a study of phrasal verb preference by thai efl learners

A STUDY OF PHRASAL VERB PREFERENCE

BY THAI EFL LEARNERS

BY

MR. THONGCHAI BOONGTONG

AN INDEPENDENT STUDY PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF MASTER OF ARTS IN

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2015

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

A STUDY OF PHRASAL VERB PREFERENCE BY THAI

EFL LEARNERS

BY

MR. THONGCHAI BOONGTONG

AN INDEPENDENT STUDY PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF MASTER OF ARTS IN

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2015

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

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Independent Study Paper Title A Study of Phrasal Verb Preference by Thai

EFL Learners

Author Mr. Thongchai Boongtong

Degree Master of Arts

Major Field/Faculty/University Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Language Institute

Thammasat University

Independent Study Paper Advisor Assoc. Prof. Pornsiri Singhapreecha, Ph.D.

Academic Years 2015

ABSTRACT

Having been inspired by previous research on phrasal verb avoidance in

Chinese learners of English (Liao and Fukuya, 2004), this study investigated Thai

learners’ preference of English phrasal verbs, in comparison with the single verb

counterparts. In addition, it examined if proficiency level affected the learners’

choices. Ten phrasal and single verb counterparts were adopted from Liao and

Fukuya’s research (2004). The phrasal verb test sentences were largely similar to

those of Liao and Fukuya’s while the single verbs were embedded in newly

constructed contexts. Attempts were made to maintain degrees of informality across

the phrasal and single verb contexts. In total, forty four test items (i.e. 10 phrasal verb

targets, 10 single verb targets, and 24 filler sentences) were used to elicit the learners’

preference. Thirty Thai students of different proficiency levels, i.e. beginning (15),

intermediate (8) and upper intermediate (7), participated.

The study employed the acceptability judgment task, unlike that of Liao and

Fukuya. The researcher asked the participants to rate their acceptability of the

individual sentences on a five point scale (between -2 and +2). Data revealed different

patterns for different proficiency groups. Firstly, the beginners preferred the phrasal

verbs to the single verbs (0.7 vs. 0.4). Secondly, the intermediate learners preferred

the single verbs to the phrasal verbs (0.4 vs. 0.6). Thirdly, the upper intermediate

learners preferred both types equally (1.1 and 1.1). It can be concluded that across the

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groups the Thai learners favored phrasal verbs to a large extent, and proficiency

affected phrasal verb preference only with the intermediate level.

Unlike the lowest proficiency group in Liao and Fukuya’s study (2004) which

preferred single verbs more than phrasal verbs, the beginning L2 learners in this study

preferred phrasal verbs at a higher rate than they did the single verb counterparts.

Thus, at an early stage of L2 acquisition, phrasal verbs could be a preference. The

results may not lend support to the avoidance issue, as both the beginning and upper

intermediate learners remarkably accepted phrasal verbs. The study, alternatively,

suggests input, as another attributing factor.

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AKNOWLEDGMENTS

I have many people to thank who all had a hand in helping me carry out this

study.

I am grateful to my adviser, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pornsiri Singhapreecha for her

valuable time, constant encouragement, and useful advice. It would not have been

accomplished without her kind support.

I would like to thank Ajarn Dr. Upsorn Tawilapakul who provided such

valuable comments for further improvement.

I always thank Narisa Imprasert, a nice classmate from TEFL #17 and Sean

Mulvihil, a kind reviewer from ELT #1 who helped review the questionnaire of this

study.

I also want to express my gratitude to all LITU teachers and staffs for their

dedication.

To my friends in the last batch of TEFL 17, I thank for you guys’ assistance

and love.

Dear my family, I can make it through because of your ultimate love.

Thammasat University Thongchai Boongtong

Bangkok, Thailand June 2016

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

ABSTRACT (1)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (3)

TABLE OF CONTENTS (4)

LIST OF TABLES (6)

LIST OF FIGURES (7)

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Research Questions 2

1.3 Objectives of Study 2

1.4 Definitions of Terms 3

1.5 Scope of the Study 3

1.6 Significance of the Study 3

1.7 Limitations of the Study 4

1.8 Organization of the Study 4

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 5

2.1 Overview of Avoidance Phenomenon 5

2.2 Definition of Phrasal Verbs in English 5

2.3 Syntactic Structure of Phrasal Verbs 6

2.4 Previous Study in Avoidance of English Phrasal Verbs

and Effects of Language Proficiency 8

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 11

3.1 Materials 11

3.2 Target Phrasal Verbs and Their Counterparts 12

3.3 Participants 13

3.4 Procedures 13

3.5 Data Analysis 14

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 15

4.1 Proficiency Levels of Participants 15

4.2 Average Preference of Phrasal Verbs versus

Single Verbs across Three Groups 15

4.3 Phrasal Verb Preference among Beginners 17

4.4 Phrasal Verb Preference among Intermediate Learners 19

4.5 Phrasal Verb Preference among Upper Intermediate

Learners 21

4.6 Thai Learners’ Phrasal Verb Preference and

English Proficiency 24

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION AND

REOMMENDATIONS 25

5.1 Summary of the Study 25

5.2 Summary of the Findings 25

5.3 Conclusion and Discussion 26

5.4 Pedagogical Implications 27

5.5 Recommendations for Further Study 27

REFERENCES 29

APPENDIX A 31

APPENDIX B 33

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LIST OF TABLES

TABLES PAGE

Table 1: Target Phrasal Verbs and Their Single Verb Counterparts 12

Table 2: No. of the participants in each level 15

Table 3: Average Preference Rates of PVs and SVs across Three Groups 16

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURES PAGE

Figure 1. Average Preference Rates of Single Verbs and

Phrasal Verbs across Three Groups 16

Figure 2: Average Preference Rates between Single Verbs and

Phrasal Verbs among Beginning Learners 17


Phrasal Verbs among Intermediate Learners 20


Phrasal Verbs among Advanced Learners 22

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

Thai EFL learners commonly confront incomprehensible structures and

vocabulary. Teachers have found it even worse when second language (L2) learners

ignore overcoming such problems and leave their ignorance behind. In many cases

they are prone to avoid using those difficult structures and generate the sentences

from their own understanding which sometimes sounds unnatural. This study selected

one feature relating to multiple lexical items in English known as phrasal verbs for an

investigation. Phrasal verbs (PVs) come up frequently in all types of perception and

production, i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing. There has been a growing

interest in the investigation of PVs in EFL learners (Folse, 2004: Laufer, 1997).

Furthermore, Cornell (1985) also argues that the PVs appear in all registers, from the

real informal level, such as, street slang to the most academic forms of the language.

Therefore, understanding their structures and meanings could lead Thai EFL learners

to comprehend natural English better.

Most EFL learners share similar problems in acquiring some aspects of the

target language which consequently leads to incomprehension. Celce-Murcia and

Larsen-Freeman (1999) remark that EFL learners whose L1s (e.g. Chinese, Korean,

and Hebrew) do not have PVs are more likely to experience difficulty with English

PVs, and avoid using them. Language avoidance is commonly attributed to learners’

limitations of knowledge of a particular form. In this situation, as Laufer (2000) notes,

they may substitute the form they are not sure about for a less difficult form or word

to reduce errors.

One significant factor that has been assumed to influence L2 learners to resort

to avoidance strategies is their language proficiency (Liao and Fukuya, 2004). They

found PVs to be influenced by proficiency, as data from the intermediate participants

suggest. Based on the findings, participants at the intermediate level, (the lowest

proficiency in their study), avoided producing PVs whereas the advanced learners did

not.

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Inspired by the avoidance issue, this study chose one of the hard-to-understand

aspects, i.e. phrasal verbs of English, as a basis for the investigation. It examined

whether or not Thai learners preferred phrasal verbs to single verbs. As briefly noted,

phrasal verbs appear in many types of input such as newspapers, novels, text books,

academic journals, TV news, and songs. Some examples of PVs that the learners may

have a chance to experience are below:

“But you didn't have to cut me off

Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing.

And I don't even need your love

But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough” (Somebody that I

used to know, Gotye feat.Kimbra)

From the excerpted lyrics above, some PVs such as make out can often be

heard in English songs. If the learners listen to English songs regularly, they have

already been exposed to such phrasal verbs. Also, the PVs can appear in daily

newspapers we read. The example below is a headline obtained from the Bangkok

Post, where called for, a phrasal verb, is used.

“PHNOM PENH -- A Cambodian court on Tuesday jailed a university

student for 18 months for inciting crimes in an anti-government Facebook post that

called for regime change.” (Bangkok Post, 2015)

By skimming through a newspaper, learners encounter a variety of PVs.

Presumably, a lack of knowledge and understanding would cause them not to want to

use these kinds of verbs and even prevent them from reading further.

In addition to acquiring phrasal verb preference data, pedagogically, the study

will benefit ELT. The findings of this study will inform ELT practitioners of how to

develop materials to enhance their students’ use of phrasal verbs in daily English

language-related situations.

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.2.1 To what extent do Thai learners prefer English phrasal verbs?

1.2.2 Does English proficiency affect phrasal verb usage?

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

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1.3.1 To raise the awareness of Thai EFL teachers the importance of phrasal

verbs which have been encountered regularly by the students. The findings will

reveal if Thai EFL learners avoid using phrasal verbs or not.

1.3.2 To help Thai EFL teachers apply the findings from this study to their

lessons with a hope that the English course would be better designed.

1.3.3 To promote the teaching of phrasal verbs intensively so that the

students would be familiarized with these kinds of verbs.

1.4 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Phrasal verb (s) or PV(s) is a verb that combines with a particle such as an

adverb and preposition or both. A new combination results in a meaning, different

from those of the originals.

Single verb (s) or SV(s) is a verb that has no particle.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the use of phrasal verbs among Thai students. The set

of phrasal verbs and single verb counterparts is restricted to a set selected from a

larger set in Liao and Fukuya (2004). According to them, they are regularly used in

real speech and general conversations. Participants’ preferences of phrasal and single

verbs were determined by means of a plausibility rating test (adapted from that of

Wang’s (2014).

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings will contribute to the literature on L2 acquisition of phrasal verbs

and pedagogy.

1.6.1. By means of the plausibility rating test, the extent to which L2 learners

prefer phrasal verbs in relation to single verb counterparts will be revealed.

1.6.2. As the study employed learners’ proficiency, the study can answer the

question as to whether proficiency affects phrasal verb preference, an aspect that

requires substantiation in the literature.

1.6.3. The results will indicate how well Thai EFL learners understand English

phrasal verbs. Material developers including Thai teachers in general can use the

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findings to readjust their lessons, such as adding extra lessons or exercises related to

phrasal verbs.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

In constructing sentences containing single verb counterparts of the chosen

phrasal verbs, the researcher attempted to maintain degrees of informality to be

compatible with those in the phrasal verb sentences. The resulting contexts of the

single verbs, which have been checked by a native speaker, can be considered

analogous in informality, despite meaning differences.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

The remaining part of this study is organized as follows. Chapter two

describes the review of literature and relevant research. Chapter three describes the

research methodology, i.e. materials, target phrasal verbs and their counterparts,

participants, procedures and data analysis. Chapter four reports the results of this

study. Chapter five consists of the summary of the study, the summary of the findings,

discussion, conclusion, pedagogical implications, and recommendations for future

research.

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents the issue of language avoidance, the definition of phrasal

verbs, the syntactic structures of English phrasal verbs, and the avoidance of phrasal

verbs in relation to English proficiency.

2.1 OVERVIEW OF AVOIDANCE PHENOMENON

According to (Tiamtawan, 2013), avoidance behavior is a phenomenon of

second language (L2) learners who avoid using a target language (TL) when they are

confronting the difficult or unfamiliar structure in the L2 as it does not occur in their

L1. In this respect, as Richard et al. (2002) remark, they would create a simpler

sentence or use the identical form that exists in their mother tongue for substitution.

Investigations on avoidance behaviors of second language learners in the 70’s

such as the studies by Schachter (1974) and Kleinmann (1977, 1978) have received a

lot of attention from many researchers. From Schachter’s point of view, studying

forms of a foreign language that learners tend to consistently avoid can yield a deeper

understanding of the learners’ knowledge. To know the reason behind avoidance

behavior, Schachter (1974) conducted an experiment with native speakers of Chinese,

Japanese, Persian and Arabian on their use of relative clauses. Errors made in their

composition, based on the contrastive analysis method, were analyzed and the results

significantly showed that the Chinese and Japanese produced English relative clauses

less frequently than the Persian and Arabian learners. Schachter (1974) concludes that

the students would avoid producing a particular construction in the target language if

they found that it was difficult to understand. She added that the previous transfer

studies were not able to explain the phenomenon of avoidance.

Kleinmann (1977, 1978) conducted experiments addressing EFL avoidance

strategies with native speakers of Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese. He found a

correlation between fluency of using L1 and various affective variables such as

confidence and the state of anxiety. In his study, the comprehension of using

grammatical structures, i.e. passive, present progressive, infinitive complements and

direct object pronouns, was administered, as a means to diagnose the occurrence of

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avoidance. Kleinmann’s findings support Schachter’s claim that the difference of L1

and L2 incurred avoidance. Although Kleinmann’s findings can be interpreted as

supporting differences between L1 and L2, those predicted by Contrastive Analysis,

Kleinmann himself addresses that affective states, i.e. confidence and facilitating

anxiety, have to be taken into consideration.1

Liao and Fukuya (2004) address the phenomenon of avoidance behaviors, the

issue initiated by Schachter (1974), in relation to some particular English structural

patterns of Chinese learners.2 They investigated the avoidance of using phrasal verbs

in Chinese learners and speculated that the original cause of this phenomenon was

interlanguage difference.

While acknowledging factors unrelated to L1 and L2 structural differences

proposed in recent studies as potential accounts, this study attempts to substantiate

research on phrasal verb avoidance. Methodologically, the multiple choice task in

Liao and Fukuya (2004) may not be able to capture precisely the picture of L2 phrasal

verb preference. The current study employed a refined methodology, by using a

plausibility scale. In addition, it utilized two versions, phrasal and single verb

counterparts as a means to investigate L2 learners’ avoidance. In particular, Thai

learners’ relative preferences of the two verb types were used as data toward this

objective.

2.2 DEFINITION OF PHRASAL VERBS IN ENGLISH

A phrasal verb is defined simply as a verb proper followed by an invariable

particle that functions as one unit in lexical and syntactic ways (Darwin & Gray,

1999; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik, 1985). There are many attempts to

classify phrasal verbs. Some regard their relationship among the verb proper and the

particle; others focus only on its meaning. According to Cornell (1985), the meaning

of phrasal verbs can be easily predicted if both elements are known. Also, most of the

1

Other factors that have been discussed, in relation to learners’ avoidance, in more recent studies

include L1 form, distribution, and function of the entity under investigation (Kamimoto et al, 1992) and

pragmatic differences (Li, 1996). 2

As Schacter (1974) remarks, the occurrence of avoidance behavior, a situation where similar forms or

ideas, generally simpler or easier, are produced by L2 learners, is worth an investigation.

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phrasal verbs are non-idiomatic. For example, the meaning of rush and steam are well

known by the learners. Thus, it is not difficult to guess the meaning of the phrasal

verb rush away and steam off.

Dagut and Laufer (1985) suggest three kinds of phrasal verbs as follows:

a) Literal – those phrasal verbs with a straightforward meaning according to

their components: go out, take away, come in, etc.

b) Figurative – those phrasal verbs creating a new meaning: turn up, let

down, etc.

c) Completive – those phrasal verbs which their particle describes the result

of the action: cut off, burn down, etc.

2.3 SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE OF PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verbs have the same function as other lexical verbs (Ju-Young, 2015).

That means they can be transitive or intransitive verbs. Transitive phrasal verbs, e.g.

turn on, call off, and turn off, take direct objects.

Intransitive phrasal verbs do not require any direct objects as we can see in

sentences like:

My car broke down.

Maria always gets up early.

However, some phrasal verbs can be used as both transitive and intransitive verbs,

as shown in the examples below.

The terrorists burned down many schools. (Transitive)

The fire in the school gradually burned down. (Intransitive)

Another unique syntactic property is that they can have both separable and

inseparable constructions. That means sometimes the particle can be separated from

the verb by the direct object and sometimes it cannot. One important point to note in

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mind is that when the direct object is a pronoun, it is necessary to separate the particle

from a verb, for example:

1. John throws away the ball.

2. John throws the ball away.

3. John throws it away.

4. *John throws away it.

The direct object the ball can be placed after the phrasal verb throws away, or it

can be inserted between the phrasal verb and its particle as shown in sentence 2.

When the direct object is a pronoun, it must be placed right after the verb. Sentences 3

and 4 illustrate grammaticality and ungrammaticality, with regard to pronoun

placement in relation to phrasal verbs. Note that an asterisk marks ungrammaticality.

On the other hand, some phrasal verbs do not allow the particles to be separated

from the verbs. When the two parts are intervened by a lexical noun phrase or a

pronoun, ungrammaticality arises, as sentences 5, 6, and 7 illustrate.

5. I came across a good article last night.

6. *I came a good article across last night.

7. *I came it across last night.

Apart from the specific features of the phrasal verbs above, Celce-Murcia and

Larsen-Freeman (1999) mention that some phrasal verbs require a specific

preposition, such as, check up on, look down on, keep up with, come up with. Thus,

the teachers should provide as many examples as possible to the students so that they

can become familiar with the phrasal verbs’ forms.

2.4 PREVIOUS STUDY IN AVOIDANCE OF ENGLISH PHRASAL

VERBS AND EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

Dagut and Laufer (1985) conducted their study with Israeli learners. They

studied the use of phrasal verbs that have no equivalent verb forms in Hebrew. The

study also focused on the avoidance of three types of phrasal verbs; literal, figurative

and completive. Three groups of participants of the study were drawn from advanced

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Hebrew learners. All groups were asked to do three tests, i.e. a multiple-choice test, a

translation test, and a verb-memorizing test. The result revealed that all the

participants largely avoided using figurative phrasal verbs, and preferred the one-

word verbs. Dagut and Laufer (1985) simply concluded that differences between L1

and L2 played a key role in avoidance behavior.

Hulstijn and Marchena (1989) conducted a study with learners of Dutch, a

language in which phrasal verbs exist. They found that the Dutch learners did not

avoid using the phrasal verbs. Regardless of the availability of phrasal verbs in Dutch,

they hypothesized that the Dutch learners would generate avoidance in term of

semantic reasons. Hulstijn and Marchena (1989) administered the same test forms

(multiple-choice, memorization and translation) to elicit the information from those

Dutch students. The participants were intermediate and advanced learners as they

wanted to see if high proficiency would affect the usage of avoidance or not. The data

showed that both groups did not avoid phrasal verbs. Hulstijn and Marchena (1989)

presented two interesting findings about avoidance. Firstly, the Dutch learners did not

avoid the phrasal verbs; instead they did avoid idiomatic phrasal verbs they found too

similar to their phrasal verbs in Dutch. This finding confirmed that both differences

and similarities between L1 and L2 can cause avoidance.

In addition to L2 learners’ lack of phrasal verb knowledge, some other factors

such as similarities and differences between L1 and L2 have been attributed to the

issue of avoidance. Moreover, some researchers claim that L2 learners’ proficiency

also plays a role. Results from Mattar’s (2003) experiment showed that less advanced

learners are more prone to rely on avoidance strategies. Mattar (2003) states that more

advanced participants are more competent, so they are more confident when they

communicate in L2. This observation is supported by the findings in Liao and Fukuya

(2004), which suggests avoidance of English PVs among Chinese learners.

Liao and Fukuya (2004) assume that the learners’ proficiency levels might

have an effect on their underproduction of the verbs. In their study, the participants

were divided into three groups according to their proficiency levels: native speakers

of English, advanced Chinese learners of English, and intermediate Chinese learners

of English. Based on the multiple choice test of their study, the intermediate learners

used PVs 45% of the time, the advanced learners 75% of the time, and the native

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speakers 84% of the time. Liao and Fukuya (2004) remark, based on the intermediate

learners’ data, that L2 learners avoid using PVs and prefer one-word verbs. Further

confirmation comes from the study of Pazhakh (2007), who proposes that the

avoidance aspect of L2 learners is influenced by their language proficiency. Having

examined avoidance strategies in Iranian EFL learners’ writing pieces, Pazhakh

(2007) found that participants with low proficiency were likely to employ avoidance

strategies more frequently than those with higher proficiency.

The relationship between language proficiency and the avoidance issue will be

discussed in relation to the study’s findings in chapter 5.

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes materials (3.1), a set of target phrasal verbs (3.2),

participants (3.4), procedures (3.5), and data analysis (3.6).

3.1 MATERIALS

The Michigan placement test was employed to categorize learners into

different levels, i.e. beginner, intermediate and upper intermediate.

In this study, the test of Liao and Fukuya (2004) which was used with Chinese

intermediate learners and advanced learners has been adapted. Instead of forming the

test in multiple choices as Liao and Fukuya, this study investigated only ten phrasal

verbs and their ten counterparts used in Liao and Fukuya’s experiment. A

questionnaire based upon this research was designed in the form of preferential

acceptability which required participants to rate their preference on a scale of

acceptability.

In the questionnaire, ten sentences were constructed based on ten phrasal verbs

and another ten were created based on ten single verbs. A single word verb sentence

has a phrasal verb counterpart.3 Apart from these 20 sentences, 24 filler sentences

have been produced in order to distract participants from being aware of the

questionnaire’s intent. The target sentences were placed randomly among the filler

sentences, e.g. those with unnatural readings or wrong lexical aspects of verbs. The

test has asked the participants to rate the acceptability of each verb in each sentence;

thereby their preference will be implied.

The test has been provided in two sets (set A and B) in order to ensure that the

ordering of items does not affect the participant’s judgments. Appendix A shows a list

3

In constructing the sentences containing the single verbs, attempts were made to maintain a certain

degree of informality, so that a single verb would be a chosen alternative. In (ia) and (ib) below, either

showed up or appeared may be used interchangeably.

(i) a. I didn’t expect to see Emily at the party. I was surprised when she showed up.

b. I was surprised when Mike appeared at the party last night. I thought he was on a business trip.

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of sentences with a PV and an SV. Sentences with a phrasal verb in set A appear in

no. 2, 6, 13, 18, 22, 28, 33, 36, 40, and 43, sentences with a phrasal verb in Set B

appear in no. 3, 4, 10, 11, 22, 34, 35, 38, 40 and 41.

In each item, the participants were asked to rate the acceptability of each

underlined verb or phrasal verb in that sentence based on a first-come-to-mind basis.

The acceptability is ranged from -2 to +2, whereas -2 represents completely

unacceptable and the +2 represents completely acceptable.

3.2 TARGET PHRASAL VERBS AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS

The study gathers ten phrasal verbs and their counterparts based on the

previous study of Liao and Fukuya (2004). The chosen phrasal verbs and their single

verb counterparts appear in Table 1 below.

A phrasal verb Its counterpart

Show up Appear

Show off Boast

Go off Explode

Let down Disappoint

Brush up on Improve

Make up Invent

Go away Leave

Run into Meet

Give in Surrender

Get up Wake

Table 1: Target Phrasal Verbs and Their Single Verb Counterparts

In the previous research of Liao and Fukuya (2004), the test was designed in

three formats: multiple-choice, translation and recall. Researchers then analyzed if a

specific kind of test affected the participants’ avoidance behavior of using phrasal

verbs or not. However, this research mainly assessed preferential degrees between

phrasal verbs and single verbs of Thai learners, by adapting phrasal verb and single

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verb stimuli in Liao and Fukuya’s (2004) study.4 In this research, these

aforementioned phrasal verbs were placed in newly constructed contexts and were

used as a means to check the learners’ preference as described earlier in the material

section.

3.3 PARTICIPANTS

Thirty Thai students participated in the acceptability judgment task. The

participants were divided into different groups, i.e. beginning, intermediate, and upper

intermediate, based on their scores of the Michigan placement test. Seven were

graduate students pursuing their master’s degrees. The remaining participants were

second year undergraduate students.

The graduate students’ group had been studying English for at least 15 years

or more before their participation. The rest of the participants, who had fewer than 15

years of English education, were studying in their second year of the undergraduate

level.

3.4 PROCEDURES

Firstly, all of the participants were asked to do a shorter version of the

Michigan Placement Test. The test paper consisted of 20 reading comprehension

items, and 30 items of vocabulary comprehension. Subsequently, all of them were

asked to do the acceptability test. There were 44 items in total in the acceptability test

paper.

The participants were divided into three different levels, based on their scores

on the Michigan Placement Test. Those with scores within the ranges of 6-19, 20-32,

and 33-46 were assigned beginning, intermediate, and upper intermediate groups,

respectively. The cut-off points were obtained by means of score tallying, which

revealed clear differences between groups. That is, there was a gap in scores between

beginning and intermediate, and intermediate and upper intermediate, respectively.

The target stimuli were checked by a native English speaking editor.

Essentially, the researcher’s aim was to maintain degrees of informality across the

4

Liao and Fukuya (2004) found that these phrasal verbs were chosen far more frequently than their

counterparts.

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phrasal verb and single verb versions. The editor was aware of this requirement and

undertook this task, accordingly.

Each participant spent approximately 15 minutes on the Michigan Placement

test and another 15 minutes on the acceptability judgment task. The participants were

asked to do the test chronologically without skipping any item or returning to change

the chosen answer.

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS

Scores from the participants’ acceptability ratings of the individual PVs and

their counterparts were recorded on a group by group basis. Furthermore, their overall

performance was summarized. The relevant steps were as follows:

3.4.1 Firstly, the score of each PV and SV, based on the participants’

responses, was entered in an Excel spread sheet. The average acceptance rate of each

PV and SV, per group, was obtained.

3.4.2 Within level, the average scores of the PVs and SVs were compared in

order to see the students’ preference rates.

3.4.3 Across three levels, the average scores of PVs and SVs were compared

in order to see the extent to which the participants accepted PVs and SVs.

3.4.4 Once the comparisons of the preference of PVs across three groups

were made, the answers for the research questions were provided.

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

The previous chapter has identified the materials, the participants, the

procedures of collecting data and the data analysis. This chapter will demonstrate the

results analyzed from the participants’ responses.

4.1 PROFICIENCY LEVELS OF PARTICIPANTS

According to Michigan Placement Test scores, there are three proficiency

levels of the participants: beginner, intermediate and upper intermediate. See table 2

below:

No. of scores Level No. of participants

Between 6-19 Beginner 15

Between 20-32 Intermediate 8

Between 33-46 Upper Intermediate 7

Total 30

Table 2: No. of the participants in each level

The participants were divided into three different levels, based on their scores

on the Michigan Placement Test. Those with scores within the ranges of 6-19, 20-32,

and 33-46 were assigned beginning, intermediate, and upper intermediate groups,

respectively. The cut-off points were obtained by means of score tallying, which

revealed clear differences between groups. That is, there was a gap in scores between

beginning and intermediate, and intermediate and upper intermediate, respectively.

According to the questionnaires that the participants responded to, the data

revealed both similar and different phrasal verb preferences. Some phrasal verbs were

favored by one group while they were less favored by the other groups. The data will

be reported chronologically starting from the average preference rates across groups,

followed by the individual groups’ preference rates.

4.2 AVERAGE PREFERENCE OF PHRASAL VERBS VERSUS SINGLE

VERBS ACROSS THREE GROUPS

16

As described in the material section in Chapter 3, the level of acceptability

was predetermined on a scale of -2, -1, 0, +1, and +2. The average preference rates of

phrasal verbs and single verbs across three groups, calculated on the basis of the

above scale, appear in Table 3 below.

Level of learners Phrasal verbs Single verbs

Beginner 0.7 0.4

Intermediate 0.4 0.6

Upper intermediate 1.1 1.1

Table 3: Average Preference Rates of Phrasal Verbs and Single Verbs across Three

Groups

The graph in Figure 1 shows the preference rates of phrasal verbs and single

verbs across all groups.

Figure 1: Average Preference Rates of Phrasal Verbs and Single Verbs across Three

Groups

According to figure 1, in the beginning group, the average acceptance rates of

PVs and SVs were 0.7 and 0.4, respectively. This means that the learners in this group

accepted the phrasal verbs at a slightly higher rate than they did the single verbs.

0.7

0.4 0.4

0.6

1.1 1.1

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

PVs SVs

Average Use of Phrasal Verbs vs. Single Verbs Across

Three Groups

Beginner Intermediate Upper intermediate

17

Therefore, it can be assumed that they largely understand the use of phrasal verbs in

informal contexts, compared to their slight knowledge of SVs.

In the intermediate group, the average acceptance rates of PVs and SVs were

0.4 and 0.6 respectively. This, in contrast to the pattern above, suggests that their

knowledge of PVs is rather limited, compared to that of SVs.

Interestingly, in the upper intermediate group, the two structures of verbs were

equally accepted. The results indicate that this group of learners understands the two

verbs types equally well.

4.3 PHRASAL VERB PREFERENCE AMONG BEGINNERS

In this section, the beginning group’s preferential pattern of both verbs will be

discussed.

Figure 2: Average Preference Rates between Single Verbs and Phrasal Verbs among

Beginning Learners

0.69

0.54

0.69

0.46 0.54

0.62

-0.31

0.54

0.38

-0.46

0.77 0.77

0.46 0.54

0.54 0.69

1

0.69

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

Single Verb VS. Phrasal Verb Preference of

Beginning Learners

Single verb Phrasal verb

18

According to Figure 2, the beginning learners largely preferred the use of

phrasal verbs. Some phrasal verbs such as show up, show off, let down, make up, go

away, run into, give in and get up were preferred at a greater rate than their

counterparts.

As an illustration, the sentences below were extracted from the participants’

responses. Sentences in the left column were highly accepted while the sentences on

the right hand side were less accepted. It should be noted that some SVs and PVs

appeared in the past form.

Highly accepted Less accepted

I didn’t expect to see Emily at the

party. I was surprised when she

showed up.

I was surprised when Mike

appeared at the party last night. I

thought he was on a business trip.

Marvin likes to show off. But I

don’t think that he has anything to

be proud of.

I’m going to visit our trading

partners in China next month. I

think it’s time for me to improve

my Chinese.

He is one of those people who

never lets down his friends. That’s

why everyone loves him.

Paul is trying very hard to get into a

university, because he doesn’t want

to disappoint his parents.

I was late for my date last night, so

I made up a story about a traffic

jam.

When Jane does not turn in her

homework on time, she usually

invents a story about problems with

her computer.

I told my ex-boyfriend to go away.

I don’t want to see him for a while.

Can you just leave? I need some

peace and quiet.

Even though we’ll graduate soon,

every now and then we will run

into each other on the street.

While I was walking to the park, I

met my old friend whom I had

never seen for years.

The students are fighting against

the school's policy, and they'll

never give in.

Chris and Emmy were arguing

about who would be the child’s

custodian. Neither one surrendered.

19

When the weather is nice, I love to

get up early.

I love to wake around 8.00 am if it

is a holiday.

Out of ten words, the number can account for 80% in phrasal verb preference.

However, in some circumstances, some words such as “improve vs. brush up on”

were equally preferred as in the following examples:

I’m going to visit our trading partners in China next month. I think it’s time

for me to improve my Chinese.

The company is sending me to Germany again. I guess it’s time to brush up on

my German.

Only one PV was less preferred than its counterpart, i.e. go off vs. explode. See the

actual sentences below.

*There weren’t that many people in the building when the bomb went off.

We had just visited the Erawan shrine in the morning, before the bomb

exploded.

The sentence with the asterisk is less accepted.

The high frequency of the preference of PVs among this group leads to the

assumption that the learners are familiar with these words in non-formal conversation

and their knowledge of PVs was not second to the SVs. This might be the reason as to

why their perception of the PVs was quite high.

4.4 PHRASAL VERB PREFERENCE AMONG INTERMEDIATE

LEARNERS

According to the intermediate learners’ responses, the result reveals that the

learners in this group considerably accepted the SVs, unlike those of the beginners.

Hereinafter, their results will be explained in detail with the reference to Figure 3.

20


Intermediate Learners

Figure 3 illustrates the preference of each phrasal verb and its counterpart.

Among the intermediate learners, the preference rate of PVs seems to be smaller than

that of the beginning group. Only three PVs, i.e. make up, go away and get up were

accepted at a higher rate than their counterparts, as shown with their contexts in the

target sentences below. Evidently, these PVs were highly accepted by the beginners as

well.

1.6

1

0.7 0.8

1

-0.2

0

1.4

0.6

-0.3

1.2

0.7

0.4

0.1 0.1 0.2

0.6 0.7

-0.5

0.3

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Single Verb VS. Phrasal Verb Preference of Intermediate

Learners


21


I was late for my date last night,

so I made up a story about a

traffic jam.



invents a story about problems

with her computer.

I told my ex-boyfriend to go

away. I don’t want to see him for

a while.


peace and quiet.

When the weather is nice, I love

to get up early.

I love to wake around 8.00 am if

it is a holiday.

One interesting point here is the instance of give in; it can be seen that the

learners’ preference was quite low while the beginning learners accepted it more

readily. The relevant target sentences appear below.

*The students are fighting against the school's policy, and they'll never give in.

Chris and Emmy were arguing about who would be the child’s custodian. Neither one

surrendered.

The sentence with the asterisk was notably unaccepted by the intermediate

learners, compared to its counterpart.

From the results revealed above, it can be said that their knowledge of PVs is

limited, compared to that of SVs. Compared to the beginners, their understanding of

PVs is slightly lower. Given the two data sets, proficiency may not play a crucial role

with regard to phrasal verb preference.

4.5 PHRASAL VERB PREFERENCE AMONG UPPER INTERMEDIATE

LEARNERS

Next, the results based on the upper intermediate learners’ responses will be

reported with reference to Figure 4.

22


Advanced Learners

At this level, on average there is an equal acceptance rate between the PVs and

the SVs (1.1 and 1.1). In terms of PVs, five frequently accepted PVs include show up,

show off, make up, go away and get up. The relevant sentences are shown below.

1.71

0.43

1.86 1.86 2

-0.29

1.29

2

0.57

-0.43

2

1 1

-0.43

1

1.86 1.86

1.14

-0.14

2

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Single Verb VS. Phrasal Verb Preference of Upper

Intermediate Learners


23


I didn’t expect to see Emily at the

party. I was surprised when she

showed up.

I was surprised when Mike

appeared at the party last night. I

thought he was on a business trip.

Marvin likes to show off. But I

don’t think that he has anything to

be proud of.

I’m going to visit our trading

partners in China next month. I

think it’s time for me to improve

my Chinese.

I was late for my date last night, so

I made up a story about a traffic

jam.



invents a story about problems

with her computer.

I told my ex-boyfriend to go away.

I don’t want to see him for a while.


peace and quiet.

When the weather is nice, I love to

get up early.

I love to wake around 8.00 am if it

is a holiday.

It should be noted that the highly accepted PVs are identical to those found in

the beginning level. Three additional PVs, i.e. let down, run into and give in were

highly accepted by the beginners, but not the upper intermediate learners. Instead,

they highly accepted their SV counterparts, i.e. disappoint, meet and surrender

respectively.5 See the relevant sentences below:

Highly accepted in beginners Less accepted in upper

intermediates

Paul is trying very hard to get into

a university, because he doesn’t

want to disappoint his parents.

He is one of those people who

never lets down his friends. That’s

why everyone loves him.

While I was walking to the park, I

met my old friend whom I had

Even though we’ll graduate soon,

every now and then we will run

5

Some verbs appeared in the past form in the questionnaire.

24

never seen for years. into each other on the street.

Chris and Emmy were arguing

about who would be the child’s

custodian. Neither one

surrendered.

The students are fighting against

the school's policy, and they'll

never give in.

Interestingly, let down was highly rejected by the upper intermediate group,

while it was accepted moderately by the other two groups. As noted earlier, the rates

of acceptance at this level were equal, with 50% across both the PVs and SVs. This

indicates that the learners at this level can understand the use of PVs and SVs equally

well.

4.6 THAI LEARNERS’ PHRASAL VERB PREFERENCE AND ENGLISH

PROFICIENCY

This section is concerned with the second research question, i.e. whether Thai

learners’ phrasal verb preference is affected by proficiency level. As reported in

sections 4.2, the preference of PVs is higher than that of SVs in the group of

beginners. With regard to the intermediate group, the reverse direction is found, that

is, the preference of PVs is lower than that of SVs. In term of the upper intermediate

group’s preference, they accepted both of the structures at the same level. Given that

the participants accepted the PVs readily at the early stage of L2 acquisition, despite a

drop in preference at the intermediate level, it can be concluded that the findings do

not support proficiency effects.

25

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents (1) a summary of the study, (2) a summary of the

findings, (3) the discussion of the findings, (4) the conclusion (5) Pedagogical

implications, and (6) recommendations for further study.

5.1 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

This section summarizes the objectives, materials, target phrasal verbs and

their counterparts, participants and procedures of the study.

5.1.1 Objectives of the study

The study attempts to investigate the extent to which PVs are preferred among

Thai learners and the effects of English proficiency on the preference of PVs.

5.1.2 Task, target phrasal verbs and their counterparts

The acceptability judgment task with a five point scale was employed. In

developing a relevant test, a questionnaire, including 20 target sentences with PVs and

SVs and 24 filler sentences, was designed. The ten PVs and ten SVs are mutual

counterparts, and they were adapted from the previous work of Liao and Fukuya

(2004).

Thirty participants who joined this study were graduate and undergraduate

students with an English educational background between 12-17 years. They read the

sentences and rated their preference, by marking a score of their choice between -2 to

+2 (highly unacceptable to highly acceptable).

With regard to the procedures, after dividing the learners into three groups

based on their scores of the Michigan placement test, the participants’ preference rates

of PVs per group was calculated.

5.2 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS

The results of the study can be summarized as follows:

26

5.2.1 With regard to the beginning learners, the acceptance of PVs occurred

at a greater rate than with the SVs. The average acceptance rates of PVs and SVs are

0.7 and 0.4, respectively.

5.2.2 Among intermediate learners, the acceptance of SVs was greater than

that of PVs (0.4 vs. 0.6). This suggests that they are likely to use SVs more than PVs

in informal situations.

5.2.3 The acceptance of PV is equal to that of SVs among upper

intermediate learners (1.1 and 1.1). This implies that they can alternate between PVs

and SVs in informal conversation.

5.2.4 Given that the beginning learners accepted PVs at a higher rate than

they did SVs, this indicates that they largely understand PVs and may have the ability

to use them. Since knowledge of PVs exists at an early stage of L2 development, we

conclude that English proficiency does not affect L2 learners’ phrasal verb usage.

5.3 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

The part is presented in relation to the two research questions posed earlier.

5.3.1 Research Question 1 asked to what extent the Thai learners prefer

using English PVs. To answer this question, comparisons of the acceptance rates of

PVs vs. SVs across three groups were made. The beginning group preferred PVs to

SVs. The reverse pattern was found in the intermediate group, and the upper

intermediate group equally preferred both verb types. It is interesting to note that the

intermediate learners accepted the PVs at a smaller rate than they did SVs despite a

higher proficiency level than that of the beginners. A drop and a rise in preference

between the PVs and SVs might be a transition to the next level, where both the PVs

and SVs were favored equally.

5.3.2 Research Question 2 asked whether or not English proficiency affects

their PV usage. We formed this question following Liao and Fukuya’s (2004)

observation. In other words, the more proficient learners are, the less they resort to

avoidance strategies. However, as the results reveal, the beginners accepted PVs more

frequently than the intermediate did, which was unexpected. Thus, the fact that the

knowledge of PVs is readily present at an early stage is inconsistent with the claims

27

by researchers in prior studies (Hulstijn and Marchena, 1989; Liao and Fukuya, 2004;

Pazhakh, 2007. It is likely that these learners had frequent and intensive exposure to

PVs before their participation in the current study, and consequently were familiar

with the target PVs fairly well.

In respect of a comparison between the lower two groups and the upper

intermediate group, it is obvious that the upper intermediate preferred the PVs

identically to the SVs, which suggests that higher proficiency allows for an alternation

between the two verb types. Thus, it is noteworthy that while proficiency level may

not play a role in the recognition of phrasal verbs, it facilitates a switch between

phrasal verbs and single-word verbs.

5.4 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

We make the following recommendations, by incorporating certain findings,

as follows.

5.4.1 There were some PVs that were commonly preferred (i.e. make up, go

away, and get up), but their SV counterparts (invent, leave, and wake) were slightly

preferred. Given these findings, EFL teachers may teach the two types of verbs in a

relative fashion. Thus, integrating PVs and their SV counterparts into regular

vocabulary lessons may promote learners’ vocabulary capacity. The learners can be

familiar with PVs and their SV counterparts and will be able to use the two structures

interchangeably.

5.4.2. There is a decline in the PV preference and a rise in the SV preference

in the intermediate group, and the pattern changes with higher proficiency. If

consistency in the L2 input partly accounts for the change, it is important that EFL

teachers ensure that input be provided to the learners adequately and consistently. If

L2 learners receive consistent input and practice through the lessons and resources

that integrate PVs and SVs, it is likely that they will be able to understand and use the

two verb types successfully.

5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, the recommendations below can

benefit future studies.

28

5.5.1 Only ten phrasal verbs and their counterparts have been chosen from

Liao and Fukuya’s (2004) study. Future research may explore the use of phrasal verbs

in other aspects. As there are three types of phrasal verbs mentioned in chapter 2,

future research may focus on the phrasal verb type that is highly used among Thai

learners.

5.5.2 Future research may utilize a Thai learners’ corpus by extracting top

ten frequently used phrasal verbs, as a basis for an investigation, and replicate the

methodology of this study. The findings may yield interesting aspects, different from

the preferential patterns reported in the current study.

29

REFERENCES

Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999), as cited in The use of English phrasal

verbs in American spoken corpora. International Journal of Language Studies, 9(2),

27-48.

Cornell (1985), as cited in Avoidance of Phrasal Verbs: The Case of Chinese Learners

of English. Language Learning, 54(2), 197. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2004.00254.x

Dagut and Laufer (1985), as cited in Avoidance of Phrasal Verbs: The Case of

Chinese Learners of English. Language Learning, 54(2), 197. doi:10.1111/j.1467-

9922.2004.00254.x

Hulstijn and Marchena (1989, as cited in Avoidance of Phrasal Verbs: The Case of

Chinese Learners of English. Language Learning, 54(2). doi:10.1111/j.1467-

9922.2004.00254.x

Ju-Young, L. (2015). The use of English phrasal verbs in American spoken

corpora. International Journal of Language Studies, 9(2), 27-48.

Kamimoto et al (1992). A second language classic reconsidered- The case of

Schachter’s avoidance. Second Language Research, 8, 251-277

Kleinmann, H.H. (1977, 1978) as cited in Avoidance of Phrasal Verbs: The Case of

Chinese Learners of English. Language Learning, 54(2), 197. doi:10.1111/j.1467-

9922.2004.00254.x

Laufer, B. (2000). Avoidance of Idioms in a Second Language: The Effect of L1-L2

Degree of Similarity. Studia Linguistica, 54(2), 186.

Laufer, B., & Eliasson, S. (1993). What causes avoidance in L2 learning: L1-L2

difference, L1-L2 similarity, or L2 complexity? Studies in Second Language

Acquisition, 15, 35-48.

30

Mattar, H. (2003). Is avoidance ruled out by similarity? The case of subordinating

conjunctions/adverbs in English and Arabic. Poznan Studies in Contemporary

Linguistics, 38, 103-115.

Pazhakh, A. (2007). An Investigation on Iranian EFL Learners’ application of

avoidance strategies in their writings. Iranian Journal of Language Studies, 1/(1), 1-

14.

Schachter, J. (1974). An error in error analysis. Language Learning, 24, 205-214

Tiamtawan, S. (2013). Avoidance of the use of English participial reduced relative

clauses among L1 Thai learners. Learn Journal Issue 2, 2003, pp.12-28

Liao, Y., & Fukuya, Y. J. (2004). Avoidance of Phrasal Verbs: The Case of Chinese

Learners of English. Language Learning, 54(2), 193. doi:10.1111/j.1467-

9922.2004.00254.x

31

APPENDIX A

Sentences (1) to (10) below illustrate the target PV and SV sentences before being

randomization, used in the Acceptability Judgment task.

The (a) and (b) versions represent phrasal verb sentences and their single verb

sentence counterparts, in respective order.

(1) a. He is one of those people who never lets down his friends. That’s why

everyone loves him.

b. Paul is trying very hard to get into a university, because he doesn’t want to

disappoint his parents.

(2) a. I didn’t expect to see Emily at the party. I was surprised when she showed

up.

b. I was surprised when Mike appeared at the party last night. I thought he was

on a business trip.

(3) a. I told my ex-boyfriend to go away. I don’t want to see him for a while.

b. Can you just leave? I need some peace and quiet.

(4) a. The students are fighting against the school's policy, and they'll never give

in.

b. Chris and Emmy were arguing about who would be the child’s custodian.

Neither one surrendered.

(5) a. The company is sending me to Germany again. I guess it’s time to brush up

on my German.

b. I’m going to visit our trading partners in China next month. I think it’s time


(6) a. Marvin likes to show off. But I don’t think that he has anything to be proud

of.

b. I was surprised when Mike appeared at the party last night. I thought he was

on a business trip.

(7) a. When the weather is nice, I love to get up early.

b. I love to wake around 8.00 am if it is a holiday.

(8) a. I was late for my date last night, so I made up a story about a traffic jam.

b. When Jane does not turn in her homework on time, she usually invents a

story about problems with her computer.

(9) a. There weren’t that many people in the building when the bomb went off.

32

b. We had just visited the Erawan shrine in the morning, before the bomb

exploded.

(10) a. Even though we’ll graduate soon, every now and then we will run into

each other on the street.

b. While I was walking to the park, I met my old friend whom I had never

seen for years.

33

APPENDIX B

Student ID: ___________________

Directions: Each item below contains one or two sentences. Please rate the

acceptability of a sentence with an underlined word/phrase. Circle the number that

represents your judgment on a scale of -2 to +2 (-2: completely unacceptable; 2:

completely acceptable; 0: don’t know). There are 44 items. Please do the test from

item 1 to 44. Do not skip items or return to revise the items that you have already

rated.

ค ำแนะน ำ: แตละขอดานลางประกอบดวยประโยคหนงถงสองประโยค ทานรสกวาการใชค าทขดเสนใตในแตละประโยคเปนท

ยอมรบไดมากนอยเพยงใด กรณาวงกลมหมายเลขทตรงกบการตดสนใจของทานจากระดบการยอมรบตงแต -2 ถง +2 (โดยให -2 = ทานคดวาเปนทยอมรบนอยทสด 0 = ไมทราบ และ +2 = ทานคดวาเปนทยอมรบมากทสด) แบบทดสอบนมทงหมด 44 ขอ ใหทานท าแบบทดสอบแตละขอเรยงตามล าดบจากขอ 1 ถงขอ 44 โดยไมขามขอหรอยอนกลบมาแกไขขอทท าไปแลว

1. Even though he always tells the truth, this story was uncomfortable.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2

Completely Unacceptable Don’t know Completely Acceptable

2. He is one of those people who never lets down his friends. That’s why

everyone loves him.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


3. Cows are plant-eating animals. Farmers throughout the country are

encouraged to breed them.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


4. When Jane does not turn in her homework on time, she usually invents a story

about problems with her computer.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


5. The economic situation is already very bad and it is getting worse.

34

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


6. I didn’t expect to see Emily at the party. I was surprised when she showed up.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


7. I’m starting a new job next week. I’m quite overwhelmed about it.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


8. Can you just leave? I need some peace and quiet.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


9. The cost of living is increasing. Every year things are becoming more

expensive.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


10. The world is changing. Things never stay the same.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


11. Chris and Emmy were arguing about who would be the child’s custodian.

Neither one surrendered.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


12. The cashier was fired because of her effectiveness.

35

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


13. The students are fighting against the school's policy, and they'll never give in.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


14. There are four availabilities, and I have appointments with all of them after

lunch.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


15. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so I decided not to go to anywhere.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


16. I love to wake around 8.00 am if it is a holiday.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


17. Emmy likes snobbish clothes.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


18. The company is sending me to Germany again. I guess it’s time to brush up on

my German.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


36

19. The population of the world is rising very fast but food resources seem to be

less.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


20. While I was walking to the park, I met my old friend whom I had never seen

for years.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


21. Everyone left the building in the evening in light of the security guard.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


22. Marvin likes to show off. But I don’t think that he has anything to be proud of.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


23. Some of my friends like to boast about their grades.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


24. Our old printer is broken, and it’s time to replay it.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


25. An explosion is really a sudden expansion in volume caused by rapid burning.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


37

26. I want to plant a rosebush in my flower garden because it has a lot of space.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


27. Hay containing too much moisture will spoil and it cannot be processed into

fodder.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


28. When the weather is nice, I love to get up early.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


29. We had just visited the Erawan shrine in the morning, before the bomb

exploded.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


30. Journalists are writers who are engaged in gathering and presenting news.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


31. Ken is still ill, but he is recovering gradually.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


32. The process is not minimal for our company.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


33. I was late for my date last night, so I made up a story about a traffic jam.

38

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


34. I was surprised when Mike appeared at the party last night. I thought he was

on a business trip.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


35. Our journey from London to Istanbul by train was very intelligent.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


36. There weren’t that many people in the building when the bomb went off.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


37. Our sales manager can diverge the best price.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


38. I’m going to visit our trading partners in China next month. I think it’s time


|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


39. This hotel’s rate is cheaper than the others’ in town so it is always fully

booked.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


40. Even though we’ll graduate soon, every now and then we will run into each

other on the street.

39

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


41. The manager should encourage the procedure to reduce the workers’ errors.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


42. Paul is trying very hard to get into a university, because he doesn’t want to

disappoint his parents.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


43. I told my ex-boyfriend to go away. I don’t want to see him for a while.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


44. The book I’m reading now is not good, but it is honorary.

|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------|

-2 -1 0 +1 +2


Thank you very much for your cooperation. Your identity will not be revealed, and

the information will be used for the interests of this research only.

40

BIOGRAPHY

Name Mr. Thongchai Boongtong

Date of Birth November 25, 1983

Educational Attainment 2006: Bachelor Degree of Arts (English)

Work Position Translator Editor

Proekwaree Communications Ltd.

Work Experiences 2015- Present: Translator Editor

Proekwaree Communications Ltd.

2013-2014: Global Resources Coordinator

EQHO Communications Ltd.

2006-2013: Front Desk Staff

Triple Two Silom Hotel

a study of phrasal verb preference by thai efl learners

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