ABSTRACT
L2 idiom comprehension appears to be a slower and much more complex process than that for L1. It involves the use of more strategies in terms of both type and quantity. Using contextual information is a major strategy that L2 learners use in processing idioms. In a study examining thirty-six Malay speakers' comprehension and production of English metaphorical idioms, Charteris-Black obtained some similar findings regarding L2 speakers' use of L1 or the influence of L1 in L2 idiom comprehension. Many studies on L2 idiom comprehension show that L2 learners make heavy use of pragmatic knowledge, or knowledge of the world. The use of pragmatic knowledge, as well as metaphorical association, was explicitly identified in Abdullah and Jackson's study. Like Charteris-Black, Littlemore finds in her study the interference of L1 cultural background knowledge on L2 learners' idiom comprehension. The subjects in her study were twenty Bangladeshi students attending civil service reform courses at a British university.
