40 Winks and Learning Bags of Tricks

This work engaged two groups of Filipino university students in a quasi-experimental method to determine their proficiency in idiomatic expressions (IEs) in three different phases: (1) measured the students’ idiomatic competence through pre-and post-interventions; (2) determined the extent of inclusion for IEs in English language instruction based on content analysis of English syllabi samples and narrative description of the English teachers’ experiential accounts; and (3) looked into the perspectives of the teachers on the importance of IE instruction in enhancing communicative competence. Results confirmed the causative relationship between instruction and improvement in communication skills; syllabi analysis pointed to very low extent of IE inclusion and are generally overlooked. Meanwhile, interviews with the teachers revealed their advocacy for the IE inclusion due to its merits: competence in the macro skills of language; utilization of an eclectic mix of techniques; and adherence to the precepts of motivational model for learning, communicative language teaching, and reflective practice in teaching.