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Sixty participants were selected via purposive sampling and balanced by gender and formal education level. Children completed tasks identifying the correct non-literal meaning of 20 idioms across three age groups (5–8, 9–12, 13–16). Results indicate early understanding begins around age five, literal interpretations dominate at age nine, and non-literal comprehension emerges by age twelve and expands through sixteen.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/an-investigation-on-the-comprehension-of-english-idioms-among-moi-primary-school-children-in-nairobi/590070/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/an-investigation-on-the-comprehension-of-english-idioms-among-moi-primary-school-children-in-nairobi/590070.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Adam","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-18","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What was the main objective of the study?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"To investigate the age at which children in Moi Primary School in Nairobi can identify and comprehend the meaning of English idioms.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How were participants selected and grouped by age?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Sixty participants were chosen using purposive sampling and divided into three age groups: 5–8, 9–12, and 13–16, balanced in gender and level of formal education.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What do the results suggest about when children start understanding idioms?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Children begin to understand some idiomatic expressions as early as around age five, interpret idioms largely literally at about age nine, and start correctly understanding non-literal meanings by age twelve, with continued development up to age sixteen.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},590070,1792295915,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":39,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":46},1374404737137,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Advances in Language and Literary Studies  \nISSN: 2203-4714  \n[www.alls.aiac.org.au](www.alls.aiac.org.au)  \n| An Investigation on the Comprehension of English Idioms Among Moi Primary School Children in Nairobi\u003Cbr>Ngoge Tabley Amos1, Imelda Hermilinda Abas2*\u003Cbr>1Linguistics Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Open University of Tanzania, P.O.Box 23409 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2Linguistics Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, AbdulrahamanAl-Sumait University, P.O.Box 1933 Chukwani, Zanzibar, Tanzania Corresponding Author: Imelda Hermilinda Abas, E-mail: [imelabas@yahoo.com](imelabas@yahoo.com) |  |\n| --- | --- |\n| ARTICLE INFO | ABSTRACT\u003Cbr>The competence in identifying and comprehending the meaning of idiomatic expressions developed at an early age. However, second language learners reach the comprehension skill differently within the age and at pace. There are many unresolved questions regarding the age which children start to comprehend L2 idioms. The objective of this study was to investigate the age at which children in Moi primary school in Nairobi were able to identify and comprehend the meaning of English idioms. The 60 participants were selected using purposive sampling. The children were divided into three age groups: 5-8 years old, 9-12 years old, and 13-16 years old. The participants were balanced in gender and level of formal education. They were asked to identify the correct non-literal meaning of the 20 idioms presented. It was reported that the group with an age range from 5-8 years old scored the lowest among the other.The findings showed that as early as five years of old (preschool age), children begin to understand some kinds of idiomatic expressions and that such ability slowly develops throughout childhood. At the age of 9, children mainly interpreted idioms literally. By the age of 12, they started to understand the non-literal meanings of idiomatic expressions correctly and continued to expand until the age of 16. It implied that age is a factor in the comprehension of idioms among children. Therefore, exposure to language input is vital in the process of early acquisition. The study provides pedagogical observation on early language acquisition. This study also assists the language teachers and language practitioners and material developers in decision making that lead to the development of a better curriculum. |\n| Article history\u003Cbr>Received: April 07, 2021\u003Cbr>Accepted: June 05, 2021\u003Cbr>Published: August 31, 2021\u003Cbr>Volume: 12 Issue: 4\u003Cbr>Advance access: July 2021 |  |\n| Conflicts of interest: None\u003Cbr>Funding: None |  |\n| Key words:\u003Cbr>Second Language Learners, Idioms Comprehension, Language Acquisition, Children,\u003Cbr>Cloze Test |  |\n\nINTRODUCTION  \nIdioms can be found in all of the languages. There are a large number of idioms, and they are used very commonly in all languages. Idioms are the building blocks of a language and civilization that provide interesting insights into the use of words, languages, and their speakers’thought processes. It is estimated that there are at least 25,000 idiomatic expressionsin the English language. This study used Larson’s (1984) definition of idioms as “a string of words whose meaning is different from the meaning conveyed by the individual words”(p. 20) . It implies that an idiom is a form of figurative language that can have both, a literal and a figurative meaning. For example, Alex spilled the beans, might refer to someone tipping out the contents of a jar of beans (literal) or revealing a secret (figurative) .  \nSo what makes idiom difficult? The answer is its meaning. Idioms are not easy to understand-especially for non-native speakers, because their meanings are usually metaphorical. This characteristic of idioms makes them strange and difficult to understand for English learners. ESL learners will need to familiarize themselves with the meaning and usage  \nof each idiom. Learning to use common idioms and expressions will make ESL learners sound mor","cbCaitYzbInfHZUj","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitYzbInfHZUj","pdf",177448,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Idioms and their difficulty for learners\n## Importance of idioms in ESL learning\n# Method and Participants\n## Sampling and age groups\n## Idiom identification task\n# Results\n## Age-related interpretation patterns\n# Discussion","[{\"question\":\"What was the main objective of the study?\",\"answer\":\"To investigate the age at which children in Moi Primary School in Nairobi can identify and comprehend the meaning of English idioms.\"},{\"question\":\"How were participants selected and grouped by age?\",\"answer\":\"Sixty participants were chosen using purposive sampling and divided into three age groups: 5–8, 9–12, and 13–16, balanced in gender and level of formal education.\"},{\"question\":\"What do the results suggest about when children start understanding idioms?\",\"answer\":\"Children begin to understand some idiomatic expressions as early as around age five, interpret idioms largely literally at about age nine, and start correctly understanding non-literal meanings by age twelve, with continued development up to age sixteen.\"}]","An Investigation on the Comprehension of English Idioms Among Moi Primary School Children in Nairobi | PDF",1792068726]