Exploring Multi-Word Verbs of Motion in EFL and NS Narrative Writing

Multi-word verbs (MWVs) can represent a challenge for EFL learners, with difficulties arising from the array of verb–particle combinations, many of which are polysemous and semantically opaque. Although MWVs expressing motion tend to be transparent, contrastive differences between languages regarding the description of movement in space may cause problems. This paper explores the use of MWVs in English by first-language (L1) Italian speakers and L1 English speakers in written descriptions of a clip from Chaplin’s The Kid. Their use in a corpus of texts by 281 Italian students ranging from B1 to C level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was compared with a comparable corpus of 73 native speaker (NS) texts. All instances of adverbial particles preceded continuously or discontinuously by a lexical verb were retrieved using AntConc and the concordance lines were checked manually. The research questions focus on which combinations are most frequent in the two corpora and how their use differs across CEFR levels and according to NS status. The large majority of verb-particle combinations turned out to express motion. Differences in the frequency and types of these combinations emerged, not only between NSs and learners of English, but also across CEFR levels. The paper highlights MWVs expressing motion that appear essential to describe the events unfolding in the clip. Considerations are made on how these findings can inform teaching materials, which can enable learners to make more informed choices when using MWVs to express motion.