INCORPORATING A COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF A SELECTION OF FIGURATIVE IDIOMS IN EFL CONTEXT

Abstract: Prodromou (2003: 43) states that “the way for a student of English to become more fluent in the language is not only to have a good command of grammar and vocabulary but also a good command of the ‘idiom principle’ and there is “the need for idiomatic competence is precisely what linguists propose for the non-native speakerâ€. In addition, research shows that idioms are among the biggest challenge for EFL/ESL learners. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on ways to deal with a selection of figurative idioms by employing a CL perspective and to suggest some pedagogical implications. The paper attempts to examine a small number of Vietnamese EFL learners in the use of a non CL and a CL activity to evaluate its effectiveness and learning gains. The results could be used to further explore the use of CL to the teaching of idioms.Key words: cognitive linguistics, figurative idioms, corporaÂ

INCORPORATING A COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF A SELECTION OF FIGURATIVE IDIOMS IN EFL CONTEXT

Prodromou (2003: 43) states that “the way for a student of English to become more fluent in the language is not only to have a good command of grammar and vocabulary but also a good command of the ‘idiom principle’ and there is “the need for idiomatic competence is precisely what linguists propose for the non-native speaker”. In addition, research shows that idioms are among the biggest challenge for EFL/ESL learners. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on ways to deal with a selection of figurative idioms by employing a CL perspective and to suggest some pedagogical implications. The paper attempts to examine a small number of Vietnamese EFL learners in the use of a non CL and a CL activity to evaluate its effectiveness and learning gains. The results could be used to further explore the use of CL to the teaching of idioms

An Son and the Neolithic of Southern Vietnam

Between 4500 and 3500 years ago, partially intrusive Neolithic populations in the riverine basins of mainland Southeast Asia began to form mounded settlements and to develop economies based on rice cultivation, fishing, hunting, and the domestication of animals, especially pigs and dogs. A number of these sites have been excavated in recent years and they are often large mounds that can attain several meters in depth, comprising successive layers of alluvial soil brought in periodically to serve as living floors. The site of An Son is of this type and lies in a small valley immediately north of the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. Excavated on five occasions since 1978, and most recently in 2009, it was occupied from the late third into the late second millennium b.c. An Son has produced evidence that attests the domestication of pigs and dogs in all layers apart (perhaps) from the most basal one, which was not investigated in 2009, together with the growing of rice of the subspecies Oryza sativa japonica, of Chinese Neolithic origin. The oldest pottery has simple incised and punctate zoned decoration with parallels in central Thailand, especially in the basal phases at Nong Nor and Khok Phanom Di. From its middle and later occupation phases (1800–1200 b.c.), An Son has produced a number of supine extended burials with finely decorated pottery grave goods that carry some unique forms, especially vessels with wavy or serrated rims. The An Son burials represent a Neolithic population that expressed a mixture of both indigenous Hoabinhian and more northerly (probably Neolithic southern Chinese) cranial and dental phenotypes, perhaps representing a likely ancestral population for some of the modern Austroasiatic speaking populations of mainland Southeast Asia

Electric Field-Enhanced Electrohydrodynamic Process For Fabrication of Highly Sensitive Piezoelectric Sensor

We introduce the use of a 55° chamfered nozzle in an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) system to control single-jet mode’s stability and enhance the product’s quality. This nozzle can reduce the critical voltage, broaden stable mode’s voltage range, and promote homogeneity in fabricated fibers. The findings demonstrated in generating highly uniform poly(vinylidene fluoride-cotrifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) fibers for a flexible piezoelectric sensor. Owing to the fibers’ excellent quality, the sensor shows high sensitivity and ability to detect the drops of a metal bead, or a water droplet from 20 cm height. This shows potential use of modified chamfered nozzle in practical EHD fabrication processes

An Sơn and the neolithic of southern Vietnam

Between 4500 and 3500 years ago, partially intrusive Neolithic populations in the riverine basins of mainland Southeast Asia began to form mounded settlements and to develop economies based on rice cultivation, fishing, hunting, and the domestication of animals, especially pigs and dogs. A number of these sites have been excavated in recent years and they are often large mounds that can attain several meters in depth, comprising successive layers of alluvial soil brought in periodically to serve as living floors. The site of An Son is of this type and lies in a small valley immediately north of the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. Excavated on five occasions since 1978, and most recently in 2009, it was occupied from the late third into the late second millennium b.c . An Son has produced evidence that attests the domestication of pigs and dogs in all layers apart (perhaps) from the most basal one, which was not investigated in 2009, together with the growing of rice of the subspecies Oryza sativa japonica, of Chinese Neolithic origin. The oldest pottery has simple incised and punctate zoned decoration with parallels in central Thailand, especially in the basal phases at Nong Nor and Khok Phanom Di. From its middle and later occupation phases (1800–1200 b.c .), An Son has produced a number of supine extended burials with finely decorated pottery grave goods that carry some unique forms, especially vessels with wavy or serrated rims. The An Son burials represent a Neolithic population that expressed a mixture of both indigenous Hoabinhian and more northerly (probably Neolithic southern Chinese) cranial and dental phenotypes, perhaps representing a likely ancestral population for some of the modern Austroasiatic-speaking populations of mainland Southeast Asia

An Son and the neolithic of southern Vietnam

Between 4500 and 3500 years ago, partially intrusive Neolithic populations in the riverine basins of mainland Southeast Asia began to form mounded settlements and to develop economies based on rice cultivation, fishing, hunting, and the domestication of