Similaridades translinguísticas entre português e inglês e os phrasal verbs: a percepção de aprendizes de inglês-LE

Abstract

This work aimed to identify the real cross-linguistic similarities between Portuguese and English concerning phrasal verbs and investigate the perception of such similarities by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) who are native speakers of Portuguese. To confirm that Portuguese has structures that can be classified as phrasal verbs, we carried out a survey in verb and verb collocation dictionaries. Then, based on the research by Kellerman (1977) and Ringbom (2007) on the importance of perceived and/or assumed cross-linguistics similarities in foreign language learning, as well as on Sjöholm’s (1995) study on their effect on the learning of phrasal verbs, we used a multiple-choice test and semi-structured interviews to examine the perceptions of Brazilian learners of English and determine whether the similarities between the two languages in question affect the way they comprehend and use phrasal verbs. The searches in Portuguese dictionaries evinced that Portuguese language has phrasal verbs and that many of them have similarities of form and meaning with their English equivalents. The multiple-choice test showed that the learners have a greater tendency to choose phrasal verbs in English when there are equivalents in Portuguese. In the interviews, all of the respondents were able to identify the Portuguese equivalents of the English phrasal verbs presented, in spite of not having consciously found that relationship between the languages during the test. The results indicate that the perception of cross-linguistic similarities between L1 Portuguese and FL English concerning phrasal verbs leads to the facilitation in the comprehension and use of those structures in the target foreign language.