An Investigation of Thai University EFL Students’ Ability to Notice English Idiomatic Expressions

Abstract

The main aims of this research were to investigate Thai EFL students’ level of ability to notice English idiomatic expressions and variations in their ability to notice the idioms in terms of idiom types, academic disciplines, and perceptions towards their idiom noticing ability. The participants were 162 English as a foreign language students (99 females, 63 males) selected through a purposive sampling method from a university in Northeastern Thailand. The data was collected through an Idiom Noticing and Identifying Test. The results revealed that the students had a low level of ability to notice English idiomatic expressions. The type of idioms the students had reported as the most noticed were transparent idioms, and the opaque idioms as the least noticed. The students were not different in their ability to notice idiomatic expressions regarding their academic disciplines, and they were not sure about the idiomaticity of the idioms they claimed to have noticed.