LIBYAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS BY ZINAB ALI ABOULGASEM AlfMED Thesis Submitted in ...

240 Pages·2015·10.67 MB·English

ENGLISH LEXICAL COLLOCATION KNOWLLDGE OF
LIBYAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
BY
ZINAB ALI ABOULGASEM AlfMED
Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Bangor University
School of Linguistics and English Language
October, 2012
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Author Name: ZINAB A. Ahmed
Tide: Lexical collocation knowledge of Libyan university students
Supervisor/Department: Professor Edward Williams jSchool of linguistics and Engl ish
Language
Funding body (if any): Libyan Government
Qualification/Degree obtained: PhD
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111
DEDICATION
To the lllelllory of llly beloved Mother
It is you Mum Who is behind any success I ever achieve!
To llly beloved father
To my husband and llly beloved children: Abdulrahilll, Vasser,
Mohanlmed and Fatillla
To all llly brothers, sisters and dearest friends
IV
ABSTRACT
One of the most challenging problems for EFL students is to be able to express themselves
not just grammatically but also acceptably and naturally in English in appropriate contexts.
The ability to produce acceptable and natural expressions in English is closely related to the
EFL students' competence in collocation-which words go together in normal usage. This
study, therefore, investigated Libyan EFL university students' lexical collocation use. It also
aims to examine how learners' LI (Arabic) influences their production of collocations. It
analyzes their problems in the usage of six patterns of lexical collocations: verb+ noun.
noun+ verb, noun+ noun, adjective+ noun, verb +adverb, adverb+ adjective.
Participants of the present study were 185 Libyan university students majoring in English at
the department of English language at AI-Jabal AI-Gharbi University. Data for the study was
collected from a multiple-choice test consisted of 60 items and a translation task comprised of
28 items, alongside a self-reporting questionnaire. The data were examined and the results
revealed that the informants' ability is lower than expected. The findings also showed that
Libyan university students do have problems with English lexical collocations in both
reception and production of all patterns of lexical collocations.
Results also indicated that learners' L I and their amount of exposure to English had a strong
influence on the learners' acquisition of English lexical collocations. The findings of this
study have some immediate implications for both language learners and teachers of
EFLIESL, as well as for writers of materials.
v
TABLE OF CONTENT
Page No.
Declaration and consent ................................................................... . I
Dedication..................................................... ................................. ... IV
Abstract ......... '" ........................... '" ............................................... . V
Table of content ................................................................................. . VI
List of tables .................................................................................... . X
L1· St 0 ffiI gures ................................................................................... . XII
List of Appendices ............................................................................. . X III
Acknowledgement ............................................................................. . XIV
Key to Arabic Transcription .................................................................. . XV
List of Abbreviations .......................................................................... . XVI
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................... 1
1.1 Overview ................................................................................. 1
1.2 The status of English Language Teaching in Libya................................ 5
1.2.1 English Vocabulary teaching in Libya ....................... , ...... ...... 6
1.3 Purpose of the study................................................................. ... 7
1.4 The scope of the study................................................................. 8
1.5 Overview of thesis chapters........................................................... 9
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ON 10
COLLOCATIONS
SECTION I: THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................. 10
2.1.1 Introduction ........................................................................... 10
2.1.2 Overview of the study of lexis ...................................................... 10
2.1.3 Syntagmatic versus Paradigmatic relationships.. . .. . ... ... ... .. . ... .... .. . .. .... 12
2.1.4 What are collocations? ............................................................... 14
2.1.5 Different Approaches to Defming Collocation.................. ......... ........ 16
2.1.5.1 The lexical composition approach.................................... 16
2.1.5.2 The semantic approach................................. ............... 21
2.1.5.3 The structural approach... ... ... . .. ...... ... .. . ... ... ... .. . .. . . .. ...... 25
2.1.6 Idioms/Collocation/Free Combination ... ..................................... ..... 29
2.1.7 Classification of Collocations ...................................................... 35
2.1.8 Collocation in First-and Second-language Acquisition......................... 40
2.1.9 The Importance of Collocation in ESLIEFL ...................................... 42
2.1.10 Collocation and Errors ............................................................... 46
2.1.11.1 The Boundary between Errors and Mistakes ........................ 47
2.1.11.2 Types of Errors ......................................................... 48
2.1.12 Learners' difficulties with collocations............................................ 49
2.1.13 Teaching Collocations: Strategies, Activities and Materials.................... 55
2.1.13.1. Teaching Principles... ... .............................. ...... ...... . ... 56
VI
2.1.13.1.1 Awareness raising .... ,. ..... . ... . . .. . .... . . . . .. . ... ..... 56
2.1.13.1.2 Collocation Selection............... ............ ....... 59
2.1.13.1.3 Teaching Collocations through Context............. 62
2.1.13.2 Materials for Teaching Collocations.............................. ... 63
2.1.13.2.1 Using Dictionaries...................................... 64
2.1.13.2.2 Using Authentic Materials 65
2.1.13.2.3 Using the Concordance............................. ... 66
2.1.13.3 Techniques and Activities for Teaching Collocations............. 68
2.1.13.3.1 Techniques and Activities for Raising Collocation
Awareness ........... .......... ... ............ ... ... ..... 68
2.1.13.3.2 Activities for Collocations' Practice................. 72
2.1.14 Conclusion ............................................................................. 74
SECTION II: EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON COLLOCATION 75
2.2.1 Introduction................................. ... ........... .. . . .. . .... .. ... ... ... ... ...... 75
2.2.2 Collocational studies in the field ofESLIEFL: an over view..................... 75
2.2.2.1 Part 1: collocation research on EFLIESL learners in terms of
measuring learners' knowledge of collocation....................... 76
2.2.2.2 Collocation research mainly in terms of the influence of L 1 and
other factors on the performance of L2 learners' knowledge of
Collocation................................................................ 82
2.2.2.3 Collocation research in terms of the strategies used by L2 learners'
in producing lexical collocation including Ll transfer .......... ..... 89
2.2.3 Part 2: collocational studies with Arab learners of English .................... ... 91
2.2.4 Commentary on the previous studies................................................ 99
2.2.5 Chapter summary....................................................................... 100
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES 106
3.1 Introduction ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 10 6
3.2 Research Questions..................................................................... 106
3.3 Study setting and subjects 107
3.3.1 The pilot study.............................................................. 108
3.3.2 The Main study............................................................. 108
3.4 The Research Paradigm ............................................................... 10 9
3.5 Research Techniques .................................................................. 110
3.6 Research Ethics......................................................................... 112
3.7 Materials (Selection of target collocations) ....................................... 113
3.8 Data collection Instruments...................................................... 113
3.8.1 Multiple-Choice Test .................................................... 114
3.8.1.1 Item selection............................................... 116
3.8.1.2 Translation task.............................................. 118
3.9 Data Collection Procedures.. ...................................................... ... 119
3.9.1 Pilot study................................................................... 119
3.9.1.1 Piloting the tests (Collocation Test and Translation
Task) ......................................................... .
VII
3.9.1.2 Piloting the questionnaire ...... ............................. 121
3.10 Main study.............................................................................. 126
3.10.1 Procedures and Scoring................................................... 122
3.11 Data Analysis........................................................................... 124
3.11.1 Coding ....................................................................... 124
3.11.2 Scoring....................................................................... 124
3.11.2.1 Collocation test and Translation task............ ......... 124
3.11.2.2 The self-reported Questionnaire........................... 126
3.11.3 Test Reliability.......................................... ................... 126
3.11.4 Item analysis ................................................................. 12
3.11.4.1 Item analysis procedures.................................... 127
3.11.4.1.1 Multiple-choice test.......................... 127
3.11.4.1.2 Translation task (productive test) .......... 130
3.12 Summary ................................................................................. 133
CHAPTER 4: OAT A ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 135
4.1 The statistical analysis for the main four questions of the study................. 135
4.1.1 To what extend do Libyan students majoring in English have
knowledge of English lexical collocation? ............................. 135
4.1.2 Is there a difference between the participants' production and
reception skills related to lexical collocation in English? ............ 136
4.1.3 What extend Libyan EFL learners' L 1 affect their proficiency in
producing and recognizing lexical collocations in English? ......... 139
4.1.4 Is there a statistical difference between participant's proficiency in
producing and recognizing collocation and their amount of
exposure to the English language? ....................................... 140
4.1.5 Are all patterns of lexical collocations equally difficult for Libyan
EFL students? .......................................... ......... .......... 142
4.2 The statistical analysis for the three sub questions of the study (q6, q7 &q8). 144
4.3 Summary.............................. ......... .............................. .. .......... 149
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION OF THE STUDY FINDINGS 150
5.1 Introduction.......................................................................... .... 150
5.2 Discussion of the main four questions of the study................................ 150
5.2.1 Discussion 0 f the first question 0 f the study related to the general
collocation competence ofEFL Libyan university students......... 150
5.2.2 Discussion of the results of the second question of the study
related to the differences between the participants' receptive and
productive knowledge of English lexical collocations................ 153
5.2.3 Discussion of the third research question of the study related to the
influence of the learners' Ll (Arabic) on their productive
knowledge of English lexical collocations.............................. 156
5.2.3.1 Interlingual transfer factors............................ ..... 159
5.2.3.1.1 Negative transfer (inappropriate word-for-
word translation) ............................... 159
VIII
5.2.3.1.2 Positive transfer................................ 161
5.2.3.2 Intra lingual factors .......................................... 162
5.2.3.2.1 Overgeneralization (Use of improper
synonyms) ....................................... 162
5.2.3.2.2 Overuse of some lexical items ............... 163
5.2.3.2.3 Paraphrasing .................................... 164
5.2.3.2.4 Cultural interference ........................... 164
5.2.4 Discussion of the fourth research question related to the relation
between the participants' producing and recognizing English
lexical collocation and the amount of exposure to English
language..................................................................... 165
5.2.5 Discussion of the sixth research question related to the most
problematic pattern of lexical collocations for Libyan EFL
students ...................................................................... 166
5.3 Discussion of the sub-questions of the study... ... ...... ... ...... ... ... 169
5.3.1 Discussion of the results of the sixth research question ofthe study
related to the differences in performances between 2nd and 3rd
years students ............................................................... 169
5.3.2 Discussion of the results of the seventh research question of the
study related to the differences in performances between
participants due to faculties (Yefren Faculty, Gharian Faculty, AI-
saaba Facult and Kikla Faculty) ......................................... 170
5.3.3 Discussion of the results of the seventh research question of the
study related to the differences in performances between
participants due to gender (males and females) ........................ 171
5.4 Chapter summary. .......................................................... 173
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 174
6.1 Research procedures and fmdings in brief.......................................... 174
6.2 Pedagogical implications of the study............................................... 175
6.2.1 Recommendations for English language teachers..................... 176
6.2.1.1 Raising Students' Collocation Awareness 176
6.2.1.2 Promoting students' autonomous constant practice of
collocations and tackling their collocational errors.. .... 179
6.2.2 Suggestions for the learning materials designers (Developing
appropriate L2 Material on Collocations) .............................. 181
6.3 Contributions Made by This Study..... .......................................................... 183
6.4 Limitation of the study................................................................. 184
6.5 Suggestions for further research...................................................... 185
6.6 Conclusion. .. ............................................................... ......... ... 186
6.7 Concluding remarks................................. ... ...... ... ... ... . .. . .. .. .... ..... 187
References ........................................................................................ 188
Appendices ....................................................................................... 207
IX
LIST OF TABLES
CHAPTER NO. PAGE
CHAPTER (2)
Table 2.1: Lexical-grammatical system by Halliday (1966: 152-153) .............. .... 18
Table 2.2: Levels of collocational complexity by Schmitt (2000: 79) .................. 33
Table 2.3: Grammatical collocation categorized by Benson et al. (1997) ........... ... 38
Table 2.4: Lexical collocation categorized by Benson et al. (1997) ..................... 38
Table 2.5: Classification of collocation suggested by Hill (2000)........................ 39
Table 2.6: Classification of collocation suggested by Oxford Dictionary of Student
of English ........................................................................ ... 39
Table 2.7: Collocation types suggested by McCarthy and O'Dell (2005) ........... ... 40
Table 2.8: A summary of collocational studies in the field of EFLIESL ............... 100
CHAPTER (3)
Table 3.1 Average ages and the percentage of male and female participants ......... 107
Table 3.2 Number of the participants in the Pilot study and in the Main study...... 108
Table 3.3 Subtypes oflexical collocations used in the study........................... 113
Table 3.4 Distribution of number oflexical collocation used in collocation test ..... 114
Table 3.5 Distribution of number of lexical collocation used in translation task ..... 115
Table 3.6 Schedule of administering the Collocation Test, Translation task and
QuestIonnarre ...................................................................... 117
Table 3.7 Distribution of number of lexical collocation used in collocation test
(receptive test) for the main study.............................................. 119
Table 3.8 Distribution of number of lexical collocation used in translation task
(productive test) for the main study................................... .......... 120
Table 3.9 of the reliability analysis for multiple-choice test and translation task.... 125
Table 3.10 Target lexical collocations according to their low- frequency and
percentages in the multiple-choice test ......................................... 126
Table 3.11 Target lexical collocations according to their medium- frequency and
percentages in the multiple-choice test... .............................. .... .... 128
Table 3.12 Target lexical collocations according to their medium- frequency and
percentages in the translation task .............................................. 129
Table 3.13 Target lexical collocations according to their low- frequency and
percentages in the translation task............................................. 129
CHAPTER (4)
Table 4.1 Number and percentage of correct answers of the participants in each
Test... ............... ............... ....................................... ...... ... 134
Table 4.2 Descriptive statistics of percentage correct in the two tests ................. 135
Table 4.3 The distribution of collocation errors among Libyan EFL learners in test
2 (Translation Task) ............................................................... 137
Table 4.4 Table 4.4: Categorical responses (q5- qlO): Test 1 - percentage correct.. 138
Table 4.5 Categorical responses (q5- qlO): Test 2 - percentage correct ... ............ 139
x