THE INFLUENCE OF FORMULAIC SEQUENCES ON STUDENTS’ ORAL PROFICIENCY VIA COLLOCATIONS AND IDIOMS

Formulaic sequences, particularly idioms and collocations, have received increasing attention in English language learning settings to bridge the gap between daily and academic life. Thus, it is expected to increase students' motivation in English classes when they see reflections of formulaic sequences in their daily lives. Although the number of publications has risen exponentially to measure the effects of idioms and collocations on students' proficiency globally, a gap in the literature has been pinpointed about their roles in the Iraq context. In this regard, this study aimed to explore the potential influence of idioms and collocations on students' oral proficiency. Having chosen sixty first-year students by employing a convenience sampling method to represent two experimental and one control groups equally at a private university in Erbil, Iraq, in the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year, the students went through the intervention spanning twelve weeks. Experimental group students received the education either with a collocation-enriched or an idiom-enriched format, respectively. However, control group students continued their education according to the prerequisites of the official curriculum. Data were collected via speaking exams and interviews to obtain quantitative and qualitative data in this quasi-experimental design study. Collected data, analyzed by SPSS 26 and NVivo, revealed that collocation and idiom-enriched groups outperformed the control group. Similarly, experimental group students had more positive views on collocation and idiom-enriched education with various compelling reasons, such as being catchy, handy, and effective. The findings of the study may have some implications for stakeholders who plan to implement formulaic sequences in English classes.