Idiom Comprehension and Processing Among College Students

Abstract

Background: Idiomatic competence is a critical component of communicative proficiency, yet it remains a major challenge for second language (L2) learners. Research Gap: Most existing studies focus on Western or Asian contexts, with limited empirical data on how Filipino pre-service English teachers process idioms across different proficiency levels. Objective: This study investigated idiom comprehension strategies and their relationship with language proficiency among 150 L2 learners. Methodology: A descriptive-quantitative design was used. Participants were classified into four proficiency levels using a standardized placement test, and responses to a validated idiom comprehension task were analyzed using frequency counts and Chi-square statistics. Key Findings: Learners employed ten distinct strategies; contextual guessing (25.3%) and literal interpretation (21.3%) were most frequent. A significant relationship existed between proficiency and strategy choice (χ² = 42.87, df = 18, p < 0.05): lower-proficiency learners relied on literal analysis, while higher-proficiency learners used contextual inference. Practical Implications: Results highlight the need for contextualized instruction to help learners move beyond literal interpretation and develop figurative language competence.