Teaching phrasal verbs through a cognitive approach

Abstract

Most of the time, teachers can see that students usually cannot communicate fluently in the English language because they have limited vocabulary. For this reason and due to the demands of the new era, it is essential to learn vocabulary that is used by native English speakers in their daily conversations. The following research focuses on teaching English phrasal verbs through a cognitive approach with the support of embodied experience and metaphor theory in order to promote quality learning, looking for more viable alternatives to reach a meaningful understanding. This study was based on experimental and descriptive research in which quantitative data helped the researcher collect information The project was applied to B1 level students of a private Institute in the city of Quito. These students were chosen because they have had a difficult time learning English phrasal verbs by memory without any context. The instruments used in this project were pre and post tests. Besides, a variety of interactive activities were applied in this project such as: videos, memes, wordwall website, comic strips, among others. Therefore, students felt more motivated and confident during classes.