Does chunking affect collocation learning? (original) (raw)
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Lexical Chunks and EFL learners
DESCRIPTION This study focuses on the role of collocations in language teaching. Due to vagueness in definition and categorization, we divide the collocations into two types: referential collocations meaning recognizable by just referring to single word companies; and inferential collocations whose meaning cannot be easily discerned by non-native speakers of English. This study compared these two types of collocations among two groups of Iranian EFL learners and found that learners had more difficulty in producing the collocations than retaining. However, learners had difficulty in producing both the referential and collocational expressions with similar degree. The finding further suggests that the categorization for the non-native speakers—Persian learners—make less sense as fThis study focuses on the role of collocations in language teaching. Due to vagueness in definition and categorization, we divide the collocations into two types: referential collocations meaning recognizable...
Incidental Learning of Collocation
Language Learning, 2013
ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of repetition on the learning of collocation. Taiwanese university students learning English as a foreign language simultaneously read and listened to one of four versions of a modified graded reader that included different numbers of encounters (1, 5, 10, and 15 encounters) with a set of 18 target collocations. A surprise vocabulary test that was made up of four tests measuring receptive and productive knowledge of the form of the target collocations and receptive and productive knowledge of the form and meaning of these collocations was administered after the treatments. The results showed that (a) collocations can be learned incidentally through reading while listening to a graded reader and (b) the number of encounters has a positive effect on learning. If learners encounter collocations 15 times within a graded reader, sizeable learning gains may occur.
Incidental Collocation Learning from Different Modes of Input and Factors That Affect Learning
PhD Thesis, 2022
Collocations, i.e., words that habitually co-occur in texts (e.g., strong coffee, heavy smoker), are ubiquitous in language and thus crucial for second/foreign language (L2) learners to master. However, previous research shows that L2 learners tend to have limited knowledge of collocations and underuse or misuse them. Given the limited classroom time for deliberately teaching all L2 collocations, incidental learning, i.e., learning while being engaged in meaningful input (e.g., listening, reading, viewing), should play an important role in broadening L2 learners’ collocational knowledge. Nonetheless, to date, there are relatively few studies on incidental collocation learning. In addition, little is known about the effects of different modes of input on incidental collocation learning as well as factors that affect learning. Therefore, the current PhD project was conducted to fill those research gaps. To that end, four empirical studies involving Vietnamese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were carried out. In each study, participants were exposed to target verb-noun and adjective-noun English collocations in different sets of modes of input (including reading-only, reading-while-listening, reading with textual input enhancement in the form of underlining, reading aloud, and captioned TV viewing) in a counterbalanced fashion. Learning gains in each study were measured with a form recall test on the target collocations administered two times: one week before the treatment (pretest) and one week after the treatment (delayed posttest). Different learner- and item-related factors that might affect learning gains were also examined. Study 1 (Chapter 3) investigated incidental collocation learning from reading-only, reading- while-listening (i.e., reading a book while listening to its audio version), and reading with textual input enhancement (i.e., reading with target items underlined). The results showed that reading with textual input enhancement resulted in significantly more incidental collocation learning than both reading-while-listening and reading-only. Reading-while-listening was more effective for incidental collocation learning than reading-only. Following Study 1, Study 2 (Chapter 4) examined incidental collocation learning from reading-while-listening, reading with textual input enhancement (i.e., underlining), and reading-while-listening plus textual input enhancement to explore if integrating textual input enhancement into reading-while-listening would make a significant difference. The findings revealed that reading with textual input enhancement and reading-while-listening plus textual input enhancement led to significantly more learning gains than reading-while-listening. Reading-while-listening plus textual input enhancement, however, did not differ significantly from reading with textual input enhancement. Study 3 (Chapter 5) looked into incidental collocation learning from reading-while-listening and captioned TV viewing, which differed in terms of the availability of imagery. The results showed that both reading-while-listening and captioned TV led to gains of collocations, but these two modes of input did not differ significantly. Study 4 (Chapter 6) explored incidental collocation learning from reading-only, reading-while-listening, and reading aloud, which were different concerning audio support and vocalization. The results showed that reading aloud and reading-while-listening resulted in significantly more learning gains than reading- only. There was no significant difference between reading aloud and reading-while-listening. With respect to factors that affect learning, all four studies showed that learners’ prior vocabulary knowledge significantly predicted the learning gains (Studies 1, 2, 3, and 4). Learners with more vocabulary knowledge were likely to pick up more collocations from reading. As for captioned TV viewing, Study 3 showed that participants with larger vocabularies picked up fewer collocations than those with smaller vocabularies. About collocational congruency (i.e., the availability of first language equivalents of L2 collocations), Studies 1, 2, and 3 showed that this factor was a significant predictor of learning gains. More congruent collocations were incidentally learned than incongruent collocations. Additionally, only Study 4 found that type of collocation affected learning gains, with more adjective-noun collocations being learned than verb-noun collocations, whereas Studies 1, 2, and 3 did not. Other factors, including frequency of exposure, corpus frequency, strength of association (Studies 1 and 2), and test modality (Study 4) did not affect learning gains. The project contributes to advancing our understanding of the effects of input modality on incidental collocation learning and factors that predict learning gains, which can also help relevant stakeholders make informed decisions about L2 vocabulary learning and teaching.
Teaching in Chunks: Facilitating English Proficiency
Kim, Nahk-Bohk. (2008). Teaching in chunks: Facilitating English proficiency. Modern English Education, 9(1), 30-51. With a trend toward the extension of vocabulary range and a well-deserved thanks to corpus linguistics, it is now increasingly accepted that language comprises a wide range of lexical chunks that the native speaker processes as prefabricated multi-word units such as collocations, idioms, and other fixed or semi-fixed expressions. However, there remains a lack of detailed description and practical strategies for collocational proficiency as a basis for understanding how chunking or collocational competence develops, despite the increasing amount written or spoken about the role of lexical chunks in vocabulary acquisition in the EFL context. This paper addresses some current issues in teaching English chunks and discusses the major methods and strategies for the learners in terms of the Lexical Approach. In addition, the importance of the teacher's role is emphasized based on the questionnaire presented, particularly for those interested in the development of lexical syllabi and incorporating grammar and vocabulary that facilitate student proficiency, as well as teacher proficiency. Finally, a few practical suggestions for teaching chunks and pedagogical implications are discussed. [chunks/chunking/collocations/idioms/multi-word units/lexical approach/ 뭉칫말/뭉칫말화/연어/관용어/다단어 단위/어휘적 접근 방식]
The study investigated L2 learners' acquisition of verb‐noun and adjective‐noun collocations following two kinds of instruction: input flood only and input flood plus input enhancement (in the form of underlining). L1 Polish learners of English as a foreign language were exposed to infrequent collocations embedded in stories that were read during three consecutive weeks. Their collocational competence was subsequently assessed in a battery of delayed tests tapping into productive and receptive levels of collocational mastery. Input flood plus input enhancement resulted in the acquisition of collocations but only at the level of form recall and form recognition. The findings are discussed with reference to the complexity of acquiring and measuring L2 collocational knowledge. The article concludes with implications for instructed second language acquisition.
Previous studies investigating the effects of spacing on vocabulary learning have primarily focused on single words. There is limited research on how distributed practice affects the learning of the phrasal lexicon. The present study addresses this gap by focusing on collocations. In a pretest-treatment-delayed-posttest design, two controlled quasi-experiments (N = 55 and N = 50) were conducted in order to evaluate two spacing schedules, spaced versus massed. The participants learned 25 adjective-noun collocations either incidentally (Experiment 1) or deliberately (Experiment 2). In each experiment, a control group was included. Participants' collocational gains were measured at a form-recall level of mastery three weeks after the treatment. Mixedeffects regression modelling results indicate that spacing had a significantly large effect on vocabulary gains in the deliberate learning condition and a small effect on gains in the incidental learning condition. Massing, on the other hand, appears to be more effective (with a medium effect) in incidental learning situations. Implications for pedagogy and materials design are followed by suggestions for future research.
Mind the Gap: Towards Determining Which Collocations to Teach
Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus
Collocations form part of formulaic language use that is considered by many scholars as central to communication (Henriksen 2013; Wray 2002). Today, most scholars agree that teaching collocations to second and/or foreign language users (henceforth "L2 students") is a must. This study offers a reflection on the directions L2 researchers and teachers may explore, and that could contribute to modelling the teaching of collocations or at least spark the debate on this issue. The fundamental point raised here is the extent to which pedagogy may be informed by knowing the most common lexical collocations (combinations of content words) and using frequency of collocates as a key factor in selecting which collocations to bring to learners' attention. The results from this study indicate that out of the eight different lexical collocations, adjective+noun and verb+noun collocations are the most common, and should therefore be introduced first. Furthermore, most collocates ("co-occurring words" in Sinclair's (1991) terms) come from the 1,000 and 2,000 most frequent words. Therefore, this study suggests that the same way that "[u]sing the computational approach as a starting point makes it possible to distinguish between collocations of varying frequency of use" (Henriksen 2013: 32), frequency may be used to select the target words and their collocates once collocations have been identified. This could potentially contribute to addressing the issue of selection criteria of which collocations to teach.