Phrasal verb avoidance among Saudi secondary school students

Abstract

The use of phrasal verbs (PVs) by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) has been researched widely, yet there is a dearth of research on how EFL learners avoid using PVs with respect to receptive and productive knowledge. This study explored the avoidance of PVs by 100 Saudi secondary school students using receptive and productive tests for data collection. It also examined whether there was a difference between the students’ avoidance with respect to receptive and productive knowledge. The findings revealed that the participants avoided using PVs and their level of avoidance in the productive test was significantly higher than in the receptive test. This study concludes with pedagogical implications recommending explicit teaching of PVs in EFL classrooms.