TEACHING BUSINESS IDIOMS IN EFL CONTEXTS: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF LEARNER COMPREHENSION AND USAGE
Keywords:
business idioms; EFL; idiomatic competence; experimental study; language teaching; business English; communicative approachAbstract
The mastery of idiomatic expressions represents a critical component of communicative competence in English, particularly within business contexts where figurative language is frequently employed to convey complex ideas efficiently. However, for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), idiomatic expressions pose significant challenges due to their non-literal meanings and cultural specificity. This study investigates the effectiveness of explicit instruction in teaching business idioms to EFL learners through a controlled experimental design. The research involved 40 intermediate-level students divided into experimental and control groups. Over a four-week instructional period, the experimental group received targeted instruction on business idioms, including contextualized practice and communicative tasks, while the control group followed a standard curriculum. Pre-test and post-test assessments were used to measure improvements in comprehension and usage. The results indicate a statistically significant improvement in the experimental group, particularly in productive use and contextual understanding of idiomatic expressions. The findings highlight the importance of integrating idiomatic competence into EFL pedagogy and suggest that explicit, context-based instruction can substantially enhance learners’ professional communication skills. The study contributes to both applied linguistics and language pedagogy by providing empirical evidence for effective teaching strategies in business English contexts.
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