Exploring Proficiency and Task Effects on Taiwanese EFL Learners’ Understanding of English Vertical Axis Prepositions: Above, Below, Over, and Under

This research aims to examine how Taiwanese students, who are learning English as a foreign language, comprehend the core meanings of English vertical axis prepositions such as above, over, below, and under. It also investigates how different proficiency levels and task types influence their understanding of these prepositions. Fifty-four college freshmen participated in the study. They were categorized into basic, intermediate, and advanced proficiency groups. A control group of eighteen native English speakers was also included. Two types of tasks—sentence-in-isolation and sentence-in-context—were employed in a sentence-completion format. The findings suggest that the core meanings of the four prepositions were similarly difficult. However, understanding the extended meaning of under appeared to be the easiest overall, followed by the other three prepositions. Proficiency levels significantly impacted the results. Beginner learners struggled more with extended meanings overall, while advanced learners outperformed intermediate learners in both basic and extended meanings. Additionally, intermediate and advanced learners exhibited similar patterns in acquiring individual extended meanings.