A Study of Learners’ Problems in Understanding English Language Proverbs: The Case of Third Year Students at the University of Mohamed Seddik Ben Yahia, Jijel

Abstract

The present research aims to investigate learners’ problems in understanding English proverbs in an academic context. It seeks to explore how the surrounding context may affect the comprehensibility of English proverbs. The study was conducted with third year EFL students at the department of English, the University of Mohammed Seddik Ben Yahia – Jijel. The hypothesis showed that learners` problems in understanding proverbs originated from three main sources: students` lack of knowledge about English proverbs, proverbs undetectable form, and context deficiency. To achieve the aims of this study, a test and a questionnaire were administered to sixty (60) third year EFL learners. The results from both instruments show that learners find difficulties in understanding proverbs due to their lack of knowledge and their unfamiliarity with them. Therefore, it is suggested that both learners and teachers should attach more importance to proverbs in the classroom setting by including them in the syllabi.