On Second Language Learner Acquisition of English Collocations

On Second Language Learner Acquisition of English Collocations
Author: James Martin Rogers
Publisher: Vernon Press
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2024-01-23
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1648898262

Collocations are words that commonly co-occur, such as ‘jury’ and ‘verdict.’ Collocational fluency is an essential aspect of second language fluency. Learning a language via collocations improves upon the efficacy of language acquisition because it essentially kills three birds with one stone: students learn vocabulary, collocations, and also subconsciously absorb the grammar patterns of language through mastery of these chunks of language. This is, in fact, similar to the way native speakers learn language and an efficient way to become fluent. This book will detail efforts to create and then apply a methodology to develop a large-scale high-frequency collocation list and custom-tailored collocation resources for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean learners to study directly and for practitioners to utilize as reference materials to create additional resources. Presented in this book is a novel approach taken to fill a major gap in the research and to create large-scale resources that were previously unavailable. Therefore, this book should be considered a valuable contribution to research that aims to help second language learners more effectively achieve fluency in English as a second language.

Optimizing a Lexical Approach to Instructed Second Language Acquisition

Optimizing a Lexical Approach to Instructed Second Language Acquisition
Author: F. Boers
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2009-09-23
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0230245005

Empirically validated techniques to accelerate learners' uptake of 'chunks' demonstrate that pathways for insightful chunk-learning become available if one is willing to question the assumption that lexis is arbitrary. Care is taken to ensure that the pedagogical proposals are in accordance with insights from vocabulary research generally.

Vocabulary Increase and Collocation Learning

Vocabulary Increase and Collocation Learning
Author: Haiyan Men
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2017-09-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9811058229

This book highlights research that expands on our knowledge of second- language collocation acquisition. It presents original findings based on the largest collocation database to date, encompassing over 8,000 collocations: verb + noun, adjective + noun, and noun + noun. These collocations, collected from a one-million-learner corpus, were not confined to English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at a particular proficiency level, but also included learners at three levels. As such, the book provides a panoramic view regarding L2 collocation acquisition, not only in terms of learners’ acquisition of different types of collocations, but in terms of the developmental patterns in L2 collocation learning. One major discovery is that there is a collocation lag as learners’ proficiency levels rise, which is associated with vocabulary increase, in particular semantic domains—a remarkable insight for second-language acquisition researchers, English teachers and EFL learners alike. The findings reported shed new light on how collocations are acquired by EFL learners, offering guidance on how they can best be taught. In closing, the book discusses pedagogical aspects that arise from considering how learners can be helped with collocation learning.

Collocations, Corpora and Language Learning

Collocations, Corpora and Language Learning
Author: Paweł Szudarski
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2023-07-31
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1108998720

This Element provides a systematic overview and synthesis of corpus-based research into collocations focusing on the learning and use of collocations by second language (L2) users. Underlining the importance of collocation as a key notion within the field of corpus linguistics, the text offers a state-of-the-art account of the main findings related to the applications of corpora and corpus-based measures for defining, identifying and analysing collocations as related to second language acquisition. Emphasising the quality of L2 collocation research, the Element illustrates key methodological issues to be considered when conducting this type of corpus analysis. It also discusses examples of pertinent research questions and points to representative studies treated as models of good practice. Aiming at researchers both new and experienced, the Element also points to avenues for future work and shows the relevance of corpus-based analysis for improving the process of learning and teaching of L2 collocations.

Researching Collocations in Another Language

Researching Collocations in Another Language
Author: Andy Barfield
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2009-10-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0230245323

This volume brings together original research in the four areas of L2 collocation learner corpora, L2 collocation lexicographic and classroom materials, L2 collocation knowledge assessment, and L2 collocation learner processes. Each area is covered by three research chapters and a dedicated commentary chapter by experts in the field.

Language Processing in Advanced Learners of English

Language Processing in Advanced Learners of English
Author: Marco Schilk
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2020-05-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027261342

The production and processing of collocations and formulaic language is a field of growing interest in corpus linguistics and experimental psycholinguistics. In the past this fascinating field at the interface of grammar and the lexicon has been mainly studied based on English native speakers, while research focusing on second language speakers and language learners has been comparatively rare. This book proposes an integration of corpus-based and experimental methods by analysing language processing of collocation by advanced learners of English. In using corpus-derived collocational stimuli of native-like and learner-typical language use in an experimental setting, it shows how advanced German L1 learners of English process native-like collocations, L1-based interferences and non-collocating lexical combinations. This book is of interest to anyone interested in the psycholinguistic validity of collocation from a bilingual point of view, as it explores methods of tracking collocational processing of speakers working with different sets of ‘collocational preferences’.

Collocations in a Learner Corpus

Collocations in a Learner Corpus
Author: Nadja Nesselhauf
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2005-01-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027294739

Collocations are both pervasive in language and difficult for language learners, even at an advanced level. In this book, these difficulties are for the first time comprehensively investigated. On the basis of a learner corpus, idiosyncratic collocation use by learners is uncovered, the building material of learner collocations examined, and the factors that contribute to the difficulty of certain groups of collocations identified. An extensive discussion of the implications of the results for the foreign language classroom is also presented, and the contentious issue of the relation of corpus linguistic research and language teaching is thus extended to learner corpus analysis.

An Analysis of the Knowledge and Use of English Collocations by French and Japanese Learners

An Analysis of the Knowledge and Use of English Collocations by French and Japanese Learners
Author: Shino Kurosaki
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2013-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1612334172

The present study investigated differences on the knowledge and use of collocations between French and Japanese learners with regard to: 1) L1 influence; and 2) combinability and transparency influence. The test materials included four categories of the lexical collocations: 1) verb + noun; 2) delexicalised verb + noun; 3) adjective + noun; and 4) adverb + adjective. The two types of tasks, Multiple Choice Question Tasks and Translation Tasks, are performed, and the learner corpora are also investigated in order to examine whether the learners from different L1 backgrounds demonstrate different results. Though L1 influence by both French and Japanese learners was demonstrated, the Japanese learners showed a greater L1 influence in the [adjective ] noun] category than the French learners. The investigation also found that L1 influence does not necessarily result in accuracy of the collocations. With regard to the combinability and transparency influence, the results of the two types of tasks followed Kellerman's (1978) remark. However, some contrasted results were also identified in learner corpus investigation. Thus the combinability and transparency influence were not necessarily identified. The results of the present study have a potential to improve teaching/learning of collocations through recognizing the learners' tendencies of learning collocations.

Collocations and Action Research

Collocations and Action Research
Author: Joshua Brook Antle
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-02-22
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1350049875

Collocations and Action Research is a thorough investigation of both the theory and practice behind improving second language learners' vocabulary and fluency through the teaching of multi-word units of language. Taking these collocations as its focus, this book provides a clear and in-depth description of the cognitive processing language learners go through when producing speech in relation to them. Using the findings of a two-year action research study into improving learners' spoken fluency, Joshua Brook Antle also explores the practical sides of collocations, explaining how the research study was constructed and conducted. Orientating the findings within the larger field of second language acquisition, especially within the L2 classroom, the practical applications of the findings are then presented through a series of pedagogical tasks all focusing on collocations and productive fluency. Providing a template for how to conduct an action research study using both qualitative and quantitative research techniques, Collocations and Action Research will appeal to researchers interested in vocabulary and spoken fluency, as well as language instructors wanting to better understand the nature of vocabulary and spoken discourse.