THE EFFECT OF CONTEXT AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY LEVEL ON YOUNG EFL LEARNERS PROCESSING OF ENGLISH IDIOMS

Idioms are the most vital parts of every human language, because speakers can express their feelings and experiences better through figurative expressions. They are used to give life and richness to the language, by taking the existing words, combining them in a new sense, and creating new meanings, just like a work of art [1-3]. Though many L2 studies have explored the development of figurative language competence and the strategies employed during idiom interpretation, few studies have examined the relationship between idiom processing and L2 learners' reading comprehension in consonance with their level of language proficiency. This paper reports on a one-year study that aimed at investigating the development of young learners’ reading competence in relation to comprehending idioms. A total of 50 young EFL students aged 10 to 12 years old took part in the study. The findings of the study could provide practical guidance to EFL instructors, material developers and test designers with regard to the type of reading comprehension strategies EFL learners employ when exposed to idioms while learning English as a Foreign Language.