Cognitive processes of binomial expressions across modalities: a study of EFL Arab learners

Processing binomial expressions (BEs) as a type of formulaic language remains an under-researched area in psycholinguistics despite extensive research on other forms of formulaic language, such as idioms, proverbs, phrasal verbs, and collocations. This study attempts to investigate how Arab learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) processed binomial expressions with different phrase types (congruent, incongruent, or both in their L1 and L2) over two different modalities: visual versus auditory modality. To this end, 70 intermediate EFL Arab participants took part in a treatment where they were exposed to three different phrases over two different modalities. Participants first rated their familiarity with congruent and novel binomials on a five-point scale and determined whether pairs of phrases were translation equivalents. Then, they were exposed to different BEs with either visual or auditory modality using SuperLab 6.0 software. Their processing of BEs was operationalized by reporting their reaction time, which was generated by the software. Results of their reaction time showed significant differences across modality and phrase type. Visual modality presentation resulted in accelerated processing times for all binomial expressions. Congruent phrases were processed most quickly in both modalities, which were followed by novel binomials in both languages and Arabic only. These findings suggest that visual presentation facilitates the quick processing of BEs regardless of phrase type.