EXPLORING SEMANTIC PROSODIC AWARENESS LEVELS OF EFL LEARNERS THROUGH NEAR-SYNONYM WORDS

Authors

  • Tuncer Aydemir Research Assistant, Department of Western Languages and Literature, Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
  • Ali Şükrü Özbay Assist. Prof. Dr., Department of Western Languages and Literature, Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
  • Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı Assoc. Prof. Dr., Department of Western Languages and Literature, Turkey

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v6i4.3783

Keywords:

semantic prosody, prosodic awareness, collocations, near synonyms, EFL learners

Abstract

Near-synonyms are semantically similar words, but they are not always interchangeable, having a variety of collocational and semantic behaviours. Tertiary level EFL learners’ use of near synonyms demonstrates significant differences in terms of word choices. This article investigates (1) the level of semantic prosodic (SP) awareness in EFL learners, (2) the correlation between their SP awareness and English proficiency levels, (3) the ways EFL learners use semantic prosodic features in their speech and written productions and how they cope with challenges in SP and (4) the factors affecting their SP knowledge. The data were analysed quantitively and qualitatively. A proficiency test, a semantic prosody test, an open-ended questionnaire and a structured interview were used respectively. The findings reveal that learners’ SP knowledge correlates with language proficiency, but their awareness levels have little to do with the proficiency. One implication for the curriculum developers is that they should consider including relevant content related to the semantic prosody in syllabi so that the students will be able to create semantically relevant sentences like their native counterparts.

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Author Biographies

  • Tuncer Aydemir, Research Assistant, Department of Western Languages and Literature, Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
    Tuncer Aydemir holds his BA in English Language and Literature, and MA in Applied Linguistics from Karadeniz Technical University. His main areas of interest include Applied Linguistics, especially semantics, phraseology, and corpus linguistics studies. He has published several research articles in these fields. He is currently studying for a PhD degree in English Language and Literature in Ataturk University, and working as a research assistant at Karadeniz Technical University.
  • Ali Şükrü Özbay, Assist. Prof. Dr., Department of Western Languages and Literature, Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
    Dr. Ali Şükrü Özbay holds his BA in English Language and Literature from Ankara University and MA from KTU, Applied Linguistics Program and Ph.D. from the English Language and Literature department of KTU. His main areas of interest include Corpus Linguistics and Learner Corpora, translation studies, listening comprehension strategies, academic writing and error analysis, Phraseology. He has published research articles and book chapters on corpus linguistics, phraseology, data driven learning, meta-discourse, semantic prosody and lexical priming. He is contributing to a TUBITAK project on “The Use of Corpus Tools in Language Education (2021)”. Assistant Professor Dr. Özbay is currently a faculty member at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey.
  • Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Department of Western Languages and Literature, Turkey
    Dr. Mustafa Zeki Çıraklı holds his PhD from METU, Ankara, Turkey (2010) and specializes in Narratology. He is the author of Narrative Strategies and Meaning (included in ENN Publication list; 2010) and Anlatıbilim: Kuramsal Okumalar (Narratology: Critical Readings; 2015). Since 2010, he has been publishing a series of articles on narratology, and recently on corpus stylistics and educational theory. He is the editor of the International Journal of Narrative and Language Studies. He is contributing to a TUBITAK project on Corpus Linguistics (2021). Associate Professor Dr. Çıraklı is currently a working group member of a European project (COST): Writing Urban Places and a faculty member at KTU, Turkey.

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Published

2021-06-09

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 4 (2021)

Section

Articles

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