID LLCE2017-167;   Abstract: The present study aimed at investigating the effects of teaching idioms on the speaking fluency of EFL Iranian learners and at the same time taking into consideration the examining participants’ use of idioms and their knowledge of them. To this end, after administrating the Quick Placement Test (QPT), 60 intermediate L2 learners were selected at random out of 120, and then assigned to two experimental and control groups. The learners were assigned an interview of ten questions as a pretest. After that some lessons of idioms using Common Idioms in English books were thought as the treatment to the experimental group.  After the instruction, an interview was conducted on both the experimental and control group as the post test. The data analysis of the post test revealed that after the treatment, the participants’ fluency in the experimental group was significantly improved. The results also showed that the participants in the experimental group had positive attitudes toward explicit instruction of idioms. The study has theoretical and pedagogical implications in the field of foreign/second language teaching and learning and at the same time it can be regarded as a solution for language teachers, constantly searching for the better ways to train native-like speakers.

Key words:   knowledge of idioms,  speaking  fluency