Long-Term Retention and Pragmatic Use of English Idioms Following Adaptive Instruction: A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study

Аннотация

The ability to retain and appropriately use English idioms remains one of the most persistent challenges
for learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), particularly after formal instruction has concluded. While adaptive
instruction has been shown to improve immediate learning outcomes, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the
durability of these gains and their transfer to authentic communicative contexts. The present study represents a longitudinal
follow-up to a previously conducted experimental investigation that examined the effectiveness of adaptive instruction
in teaching English idioms to first-year EFL students at an Uzbek higher education institution. The purpose of this
study was to determine whether the benefits of adaptive instruction were sustained over time and reflected in learners’
pragmatic use of idiomatic expressions.
A longitudinal mixed-methods research design was employed, involving the same experimental and control groups that
participated in the original intervention. Approximately six months after the completion of instruction, participants completed
a delayed post-test measuring idiom recognition and production, role-play tasks, a discourse completion task, a
learner questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential
statistical procedures, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis and integrated using methodological
triangulation.
The findings revealed that learners who had received adaptive instruction demonstrated significantly stronger longterm
retention of English idioms and greater pragmatic appropriateness in communicative tasks than learners who had
received traditional instruction. Participants in the experimental group also reported higher confidence in using idiomatic
expressions, greater awareness of contextual appropriateness, and more frequent application of idioms in real-life communication.
These findings suggest that adaptive instruction contributes not only to immediate learning success but also
to the long-term development of idiomatic competence and pragmatic language use. The study provides longitudinal evidence
supporting the effectiveness of adaptive instruction in promoting durable learning and offers practical implications
for idiom instruction, adaptive pedagogy, and the development of communicative competence in EFL contexts.