Evaluating the Pedagogic Value of Multi‐Word Expressions Based on EFL Teachers’ and Advanced Learners’ Value Judgments

Multi‐word expressions play an important role in second language acquisition, comprehension, and production. Therefore, there is great need for a list of frequent, useful multi‐word expressions in language teaching classrooms. Despite multiple attempts at defining multi‐word sequences, researchers and teaching experts are divided over the nature and characteristics of these units and the possible pedagogic value of each type of multi‐word expression for particular teaching contexts. Various definitions have been provided based on different criteria used in extracting these phrases and expressions from a corpus. Considering the importance of identifying features that render a multi‐word expression useful to language teachers and learners, the present study elicited value judgments from experienced EFL instructors and advanced‐level learners regarding items in three notable lists that take into account different criteria and features of multi‐word sequences. The researchers asked 100 learners and instructors of English for academic purposes to rate a list of expressions based on how valuable they believed them to be in the teaching/learning process. The researchers also interviewed a number of the participants about the reasons underlying their preferences for particular expressions. The findings reveal a penchant for expressions with a clear form–function mapping and multi‐word expressions believed to pose difficulty for learning and teaching.