The Effectiveness of Using Corpus-Based Activities on the Learning of Some Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs

ABSTRACT

This empirical study investigates the effectiveness of using corpus-based activities on 70 Turkish upper-intermediate level teacher candidates’ learning of 40 phrasal-prepositional verbs, verb + particle + preposition combinations. The purpose of the study is to determine whether six-hour instruction via corpus-based activities is effective with (a) helping the students recognize and understand the form of the verbs, (b) helping the students understand the metaphorical meanings of these structures, and (c) helping the students construct the correct forms of the verbs in order to use them while paraphrasing sentences. Three tests were administered to the students, and the results revealed that the students were able to recognize and understand the form of those verbs and construct the correct forms of them in order to use them while paraphrasing sentences after six-hour teaching via corpus-based activities. However, it was found that six-hour instruction via corpus-based activities was not effective with helping the students understand the metaphorical meanings of those structures.