The effect of focus on form and focus on forms instruction on the acquisition of phrasal verbs by Chinese students

This study compared the effectiveness of two instructional approaches'focus on forms (FonFs) and focus on form (FonF)'on the acquisition of phrasal verbs by 90 Chinese tertiary-level students of limited English proficiency. This study first defined FonFs and FonF and presented the theoretical rationale for applying both types of instruction when teaching and learning phrasal verbs. Additionally, FonFs instruction (operationalized through present-practice-produce phases), and FonF instruction (operationalized through reading tasks), were evaluated as to how each type improve learners' acquisition of phrasal verbs. Learning outcomes were measured through three tests administered immediately after treatment. These tests included word form recall, meaning recall, and word usage. Results revealed significantly higher scores for students in the FonFs group. In addition, word usage was the least acquired vocabulary knowledge while word meaning recall was the most acquired knowledge for learners in each group. Findings indicated that form-focused instruction, particularly FonFs, is beneficial and indispensable for learning phrasal verbs.