Abstract:

Each CEFR level is characterized by a number of features that help teachers and learners determine a proficiency level that language users have achieved. While lower levels in the vocabulary range scale expect target language learners to use a basic repertoire of words and phrases, higher levels users are anticipated to employ idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms both passively (in listening and reading) and actively (in speaking and writing). The vocabulary control scale at level C1 concerns the learners’ ability to use less common vocabulary idiomatically and appropriately (CEFR/CV, 2020),

Extending the meaning of words by using them idiomatically is one of the ways in which language develops more sophisticated, abstract concepts. Figurative language is used to bring out some point of similarity between otherwise unlike. It is used to reveal as exactly as possible what the thing described is like. Idiomatic expressions commonly demand closer reading or listening and imaginative input.

The study explores the effect of introducing contemporary literary prose in teaching English idiomatic expressions with different degrees of transparency from the almost literal through the semi-literal to the totally obscure. As these expressions are more frequently used in informal spoken language (with an interpersonal function), the students were expected to analyse mainly the speeches of characters to list idiomatic expressions in line with the chosen classification framework. Qualitative research was accompanied by quantitative analyses of excerpted samples in line with national corpora. All the relevant data will be presented, analyzed, synthesized and evaluated.

The appropriate use and interpretation of multi-word lexical items by non-native speakers is a sign of their proficiency. The activity was accompanied by a survey in which university students evaluated their proficiency level providing evidence on their passive and active vocabulary concerning multi-word lexical items. Using a Likert scale, the approach to learning multi-word lexical items by excerpting them from authentic material will be presented and analyzed in the article.

Keywords:

Multi-word lexical items, authentic material, degrees of transparency, analyses of characters’ speeches.