A Study Of L2 Color Idiom Comprehension--Effects Of Type, Proficiency And Context

This paper reports on the study of the comprehension of English color idioms by Chinese EFL learners. Five types of English color idioms were identified through comparative analysis of similarities and differences of English and Chinese color connotations. The general comprehension performance of English color idioms was examined through an idiom comprehension test and the mental processes of using comprehension strategies were observed through on-line verbal reports. Then the effects of idiom type, learners' proficiency level and supportive context were investigated.Sixty-one advanced English learners and sixty-one intermediate English learners participated in the investigation. Among them thirty-one advanced learners and thirty intermediate learners took the idiom comprehension test, in which they were required to give the meaning of twenty-five English color idioms, five for each of the five identified idiom types. Four advanced students and four intermediated students were selected from those who did not take the comprehension test to participate in a think-aloud task in which they were required to verbalize their thoughts when comprehending 15 English color idioms. The results of the comprehension test were subject to statistical analysis, and the on-line verbal reports were analyzed qualitatively.It was found that different types of idioms generally pose different degrees of difficulties on learners. The existence of shared cultural connotation between L1 and L2 makes the greatest difference in the degrees of difficulty. Idioms with shared connotations were much easier than those without shared connotations. Proficiency level generally does not play a significant role in either the idiom comprehension test or the strategy choice in on-line processing. Yet advanced learners generally outperform intermediate learners by drawing upon more proper types of knowledge or by making better use of the contextual clues.The findings of the study revealed that the comprehension of L2 color idiom is generally a heuristic process in which learners employ different strategies in a"trial-and-error" manner. However, the comprehension processes are influenced by the existence of shared cultural connotations, equivalent linguistic forms. Learners' preferences of comprehension strategies also differ with proficiency levels. A tentative model of L2 color idiom comprehension is proposed to describe the general pattern of behaviour that learners tend to follow in comprehending L2 color idioms.