Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen: A Pragma–semantic perspective on the use German idioms of Indonesian students

Abstract

Phraseological competence, particularly the accurate and natural use of idiomatic expressions, remains one of the most persistent challenges in second language (L2) acquisition, since formulaic language requires learners to move beyond literal decoding to context-sensitive, native-like use. At the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, learners of German as a foreign language are expected to deploy frequently occurring idioms in familiar communicative contexts, yet classroom evidence suggests that this competence develops unevenly. This study examines how accurately B1-level German learners use idioms in creative narrative writing, distinguishing structural modifications of idiomatic form from pragmatic incongruities in idiomatic use. Idiomatic tokens (N = 61) identified across eight student-authored narratives were compared against the canonical forms and meanings listed in Duden Redewendungen (2013), the reference standard for this analysis. Structural variation was operationalised using the ‘Cutting the Gordian Knot’ typology (Spasić et al., 2017), which classifies inflection, open slots, modification, passivisation, negation, and syntactic expansion, while contextual and pragmatic fit was assessed separately at the sentence and discourse level. The analysis shows an overall accuracy rate of 82.0%, indicating that creative writing supports the productive use of idioms. Remaining inaccuracies fell into two types: structural or literal-processing errors, arising mainly from first-language transfer and word-for-word translation, and pragmatic missteps, including register mismatches and tonal misalignment with the surrounding context. These findings show that pragmatic competence, rather than structural accuracy alone, is decisive in learners’ progression from declarative idiomatic knowledge to natural, situationally appropriate use.