The Conceptualization of English Phrasal Verbs by Greek Primary School Learners: An Empirical Cognitive Approach
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. The Study
2.1. Institution
2.2. Participants
2.3. Method: Materials
2.4. Types of Task
3. The Tasks
3.1. Task 1
3.2. Results and Instances of English Phrasal Verbs Tested in task 1
- He played poker and he has lost much money; his bad habits took him in.
- He works so hard; he earns enough money to take out anything he wishes.
3.2.1. Case 1: TAKE IN
3.2.2. Case 2: TAKE OUT
- 3.
- He works so hard; he earns enough money to take out anything he wishes.
3.3. Task 2
3.3.1. Results and Cases Analyzed in Task 2
- 4.
- Take off your sweater; it’s too hot in here.
- 5.
- This photo takes me back to the old days.
3.3.2. Case C: Take Off (The Containment Image Schema)
3.3.3. Case D: Take Back (The Similarity/Linkage/Proximity Image Schema)
4. Concluding Remarks
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
Dictionaries and Corpus
References
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SENTENCE | Ph. VERB | INTERPRETATIONS | CORRECT TARGET |
---|---|---|---|
I am really busy these days. I do not have time to do anything. The extra duties have taken up most of my time. | Take up | (a) To use up, consume, occupy (b) To develop an interest (c) To deal with (d) To absorb | To use up, consume, occupy |
Crops take up nutrients. | Take up | (a) To raise, lift (b) To deal with (c) To absorb (d) To enter into | To absorb |
Jane is such a good lawyer. She really managed to take down her opponent during the trial. | Take down | (a) To bring to a lower position from a higher one (b) To understand (c) To humiliate (d) To reduce in size | To humiliate |
In maths class the teacher told us to be careful. He asked us to take down all the important points. | Take down | (a) To bring to lower position from a higher one (b) To understand (c) To look at carefully (d) To write something in full details | To write something in full details |
I have asked my mum to take in this skirt; I have lost some weight recently. | Take in | (a) To reduce in size (b) To divide (c) To look at carefully (d) To accept | To reduce in size |
He speaks so fast. I can’t take anything in from him. | Take in | (a) To include (b) To understand (c) To look at/listen carefully (d) To accept | To understand |
He played poker and he has lost much money; his bad habits took him in. | Take in | (a) To reduce in size (b) To understand (c) To deceive (d) To convey a prisoner to a police station | To deceive |
He works so hard; he earns enough money to take out anything he wishes. | Take out | (a) To remove (b) To obtain (by legal, official processes) (c) To buy (d) To prevent from | To buy |
How did you take out your visa? I was trying for a month and I couldn’t do anything! | Take out | (a) To remove (b) To obtain (by legal, official processes) (c) To buy (d) To prevent from | To obtain by legal, official process |
It’s true that John likes you. Has he taken you out yet? | Take out | (a) To cause to leave (b) To remove (c) To make a date (d) To meet | To make a date |
The plane takes off at midnight. | Take off | (a) To remove (b) To begin a journey (c) To bring/take/pull something out (d) To fly for an aircraft | To fly for an aircraft |
Take off your jacket; it’s too hot in here. | Take off | (a) To remove (b) To prevent from (c) To reduce in size (d) To raise, lift | To remove |
You have been working so hard lately! You need to take some days off! | Take off | (a) To remove (b) To divide (c) To collect (d) To prevent from | To remove |
The fire took their house apart and they have no place to live. | Take apart | (a) To remove (b) To destroy (c) To divide (d) To kill | To destroy |
This was a very expensive vase! How did you take it apart? | Take apart | (a) To break (b) To destroy (c) To divide (d) To collect | To break |
We have recently lost our jobs and our apartment was taken apart when we had no money to pay the bills. | Take apart | (a) To break apart (b) To destroy (c) To divide (d) To analyze | To break apart |
Take back the box from the other room. | Take back | (a) To bring back, return (b) To withdraw (c) To move (d) To cause someone to remember the past | To move |
After what happened between them, he realized he was wrong and he decided to take back his words. | Take back | (a) To bring back, return (b) To resume a relationship after an interruption (c) To move (d) To cause somebody to remember the past | To resume a relationship after an interruption |
Jackson took on Jim in the ring. It was a fantastic fight! Jackson is a really good boxer. | Take on | (a) To face (b) To destroy (c) To meet (d) To play | To face |
I’ll take on this task, no matter how difficult it seems to be! | Take on | (a) To change (b) To accept as a challenge (c) To analyze (d) To play | To accept as a challenge |
Phrasal Verb. | Interpretations | Correct Interpretation |
---|---|---|
TAKE IN | (a) To deceive (b) To convey a prisoner to a police station (c) To reduce in size (d) To understand | (a) To deceive |
PERCENTAGES AND FREQUENCIES ON PARTICIPANTS’ RESPONSES | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phrasal verb | Context | |||||
Take in | He Played Poker and He Has Lost Much Money; His Bad Habits Took Him in. | |||||
SELECTIONS | ||||||
Correct Selection | Result % | Frequency | Incorrect Selections | Results % | Frequency | |
“To deceive” | 65% | 26 | “To convey a prisoner to a police station” | 27.5% | 11 | |
“To reduce in size” | 5% | 2 | ||||
“To understand” | 2.5% | 1 | ||||
Total number of responses: 40 |
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS & Chi-SQUARE TEST RESULTS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ENGLISH PHRASAL VERB TESTED | TAKE IN | ||||
CONTEXT: | He Played Poker and He Has Lost Much Money; His Bad Habits Took Him in. | ||||
TYPE OF TEST | Total | Expected Range | Total | Expected Range | Chi-Square Test: p Value |
TEST A: Correct vs. Incorrect Responses Compared | Correct Responses | Incorrect Responses | 0.057 | ||
26 | 20 | 14 | 20 | ||
TEST B: Correct vs. Incorrect Semantically Related Responses Compared | Correct Responses | Sem_Rel. Incorrect Responses | 0.013 | ||
26 | 18.5 | 11 | 18.5 |
Phrasal verb | Selections | Correct Selection |
---|---|---|
TAKE OUT | (a) To buy (b) To obtain (by legal/official processes) (c) To prevent from (d) To remove | (a) To buy |
PERCENTAGES AND FREQUENCIES ON PARTICIPANTS’ RESPONSES | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phrasal verb | Context | ||||
Take out | He Works So Hard; He Earns Enough Money to Take Out Anything He Wishes. | ||||
SELECTIONS | |||||
Correct Selection | Result % | Frequency | Incorrect Selections | Results % | Frequency |
“To buy” | 57.5% | 23 | “To obtain” (by legal, official processes) | 17.5% | 7 |
“To prevent from” | 17.5% | 7 | |||
“To remove” | 7.5% | 3 | |||
Total number of responses: 40 |
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS & Chi-SQUARE TEST RESULTS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ENGLISH PHRASAL VERB TESTED | TAKE OUT | ||||
CONTEXT | He Works So Hard; He Earns Enough Money to Take Out Anything He Wishes. | ||||
TYPE OF TEST | Total | Expected Range | Total | Expected Range | Chi-Square Test: p Value |
TEST A: Correct vs. Incorrect Responses Compared | Correct Responses | Incorrect Responses | 0.342 | ||
23 | 20 | 17 | 20 | ||
TEST B: Correct vs. Incorrect Semantically Related Responses Compared | Correct Responses | Sem_Rel. Incorrect Responses | 0.003 | ||
23 | 15 | 7 | 15 |
Please Read the Following Sentences. Choose Only One Picture That Represents the Correct Meaning of Phrasal Verbs with TAKE. | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
SENTENCES | ||||||
1. | Let’s take up where we left off. | |||||
2. | We were taken in by the challenging project. | |||||
3. | She took out $2.000 from her account. | |||||
4. | The old building was taken down from the neighborhood. | |||||
5. | Take offyour sweater; it’s too hot. | |||||
6. | My dad took in the three stray kittens. | |||||
7. | This photo takes me back to the old days. | |||||
9. | She took apart her husband and he filed for divorce. | |||||
10. | It’s true that John really likes you! Has he taken you out yet? | |||||
11. | The actors were taken off! Their film was a big success! | |||||
12. | It’s really bizarre! I’ve taken him after John! | |||||
13. | Takeback these boxes to the corner. | |||||
14. | Try to take the sentence apart and you will eventually get its meaning. | |||||
Thank you for your time!!! |
PERCENTAGES AND FREQUENCIES ON PARTICIPANTS’ RESPONSES | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phrasal verb | Sentence | ||||
Take off | Take Off Your Sweater; It’s Too Hot in Here! | ||||
SELECTIONS | |||||
Correct Selection | Result % | Frequency | Incorrect Selections | Results % | Frequency |
CONTAINMENT image schema (Entity moving out of a container) | 86.1% | 31 | SIMILARITY/LINKAGE/PROXIMITY image schema | 5.5% | 2 |
FORCE/SCALARITY image schema | 2.7% | 1 | |||
SEPARATION image schema | 2.7% | 1 | |||
PART-WHOLE image schema | 2.7% | 1 | |||
INCLUSION image schema | 0% | 0 | |||
BACK ORIENTATION image schema | 0% | 0 | |||
Total number of responses: 36 |
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS & Chi-SQUARE TEST RESULTS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ENGLISH PHRASAL VERB TESTED | Take Off | ||||
SENTENCE: | Take Off Your Sweater; It’s Too Hot in Here! | ||||
Total | Expected Range | Total | Expected Range | Chi-Square Test: p Value | |
Correct vs. Incorrect Responses Compared | Correct Responses | Incorrect Responses | 0.468 | ||
31 | 18 | 5 | 18 |
PERCENTAGES & FREQUENCIES ON PARTICIPANTS’ RESPONSES | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phrasal verb | Sentence | ||||
Take back | This Photo Takes Me Back to the Old Days. | ||||
SELECTIONS | |||||
Correct Selection | Result % | Frequency | Incorrect Selections | Results % | Frequencies |
SIMILARITY/LINKAGE/PROXIMITY image schema | 47.2% | 17 | CONTAINMENT image schema | 25% | 9 |
FORCE/SCALARITY image schema | 8.3% | 3 | |||
INCLUSION image schema | 8.3% | 3 | |||
BACK-ORIENTATION image schema | 8.3% | 3 | |||
SEPARATION image schema | 2.7% | 1 | |||
PART-WHOLE image schema | 0% | 0 | |||
Total number of frequencies: 36 |
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS & Chi-SQUARE TEST RESULTS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ENGLISH PHRASAL VERB TESTED | Take back | ||||
SENTENCE: | This Photo Takes Me Back to the Old Days. | ||||
Total | Expected Range | Total | Expected Range | Chi-Square Test: p Value | |
Correct vs. Incorrect Responses Compared | Correct Responses | Incorrect Responses | 0.738 | ||
17 | 18 | 19 | 18 |
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Share and Cite
Tsaroucha, E. The Conceptualization of English Phrasal Verbs by Greek Primary School Learners: An Empirical Cognitive Approach. Languages 2019, 4, 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4030051
Tsaroucha E. The Conceptualization of English Phrasal Verbs by Greek Primary School Learners: An Empirical Cognitive Approach. Languages. 2019; 4(3):51. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4030051
Chicago/Turabian StyleTsaroucha, Efthymia. 2019. "The Conceptualization of English Phrasal Verbs by Greek Primary School Learners: An Empirical Cognitive Approach" Languages 4, no. 3: 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4030051