The Effect of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) On Learning Idiomatic Expressions: A case of Iranian EFL students

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) deals with teaching of foreign or second languages via computer programs and softwares and can offer many potential benefits for both learners and teachers (Zinovjeva, 2005). A strong knowledge of idioms will help students to be better speakers and negotiators. This study seeks to find the most effective way of learning English language, to implement a computer program that supports and enhances the pedagogy, and then measures how effective people can learn idioms by using computer programs. The sample consists of 60 female university students who are 18-22 years old and are all Iranian and majoring in English Translation at Shahr-e-kord university. They were selected through the administration of Quick Placement Test (QPT) and were divided into 2 groups (the control group and the experimental group). The first part of the work was the development of a computer program for teaching the new idioms of English book 136 American English Idioms. The next step was teaching the new idioms of the lessons to two groups of 60 students, in one of which the medium of instruction of the idiom was Idiom LX software and in the other one the traditional method presented by a language teacher and the results were analyzed using SPSS. The results showed that the use of the above-mentioned software led to higher ability of the learners in long term recall of the English idioms and it can also be used as an effective educational material for improving the students' learning of English idioms and also for changing their negative attitudes toward learning English idioms as a difficult and in some cases an impossible task. © 2012 Published by Islamic Azad University, Shahreza Branch.

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