Iraqi EFL University Learners' Use of Block Language in English

Abstract

Block language is the form of language used in newspaper headlines, titles, notices, labels, headings,  slogans personal letters, cables, and diaries. Students of English as a foreign language often face difficulty in using English block language because it is one of the types of irregular sentences which do not correspond to the regular patterns of sentence structures and the students lack knowledge about the different types of block language and here lies the problem of the study. It is hypothesized that Iraqi EFL university learners encounter difficulty in using the topic under investigation.        

A random sample of (40) students has been taken from the fourth year stage in the Department of English, College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Babylon to undergo a diagnostic test designed to assess the students' performance in using the English block language. The findings of the test show that the number and percentage of the incorrect answers in the whole test (266, 66.5%) are more than those of correct answers (134,33.5%). These results show that the students face difficulty in using the block language at both the recognition and production levels and this, in turn, verifies the hypothesis of the study.

 This study includes the theoretical  study of the block language with their different types followed by the practical part which encompasses a diagnostic test applied to a random sample of EFL university students to investigate their performance in using the topic under investigation