Show me the word! : Using visual elements in learning of phrasal verbs by adult second language learners

Learning a second language (L2) is in many ways a different process comparing to learning the first language (L1). There are many theories that describe language acquisition. Yet there are still many unanswered questions. Learning Swedish as a second language is no exception and there are many unique linguistic aspects that might make it harder for language learners to improve their performance. One of these potential problems is dealing with Swedish phrasal verbs (partikelverb). There are many phrasal verbs and a great deal of them is idiomatic, making it harder for language learners to understand written and spoken language and to use these verbs productively. This study aims to reveal if visual complement in form of pictures and diagrams can help memorizing new phrasal verbs and use them productively. The results demonstrate that verbs indeed are remembered better when students receiv eexplanations together with relevant visual material. Moreover, it has been shown that students themselves believe that this method of teaching new vocabulary is exceptional, effective and they would support implementing this learning strategy in the future