Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Research orientation 1
1.2 English verbal idioms:The object of research 2
1.3 Rationale 4
1.4 Key research questions 9
1.5 Organization of the dissertation 9
Chapter 2 Idiom Processing in L2 Reading:Issues,Studies,and Problems 11
2.1 English verbal idioms 12
2.1.1 Defining"idiom" 12
2.1.2 Classification of idioms 13
2.1.3 English verbal idioms 15
2.1.4 Cross-linguistic studies of idioms 16
2.1.5 Classification of English verbal idioms in the present study 23
2.2 Previous research on idiom processing 26
2.2.1 Lower-level and higher-level processing in L2 reading 27
2.2.2 Lower-level processing of idioms in L2 reading—Idiom recognition 27
2.2.3 Higher-level processing of idioms in reading—Idiom comprehension 45
2.3 Summary 63
Chapter 3 Predictions on L2 Learners'Processing of Unfamiliar Idioms in Reading 65
3.1 Operationalizing"idiom processing" 65
3.1.1 Operationalizing"idiom recognition" 66
3.1.2 Operationalizing"idiom comprehension" 67
3.2 Predictions on L2 learners'processing of idioms in reading 68
3.2.1 Effect of idiom type 68
3.2.2 Effect of proficiency level 72
3.3 Research hypotheses 74
3.4 Summary 77
Chapter 4 Methodology 79
4.1 Study 1 80
4.1.1 Participants 81
4.1.2 Instrumentation 84
4.1.3 The computerized idiom recognition task 95
4.1.4 Data analysis 102
4.2 Study 2 102
4.2.1 Participants 103
4.2.2 Instrumentation 104
4.2.3 The computerized idiom comprehension task 104
4.2.4 Data analysis 106
4.3 Study 3 106
4.3.1 Participants 106
4.3.2 The think-aloud procedures 108
4.4 Summary 114
Chapter 5 Results and Analysis 115
5.1 Recognition of idioms in reading 116
5.1.1 Recognition of unfamiliar words vs.unfamiliar idioms in reading 116
5.1.2 Effect of idiom type on L2 learners'recognition of idioms 121
5.1.3 Proficiency effect on L2 learners'recognition of idioms in reading 129
5.1.4 Summary of the results relating to idiom recognition in reading 133
5.2 Comprehension of idioms in reading 134
5.2.1 Effect of idiom type on comprehension 134
5.2.2 Proficiency effect on L2 learners'idiom comprehension 137
5.2.3 Summary of the results on idiom comprehension in reading 140
5.3 Comprehension processes of idioms by L2 learners in reading 140
5.3.1 L2 learners'comprehension of English idioms in reading 141
5.3.2 Comprehension processes of idioms by L2 learners in reading 142
5.3.3 Summary of the results of the think-aloud task 161
5.4 Summary 162
Chapter 6 General Discussions 165
6.1 Characteristics of L2 learners'processing of unfamiliar English verbal idioms in reading 165
6.1.1 Lower-level processing of idioms in reading 166
6.1.2 Higher-level processing of idioms in reading 180
6.2 The Decomposition-Context Resonant(DCR)Model—An interpretative framework of L2 learners'processing of unfamiliar English verbal idioms in reading 189
6.3 Food for thought 197
6.4 Summary 200
Chapter 7 Conclusion 203
7.1 A recapitulation of the major findings 203
7.2 Implications 206
7.2.1 Implications for L2 idiom processing research 206
7.2.2 Implications for L2 idiom instruction 207
7.3 Limitations of the current study and suggestions for future research 209
Bibliography 213
Appendix 1 Idiom decomposition judgment test 229
Appendix 2 The target idioms and their meaning 235
Appendix 3 A survey of Chinese EFL learners'learning of English idioms 239
Appendix 4 The vocabulary size test and the answers 243
Appendix 5 The reading proficiency test and the answers 251
Appendix 6 The idiom knowledge test 269
Appendix 7 Target vignettes,comprehension tasks,and glossaries 273
Appendix 8 Distracter vignettes,comprehension tasks,and glossaries 299
Appendix 9 Instructions for the idiom recognition task 307
Appendix 10 Instructions for the idiom comprehension task 311
Appendix 11 Instructions for the think-aloud task 313
Appendix 12 The idioms used in the think-aloud task 315
Appendix 13 Lookup times for each idiom in the Computerized Idiom Recognition Task 317
Appendix 14 Lookup times for each target word in the Computerized Idiom Recognition Task 319
后记 321
Table 2.1 Comparison of idioms in two languages:Degrees of similarity 19
Table 2.2 A summary of the classification scheme of English verbal idioms 26
Table 4.1 The number of idioms in each subcategory for the two sessions 82
Table 4.2 Grouping of participants based on years of L2 English learning and scores on English Vocabulary Size Test 83
Table 4.3 Independent samples t-test of reading proficiency scores 84
Table 4.4 Classification of verbal idioms in the present study 86
Table 4.5 Descriptive statistics of the vignettes 91
Table 4.6 Lengths of distracter vignettes 92
Table 4.7 A sample of the results screen 100
Table 4.8 Grouping of participants based on years of L2 English learning and scores on English Vocabulary Size Test 104
Table 4.9 Independent samples t-test of reading proficiency scores 104
Table 4.10 Grouping of participants based on years of L2 English learning and scores on English Vocabulary Size Test 107
Table 4.11 Independent samples t-test of reading proficiency scores 107
Table 5.1 Paired samples t-test of lookup times between the target idioms and words(all participants) 117
Table 5.2 Paired samples t-test of lookup times between the target idioms and words(the Intermediate group) 118
Table 5.3 Paired samples t-test of lookup times between the target idioms and words(the Upper-Intermediate group) 118
Table 5.4 Results of Wilcoxon Test(the Intermediate group) 119
Table 5.5 Results of Wilcoxon Test(the Upper-Intermediate group) 119
Table 5.6 A summary of lookup times for each idiom type 122
Table 5.7 Pairwise comparisons of the mean differences between types(all participants) 124
Table 5.8 Pairwise comparisons of the mean differences between types(the Intermediate group) 124
Table 5.9 Pairwise comparisons of the mean differences between types(the Upper-Intermediate group) 124
Table 5.10 Mean times of idiom lookups of each sub-type across both L2 groups 126
Table 5.11 Effects of the degree of L1-L2 similarity and fixedness on lookup behavior(the Intermediate group) 128
Table 5.12 Effects of the degree of L1-L2 similarity and fixedness on lookup behavior(the Upper-Intermediate group) 128
Table 5.13 Mean times of lookups for different idiom types 130
Table 5.14 Effects of the degree of L1-L2 similarity and proficiency on idiom recognition 130
Table 5.15 T-tests for means on different idiom types 131
Table 5.16 Mean comprehension scores of different idiom types for both L2 groups 135
Table 5.17 Mean differences between types(the Intermediate group) 136
Table 5.18 Mean differences between types(the Upper-Intermediate group) 136
Table 5.19 Descriptive statistics of the learners'idiom comprehension scores 138
Table 5.20 Effects of idiom type and proficiency on the comprehension task 138
Table 5.21 T-tests for mean scores on different idiom types between the two L2 groups 139
Table 5.22 Correct comprehension of idioms in the think-aloud task by two L2 groups 141
Table 5.23 Strategies by frequency of use 150
Table 5.24 Strategy use by the Intermediate group 153
Table 5.25 Strategy use by the Upper-Intermediate group 154
Table 5.26 Frequency of effective strategies in the think-aloud task 155
Figure 2.1 The Conceptual-Semantic Image(CSI)Distance 18
Figure 2.2 Lexical comprehension/production model for oral and written modalities 36
Figure 5.1 Lookup times of words and idioms for both L2 groups 120
Figure 5.2 Mean frequency of lookup times for each idiom type across both L2 groups 123
Figure 5.3 Lookup times for idioms of different categories 127
Figure 5.4 Means plot of lookup times for different idiom types across both L2 groups 132
Figure 5.5 Strategy use and idiom type 151
Figure 5.6 Effective strategies used for each idiom type 156
Figure 5.7 Frequency of effective strategies used by the two L2 groups 158