VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** TRẦN THỊ THƯƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF ENGLISH COLLO[.]
INTRODUCTION
Statement of the research problem and rationale for the study
Writing remains a significant challenge for many Vietnamese students, including those majoring in English According to 2019 IELTS performance statistics, the average writing score for Vietnamese students is just 5.6 out of 9.0, the lowest among all four skills This highlights the urgent need to address the obstacles students face in developing their academic writing skills As a result, English teachers are tasked with the difficult job of helping students improve their proficiency in academic writing to succeed in international assessments.
Nunan (1989) claimed that writing is a complicated activity since it involves the cognitive ability requiring students to have control over various factors Faddah
Writing is a mental activity, as it is a product of the mind (2011) Numerous studies, including those by Dar & Khan (2015) and Haider (2012), have identified key factors influencing students’ writing competence, such as academic background, personal interest, psychological, linguistic, and cognitive phenomena According to Heaton (1975), a good writing piece requires mastery of five essential elements: language use, mechanical skills, content treatment, stylistic skills, and judgment skills These five elements are closely related to the influence of academic background, linguistic abilities, and cognitive processes emphasized by Dar & Khan and Haider.
(2012) Obviously, writing is a multitasking process; therefore, it is extremely challenging for learners of English
At university, syllabuses for English majors primarily focus on developing students' academic writing skills, which are essential for their success in academic research Academic writing differs significantly from personal or narrative writing, requiring distinct styles and criteria Therefore, assessment standards for academic essays are specifically tailored to evaluate students’ proficiency in scholarly communication Enhancing academic writing skills is crucial for English majors aiming to excel in the academic and research fields.
Lexical resources, or vocabulary use, are a key criterion in assessing students' writing quality This includes evaluating the range of vocabulary, word choice, and collocations, as words must be used appropriately within specific contexts Choosing the right words at the right time is crucial for clarity and effectiveness Additionally, words rarely appear in isolation; they often co-occur with other words in groups or chunks, forming multi-word expressions such as collocations Understanding these aspects of vocabulary—single words and multi-word expressions—is essential for producing coherent and impactful writing (Brashi).
Native speakers tend to use fixed expressions and collocations unconsciously, which are stored in their minds through language acquisition Collocations are lexical relationships that arise from common usage rather than strict rules, making them challenging for EFL/ESL learners to master, especially since they are often influenced by their mother tongues and tend to translate word-by-word, leading to incorrect or unnatural combinations Mastering collocations is essential for language learners to reach an advanced level of English proficiency However, learners must also understand the contextual differences, such as the distinction between colloquial language used in speaking or informal writing and the formal language required in academic writing.
Having said that, little attention has been paid to the study of how EFL/ESL students learn and use collocations in academic writing Farghal & Al-Hamly
Research by 2007 investigated EFL students' collocational errors in writing, focusing on various types including personal writing rather than academic contexts Comparative studies, such as those by Koya (2006) and Shin (2006), analyze native and non-native speakers' use of collocations, highlighting differences in collocational competence Additionally, researchers have explored the effectiveness of learning programs designed to enhance students’ collocational skills, with Abdellah (2015) demonstrating the positive impact of a lexical approach-based program on English majors’ collocation usage.
This research aims to explore the use of English collocations in essay writing among second-year university students in Hanoi By analyzing students’ proficiency with collocations, the study seeks to identify common challenges and areas for improvement The findings will provide valuable insights into the importance of collocation awareness for effective academic writing Ultimately, this research contributes to enhancing language teaching strategies and supporting students’ overall English language development.
Research aims and research questions
This research aims to identify the common types of lexical collocations used in students' essays and analyze frequent errors in their collocation usage It also seeks to determine the sources of these collocational mistakes to better understand their causes The findings will be communicated to teachers to raise awareness of the importance of teaching collocations and encourage the integration of collocation practice into writing instruction Ultimately, the study aims to help educators implement effective countermeasures to minimize students' collocational errors and improve their overall language proficiency.
In brief, to achieve these aims above, this paper is conducted to answer the following research questions:
1 What are the types of lexical collocations usually used by students in writing an essay?
2 What are the common errors students make in using lexical collocations in writing an essay?
3 What are the sources of those collocational errors?
Significance of the study
This study aims to address the gap in collocational research, offering valuable insights despite its small scale The findings can help English teachers, especially those focusing on writing skills, by highlighting students' limited use of certain lexical collocations Teachers can then develop targeted strategies to expand students' vocabulary and improve language proficiency Additionally, awareness of common student errors enables educators to implement effective solutions Ultimately, this research contributes to the academic community by serving as a reliable resource for fellow researchers interested in collocations and vocabulary development.
Scope of the study
This study focuses on second-year English-major students within a university setting, specifically their performance in academic writing tasks It investigates students' ability to produce cause-and-effect and opinion essays, excluding other writing genres The primary aim is to assess how students perform in their essays rather than exploring how they learn collocations For this research, collocations are defined as words that co-occur according to syntactic and semantic relations, aligning with common definitions in the field The study categorizes collocations into lexical and grammatical groups, with a specific emphasis on examining lexical collocations as the main subject of analysis, to better understand their role in academic writing.
The structure of the study
This study is structured into five chapters, beginning with an introduction that clearly states the research problem, its rationale, goals, significance, and scope The literature review in Chapter 2 explores key concepts related to collocations, including their definitions, characteristics, classifications, importance in writing, and common sources of collocational errors Chapter 3 details the research methodology, covering the research design, setting, population and sampling methods, data collection procedures, and data analysis techniques.
Chapter 4- Findings and discussions represents the results and discussions of the findings related to the research questions Chapter 5- Conclusion summarizes the major findings and discusses some limitations of the study as well as suggests some recommendations for further studies.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of collocations
Collocations, first defined by J R Firth in 1957 as an abstraction at a syntagmatic level, refer to the co-occurrence or typical combinations of words in a language According to McCarthy and O’Dell (2005), a collocation is a pair or group of words that are frequently used together and are often difficult to predict, highlighting the arbitrary nature of word pairing choices Native speakers naturally use collocations effortlessly, but this complexity can pose challenges for EFL students striving to master proper word combinations For example, synonyms like "fast" and "quick" are often confused by learners, leading to incorrect phrases such as "a quick car" instead of "a fast car," illustrating the importance of understanding collocations for effective language use.
According to Palmer (1993), collocations are strings of words that should be learned as whole units rather than by assembling their individual parts This highlights that collocations function as independent entities essential for fluent language use Due to the arbitrary nature of collocations, relying solely on the meanings of individual words increases the risk of making errors in word combinations Understanding and mastering collocations is crucial for accurate and natural language production.
Collocations are defined as the tendency of two or more words to appear together more frequently than by random chance, highlighting their natural and predictable patterns According to Woodlard (2000), collocations refer to the likelihood of words co-occurring, while Lewis (2008) emphasizes that this phenomenon is observable when certain words consistently appear together in natural texts at higher than random frequencies Both scholars underscore the inherently unpredictable and natural nature of collocations, which poses a significant challenge for English language learners.
Collocations are frequently occurring chunks of words in natural speech and texts, playing a vital role in language fluency These combinations consist of words that often appear together, making them essential for effective communication The selection of component words within collocations is often unpredictable, reflecting authentic language use Understanding and using collocations can enhance language proficiency and authenticity in both spoken and written contexts.
Characteristics of collocations
Understanding collocations is essential for mastering natural English, but distinguishing them from idioms, discourse markers, and figurative expressions can be challenging due to their similar use of fixed or frequent word combinations While collocations involve words that commonly occur together, idioms and figurative expressions often carry metaphorical meanings, and discourse markers serve pragmatic functions in conversation To clarify these distinctions, linguistic researchers have identified specific characteristics of collocations that set them apart, making it easier for learners and writers to recognize and use them effectively in context.
Sinclair (1991) explains that both spoken and written English are grounded in two fundamental principles: the Open Principle (OP), which aligns with Chomskyan Universal Grammar emphasizing clause construction based on grammatical and semantic rules, and the Idiom Principle (IP), which accounts for the use of conventional socio-lexical combinations Collocations are positioned between these two principles, bridging the gap between grammatical sentence construction and familiar language patterns Understanding this continuum helps in grasping how language users produce natural and meaningful communication, with common collocations serving as essential links within this framework.
Native speakers typically use "heavy traffic" to describe crowded traffic, as "crowded traffic" is not a natural collocation Word combinations vary from weak pairings, like simple free combinations, to strong, fixed collocations, similar to idioms It is important to distinguish between free combinations, collocations, and idioms, as each has different degrees of lexical fixedness and naturalness in usage.
In language, phrases are considered grammatically and semantically correct when their components can be freely combined, such as "buy a book," where "buy" can be replaced by "sell" or "select," and "book" can be replaced by "ticket" or "pen," indicating that the meaning depends on the speaker's intent Unlike idioms, which are fixed expressions with frozen meanings, many collocations are understood by analyzing the combined meanings of their individual words While some collocations exhibit a degree of fixedness similar to idioms, idioms are a specialized subset of collocations; however, this paper does not focus on idioms.
Throughout the literature, the following characteristics of collocations are agreed upon:
Collocations are characterized by the prefabrication of word combinations, which are stored and retrieved as whole units by native speakers (Howarth, 1998a; Hill, 2000; Pawley & Syder, 1993, as cited in Seretan, 2011) Unlike language generation, which involves creative rule-based construction, prefabrication refers to meaningful phrase units that are memorized and quickly accessed during speech (Tode, 2013) These ready-made phrases, or prefabs, enhance fluency by providing natural, conventionalized language that native speakers readily use, thereby facilitating smooth and effective communication.
Research by Stulpinaitė, Horbačauskienė, and Kasperavičienė (2016) highlights that replacing a word within a collocation can lead to the loss of its original meaning, emphasizing that collocation components cannot be substituted syntactically or semantically without altering their sense Nesselhauf (2005) reinforces this idea, pointing out that lexical substitution in collocations is highly restricted Kurosaki (2012) introduces the concept of "combinability," which refers to the limited ability to substitute words in collocations, even when the substitute shares the same part of speech or has a similar meaning, such as "strong tea" versus "powerful tea," where despite being synonyms, they are not interchangeable in context.
This feature highlights the syntagmatic effect, where only a limited number of collocations can be modified because other lexical items cannot be inserted within a phrase (Stulpinaitė, Horbačauskienė & Kasperavičienė, 2016) For example, the idiomatic expression "kick the bucket" cannot be changed to "kick the large bucket," as adding extra lexical items disrupts its collocational meaning and makes it sound unnatural to native speakers.
Transparency refers to whether the elements of a combination and the combination itself have literal or non-literal meanings (Nesselhauf, 2005) This characteristic is crucial for distinguishing between collocations and idioms, with idioms being a special case where their meanings cannot be inferred from their individual parts While idioms like “under the weather” have opaque meanings that cannot be understood solely through their components, collocations such as “make a decision” are more transparent and easily understood by non-native speakers.
Different approaches and classifications of collocations
The Lexical Approach emphasizes that a word's meaning depends on the words it commonly associates with, or collocates, highlighting the importance of context in understanding lexis Native speakers naturally communicate using a reservoir of common word chunks, rather than relying solely on grammatical rules, contrasting with traditional EFL teaching methods that focus on grammar first Halliday (1966) underscored the vital role of collocations in lexis learning, noting they transcend grammatical boundaries and treat lexis as separate from grammar Firth (1957) argued that a word’s meaning is shaped by its collocates, which are often limited, emphasizing the significance of syntagmatic lexical relationships over paradigmatic ones.
The Semantic Approach focuses on understanding the underlying reasons behind word combinations by examining why certain words collocate together For example, it explores why we say "blonde hair" but not "blonde car." This approach involves linguists investigating collocations within a semantic framework, independent of grammatical rules (Gitsaki, 1999).
The Structural Approach to collocation emphasizes the influence of grammatical patterns on word combinations According to Gitsaki (1999), collocations occur within specific structures, making it essential to study grammar alongside vocabulary Unlike other perspectives, this approach views grammar as a central factor that directly shapes collocational patterns, highlighting the importance of understanding both lexis and syntax for effective language use.
Collocations can be categorized based on several key criteria, including degree of fixedness, upward and downward collocations, and grammatical versus lexical collocations These classifications highlight the different ways words naturally combine in language, helping writers and language learners understand their usage better Understanding the main classification streams of collocations is essential for effective language use and enhances SEO by targeting relevant linguistic terms.
Many linguistics scholars chose degree of fixedness as a criteria to classify collocations There are, however, varying terms created to name different kinds of collocations
Lewis (2000) classified collocations as follows:
1 Strong collocations: are collocations that have very limited number of collocates and most collocates are fixed such as ―rancid butter‖ or ―rancid oil‖
2 Weak collocations: refers to collocations which have a wide range of collocates, for example, many things can be described as ―good‖ or ―bad‖
3 Medium-strength collocations: words that go together more frequently than weak collocations such as “hold a meeting”, “carry out a study”
Hill (2000) also provided a similar category of collocations:
1 Unique collocations: refer to collocations which are fixed and irreplaceable by any other words such as ―to foot the bill‖
2 Strong collocations: these collocations are strong or very strong but not unique To be more specific, strong collocations have few other possible collocates Some examples of this are “moved to tears” or “reduced to tears”
3 Weak collocations: consists of word combinations which can be easily guessed such as ―a white shirt‖, ―a red shirt‖, or ―a green shirt‖
4 Medium-strength collocations: these collocations are of the same meaning as suggested by Lewis (2000)
Collocations can be classified along a continuum from weak to strong and fixed patterns, highlighting their varying degrees of stability and familiarity While Hill distinguished between strong and unique collocations, emphasizing the uniqueness of certain word combinations, Lewis incorporated the concept of unique collocations into the broader category of strong collocations Both classification approaches recognize the spectrum nature of collocations, aiding in understanding their linguistic strength and fixedness.
Mahmoud (2005) categorizes collocations into two types: open and restricted collocations Open collocations refer to words that can combine with a variety of other words, highlighting their flexibility in different contexts This classification aligns with Lewis's concept of weak collocations, emphasizing the diverse and adaptable nature of open collocations in language use.
Restricted collocations, similar to strong and unique collocations, refer to fixed word combinations or idioms like "rain cats and dogs." However, this classification treats collocations as two extremes on a spectrum, overlooking those that fall in between, which limits its comprehensiveness.
Sinclair (1991) introduced a classification of collocations into upward and downward categories, based on word frequency patterns Upward collocations involve words like prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions, and pronouns that frequently collocate with less common words; for example, "back" often collocates with "at", "down", "from", "into", and "on", which are more frequent in English Conversely, downward collocations include words such as "arrive" and "bring" that habitually collocate with "back", but are less frequent than it Sinclair emphasized that upward collocations tend to form grammatical frames and are weaker in statistical strength, while downward collocations provide deeper semantic insights into a word's meaning Although this distinction is valuable in corpus-based linguistics, it poses challenges in language teaching because identifying which words are more or less frequent can be difficult.
According to Benson, Benson, and Ilson (1997), as cited in Begagic (2014), collocations are classified into two main types: grammatical and lexical collocations Grammatical collocations involve a content word, such as a noun, verb, or adjective, frequently co-occurring with a grammatical item, typically a preposition These collocations are categorized into eight different types, which are detailed in Table 1 Understanding these structures is essential for mastering natural language usage and improving language proficiency.
Table 1 Grammatical Collocations (Adopted from Begagic, 2014)
1 Noun + preposition Blockade against, apathy towards
2 Noun + to-infinitive He was a fool to do it
3 Noun + that clause We reach an agreement that she would join our team
4 Preposition + noun By accident, in agony
5 Adjective + preposition Fond of children, hungry for news
6 Adjective + to-infinitive It was necessary to work
7 Adjective + that-clause She was afraid that she would fail
8 Different patterns in English, e.g verb + to-infinitive, verb + bare infinitive, and other
Lexical collocations consist of combinations of nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives without involving grammatical elements, making them essential for natural language use (Benson, Benson, and Ilson, 1986) According to The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English, there are seven distinct types of lexical collocations, highlighting their importance in enhancing language fluency and lexical knowledge Understanding these collocations can improve both language comprehension and effective communication for learners and writers alike.
Table 2.Lexical Collocations (Adopted from Benson, Benson and Ilson, 1986)
1 Verb (which means creation/ action) + noun/pronoun/prepositional phrase
2 Verb (which means eradication/cancellation) + noun
Reject an appeal, crush resistance
3 (Adjective + noun) or (noun used in an attributive way + noun)
Strong tea, a crushing defeat, land reform
4 Noun + verb naming the activity which is performed by a designate of this noun
5 Quantifier + noun A swarm of bees, a piece of advice
6 Adverb + Adjective Hopelessly addicted, sound asleep
7 Verb + Adverb Argue heatedly, apologize humbly
The classification of collocations into grammatical and lexical categories offers significant benefits, as it encompasses both lexis and grammar—two closely related aspects of language According to Benson, Benson, and Ilson (1986), lexical collocations exclude free lexical combinations, emphasizing only those that are commonly used and fixed This classification also incorporates criteria related to the fixedness of collocations, further clarifying their usage Literature indicates that most research on English teaching and learning prioritizes lexical collocations over grammatical ones, likely due to the unpredictable and complex nature of lexical collocations, which can be more challenging for learners Consequently, the current study adopts a lexical-oriented framework to analyze students' use of collocations, aligning with prevalent research focuses in the field.
The importance of collocations in writing
Vocabulary acquisition is a crucial aspect of learning a second language and should be central to language teaching, as "a language consists of grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar" (Lewis, 1993) It is widely recognized that the proper use of words in specific contexts is more important than merely choosing correct grammatical structures (Hammer, 1991) A strong command of English vocabulary enables students to communicate effectively and confidently (Hanks, 1987).
Collocation plays a crucial role in vocabulary acquisition by helping learners understand how words naturally combine in context According to Richard (1973), mastering a word involves understanding its frequency in both spoken and written language, its grammatical patterns, and its network of related words This article emphasizes the importance of collocations as part of this network, highlighting their significance in effective vocabulary learning Traditionally, vocabulary instruction has focused mainly on memorizing definitions and basic usage, but incorporating collocations can enhance learners’ language proficiency and fluency (Mallilamas & Pongpairoj, 2005).
Learning through contextual understanding enhances students' receptive skills, such as reading and listening, by enabling them to grasp the meaning of words and interpret entire texts more easily However, this approach may pose challenges for productive skills like writing, especially since producing good English requires careful word choice due to the polysemous nature of many words Students often struggle with selecting appropriate meanings and may misuse synonyms, leading to awkward expressions To improve accuracy and naturalness, it is essential for learners to study vocabulary in chunks or collocations, which reflect the most common native speaker expressions Mastering collocations is widely regarded by linguists as vital for achieving a native-like command of English (Zaabalawi & Gould, 2017) Furthermore, research by Hill (1999) highlights that students often lose marks despite good ideas because they are unaware of key collocates essential for clear and effective writing.
According to Hill (1999), developing both writing and speaking skills provides students with more opportunities to practice collocations EFL teachers should emphasize the importance of collocations and encourage students to learn words in chunks This approach is an effective strategy for helping students build a natural repertoire of expressions to enhance their writing.
Sources of collocational errors
Errors in foreign language acquisition are inevitable, but recognizing these mistakes does not indicate ignorance of the problem Identifying the root causes of collocational errors is crucial for educators to develop effective solutions Researchers such as Channell (1981), Bahns & Eldaws (1993), and Liu (1999b) have found that these errors stem from factors like analogy, overgeneralization, paraphrasing, L1 interference, intralingual transfer, interlingual transfer, and limited collocational knowledge Notably, Liu (1999b) offers a comprehensive and rational model explaining the various sources of collocational errors in language learning.
Table 3.Sources of Collocational Errors by Liu (1999b)
Cognitive Strategy-related errors primarily stem from Intralingual Transfer and Interlingual Transfer Intralingual Transfer occurs when learners make mistakes due to incomplete or faulty understanding of the target language, such as incorrect grammar or word usage For example, errors arising from partial learning can lead to sentences like "Return" instead of a complete, properly structured response Understanding these causes is essential for developing effective language learning and teaching strategies.
The phrase "talent singer" is incorrect; it should be "talented singer" to accurately describe a singer's skill Such errors often stem from learners' lack of sufficient knowledge and influence from their native language, leading to common mistakes like saying "cut a relationship" instead of "break a relationship." False concept hypothesized errors occur when learners misunderstand key distinctions in the target language, highlighting the importance of proper language comprehension for accurate usage.
―teach‖ instead of ―learn‖, ―do‖ instead of ―make‖ They assume the words can be exchangeable in any contexts
Errors of Overgeneralization occur when students fail to distinguish between similar language structures, leading to incorrect usage For example, a student might say, “I am worry about” instead of the correct “I am worried about,” demonstrating an overgeneralization of related forms This mistake happens because students apply a pattern from one structure (such as “I worry about”) to a similar, but different, phrase (“I am worried about”) Recognizing and addressing these errors can improve learners' grammatical accuracy and fluency.
Synonyms are words or phrases that have the same or nearly the same meaning in specific contexts (Nordquist, 2020) However, it is essential to recognize that synonyms are often not interchangeable, as using the wrong synonym can lead to awkward or unnatural expressions, even if the sentence remains understandable to native speakers Advanced language learners are distinguished by their ability to discern subtle differences between synonyms and to apply each term appropriately for a natural and fluent expression.
Errors of Ignorance of rule restrictions are caused by the analogy and failure to observe the restrictions of the existing structure For example, students may write
“many money” or “much people” In fact, they are aware of the rule for ―many‖ or
―much‖, but they are unaware of the restrictions for the rule
Negative transfer is a common challenges faced by language learners, especially students learning English as a second language It occurs when learners translate directly from their mother tongue, leading to errors in the target language For example, Vietnamese students might say "clean the bed" instead of "make the bed," because "clean" in their language can imply tidying or organizing Understanding negative transfer is essential for language learners and teachers to develop effective strategies for improving fluency and accuracy.
Word coinage refers to students creating new words or phrases to effectively communicate their ideas, serving as a workaround for gaps in collocational knowledge This strategy helps learners maintain smooth conversations when they are unsure of the correct expressions For example, students might say "see sun down" instead of the correct phrase "see the sunset," illustrating how word coinage facilitates communication despite language gaps.
Approximation is a common cause of collocational errors, where students use incorrect structures or vocabulary in their expressions For example, saying “the people were sleeps” demonstrates a mistake at the end of the sentence, where “sleepy” should be used instead This highlights the importance of mastering vocabulary and grammatical accuracy to avoid such errors.
Related studies
Since its inception, collocations have garnered significant attention from researchers worldwide Extensive studies on collocations have been conducted globally, focusing primarily on three main areas: identifying collocational errors and evaluating EFL learners’ knowledge, analyzing native speakers’ use of collocations through corpus studies and comparing it with non-native speakers, and experimenting with programs or training methods aimed at developing collocational competence to enhance overall language skills (Abdellah, 2015).
Recent research in collocational studies from Iran and Kuwait emphasizes investigating students’ collocational errors in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Farghal and Al-Hamly (2007) highlighted collocational competence in EFL writing, revealing that verbal collocations are the most challenging for learners Hashemi, Azizinezhad, and Dravishi (2012) expanded this work by analyzing both essays and student perceptions via questionnaires, focusing on grammatical and lexical collocations in Iranian university students’ writing Talakoob and Koosha (2017) further examined advanced EFL learners' knowledge across various collocation types, using specific tests such as verb-noun, adjective-noun, and verb-preposition, analyzed with SPSS, without focusing on particular language skills Overall, these studies underscore the importance of understanding different collocation categories and error patterns to improve EFL learners' language proficiency.
Taeko Koya (2006) investigated high-frequency verb-noun collocations used by native English speakers through the British National Corpus (BNC) and the TIME corpus, aiming to identify essential collocations for Japanese learners of English Her research revealed that these common collocations are widely used across various topics, emphasizing their consistency in native usage However, Koya highlighted that the collocations found in the corpora do not necessarily match the "basic collocations" expected for Japanese learners, suggesting the need for further pedagogical research to tailor English teaching materials more effectively.
In 2006, Shin conducted a study titled "The High Frequency Collocations of Spoken and Written English," focusing on identifying the most commonly used collocations through analysis of diverse corpora Similar to Koya's research, Shin examined both spoken and written collocations to provide a comprehensive understanding of language usage patterns across different contexts.
(2006), however, investigated data from more sources other than the BNC and the TIME corpus For instance, he also searched for the collocations in the Australian
Key English language corpora include the ACE Corpus of English, Brown Corpus, Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen (LOB) Corpus, Freiburg-Brown (FROWN), Freiburg-LOB (FLOB), Kolhapur Corpus, and Wellington Written (WWC) Corpus A major distinction between researchers is that one focused specifically on verb-noun collocations, while the other examined collocations more broadly.
Recent research in collocational studies highlights innovative programs and training courses aimed at enhancing students' collocational knowledge In Egypt, Abdellah (2015) investigated the effect of a lexical approach-based program on English majors' use of collocations, demonstrating that corpus-based activities significantly improved learners’ collocational awareness Similarly, Rad and Saniei (2016) conducted a study in Iran on teaching collocations to intermediate EFL learners using projected visuals, finding that visual aids effectively support collocational acquisition These studies underscore the effectiveness of targeted instructional methods in developing collocational competence among language learners.
Rad and Saniei (2016) investigated the effectiveness of a new collocational teaching method that utilized visual slides to illustrate collocations, finding that visuals significantly enhance learning The study involved university students, divided randomly into control and experimental groups, who completed pre- and post-tests around a ten-session treatment The results demonstrated that incorporating visuals as instructional aids is a proven effective strategy for teaching English collocations.
Vietnamese collocational research is primarily focused on contrastive studies that compare collocation usage between native speakers and Vietnamese learners, with most studies serving linguistic or translation purposes Unlike studies examining native speakers' collocation use through corpora, these contrastive analyses highlight differences and similarities in collocation patterns between the groups However, the majority of this research aims to inform translation practices rather than language teaching or learning Therefore, this section of the thesis concentrates on studies related to the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to provide insights relevant to pedagogical approaches.
Nguyen & Webb (2016) in their study "Examining second language receptive knowledge of collocation and factors that affect learning" explored Vietnamese EFL learners’ understanding of verb–noun and adjective–noun collocations across the first three 1,000-word frequency levels, revealing that participants knew less than 50% of each collocation type, indicating limited mastery Their research involved 100 English majors from a university in Da Nang, Vietnam, and used a 180-item collocation test based on BNC and COCA lists, highlighting significant gaps in collocational knowledge among learners Similarly, Pham (2012) investigated common errors in the usage of "DO" and "MAKE" collocations among non-major English students at Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business Administration, emphasizing the importance of understanding lexical collocations for language proficiency These studies underscore the need for targeted collocation instruction to enhance EFL learners' vocabulary skills.
The first research focused on English majors, while the second study involved 30 non-major students of English In the second study, three distinct multiple-choice tests of collocation were used, each designed for a specific purpose For example, Test 1 assessed students' understanding of verb elements within collocations.
This study aimed to assess students’ understanding of noun elements within given collocations, with Test 3 specifically examining their confusion between "Do" and "Make" in different contexts The results revealed that common errors stemmed from misunderstandings of both the verb and noun components of collocations Additionally, students frequently experienced confusion between "Do" and "Make," highlighting the need for targeted instruction on these common English collocations.
Research into collocations increasingly emphasizes the development of innovative teaching methods and programs aimed at enhancing students' language competence Notably, Tran (2012) and Nguyen (2013) have contributed to this field, with Tran's study exploring effective collocational instruction strategies Their work underscores the importance of implementing targeted approaches to improve students' mastery of collocations and overall language proficiency.
This article examines the impact of English collocation instruction on the writing skills of first-year English majors at Hanoi University of Science and Technology Nguyen (2013) explored how utilizing the Collocation - Applying Process (CAP) can enhance second-year students’ use of collocations in their writing Both studies employed action research as their research design, which is effective for testing teaching methods on student groups For example, Tran (2012) conducted her research with 21 university students, administering a pre-test before the intervention and a post-test afterward to measure improvement These studies demonstrate that a collocational-based approach, combined with action research methodology, can significantly improve students’ writing performance.
In a 2013 study, 20 second-year students participated in a pre-test and post-test to assess the impact of an targeted intervention The results demonstrated a significant improvement in students' collocational awareness and writing performance following the intervention, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing language proficiency.
A review of global and national studies reveals a research gap in understanding collocational errors in student essay writing International research primarily focuses on specific types of lexical or grammatical collocations across diverse topics and genres However, there is a lack of comprehensive investigations into all types of collocational errors in student writing In the Vietnamese context, no studies have yet identified the underlying causes of collocational errors, highlighting an area for further research.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design: qualitative research design
The researcher employed a qualitative research design with content analysis of textual materials to achieve the study's aims and characteristics According to Crossman (2019), qualitative research involves collecting non-numerical data to interpret meaning and understand social phenomena This approach enables researchers to explore how individuals attribute meaning to their behaviors, actions, and interactions Unlike quantitative research, which emphasizes macro-level trends, qualitative research focuses on micro-level perspectives, providing detailed insights into social complexities.
As stated earlier, the study aims at answering three questions, which are:
1 What are the types of lexical collocations usually used by students in writing an essay?
2 What are the common errors students make in using lexical collocations in writing an essay?
3 What are the sources of those collocational errors?
This study focuses on analyzing the use of lexical collocations in written materials, emphasizing qualitative data rather than numerical analysis The research aims to identify different types of lexical collocations, common errors, and their suitability within an academic register To interpret the students’ behaviors and the meaningful use of collocations, a theoretical framework is employed, making qualitative methods the most appropriate choice Due to constraints in time and resources, the researcher limited the scope of the study, opting for a qualitative research design that allows for in-depth analysis within these limitations.
The setting of the study
The university where the study was conducted is located in central Hanoi, primarily attracting students pursuing law rather than linguistics English majors make up only about 6% of the annual admission quota, mainly because English is a newly established major, operational for just four years The English Department is still developing its human resources and curriculum to enhance teaching and learning in English In the first two years, English students focus on General English courses designed to strengthen their linguistic knowledge and competence Subsequently, they study law-related subjects in both Vietnamese and English, a key feature that differentiates these students from those at other universities.
This research analyzes the writings of second-year English major students in their first semester During an 8-week academic writing course, students practice five essay types: descriptive, narrative, opinion, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect The course utilizes the "Effective Academic Writing 2" textbook by Savage and Mayer (2006) to guide their learning and development in academic writing skills.
Population and sampling
The study's population consisted of 60 essays written by second-year English major students Since the English major is newly established at the university, the intake of students is limited each year Essays were selected based on length and proficiency; those under 250 words or with numerous grammar errors and incorrect vocabulary—impacting comprehension—were excluded to ensure sample consistency Ultimately, 50 essays meeting the criteria for proper length and language quality were chosen as the research samples.
Data collection instrument
The researcher utilized writing samples as the primary data collection method, as this approach effectively aligns with the study's goal of analyzing collocation usage in academic writing This instrument provides valuable insights into students' language patterns and specific collocation patterns within academic texts, making it an appropriate choice for this research.
Data collection method and procedure
In the initial phase, the researcher selected three essay topics—opinion, cause, and effect—that students studied during the first half of their writing course One opinion essay topic was, "Some people say that the Internet is making the world smaller by bringing people together To what extent do you agree that the Internet facilitates easier communication among people?" The second topic focused on causes, asking, "What are the causes of students' cheating in exams?" The third topic addressed social issues, exploring, "What are the causes of poverty?" These topics were chosen to assess students' ability to develop coherent arguments and understand causal relationships in writing.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, data collection was conducted online due to the shift to digital teaching and learning Students selected one of three topics and wrote their essays within 45 minutes during the progress test, submitting them via Google Classroom The researcher then downloaded these essays to serve as data for the study, making physical collection impossible during this period.
Data analysis method and procedure
The researcher used document analysis as the exclusive method to examine the data Since the raw data lacked numerical information, coding categories were developed to interpret the findings effectively To address the first research question about the types of lexical collocations in the essays, the researcher first identified all lexical collocations present These collocations were then systematically categorized according to Benson, Benson, & Ilson’s (1986) classification system The classification and encoding process are demonstrated in the accompanying table, illustrating how the data were organized for analysis.
Table 4.Coding strategy Excerpts from the essays Types of collocations
Test-taking is an inevitable part of the learning process Besides the advantages it brings along , it also
(1) makes students have a tendency to cheat during the
(1) exam to achieve as much high score as possible
Cheating is a common issue that affects students at various points during their education, involving methods such as copying answers, peeking at classmates’ tests, or bringing unauthorized materials into exams To effectively address this problem, it is essential to implement appropriate measures and promote academic integrity.
(1) that both internal and external causes can be considered meticulously
(1): Verb + Noun/ Noun phrase/ Pronoun
(2): Adjective + Noun (3): Noun + Verb (4): Quantifier + Noun (5): Adverb + Adjective (6): Verb + Adverb
First, in the group of subjective causes, lack of knowledge should be mentioned Lack of knowledge is one of the root causes of poverty
Knowledge is one which has enabled many people to overcome poverty
After completing the coding stage, the researcher calculated the percentage of each collocational type in relation to others within each essay Subsequently, they compared and contrasted these data across multiple essays to gain a comprehensive understanding of collocational patterns This systematic analysis provides valuable insights into language use and improves the overall quality of the research.
To answer the second research question—"What are the common errors students make in using lexical collocations in essay writing?"—the researcher employed the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English, a trusted resource from Oxford University Press The study involved verifying each collocation for acceptable usage, categorizing problematic collocations into different groups based on their types, and analyzing the errors within each group to identify patterns and draw meaningful conclusions.
The researcher analyzed students' incorrect collocation phrases to identify the underlying causes of errors, categorizing them according to Liu's (1999b) framework The study revealed that errors primarily stem from cognitive strategies such as Intralingual transfer and Interlingual transfer, as well as communication strategies like Word coinage and Approximation Understanding these error sources provides valuable insights into students' language learning processes and highlights areas for targeted instruction to improve collocation accuracy.
The following table is an example of how inappropriate collocations were described as originated from different sources
Table 5.Method of identifying sources of errors Type of collocations Students’ collocations Causes of errors Target collocations
The key to destroying the top effects of poverty is to attack the causes
The use of synonyms Minimize the effects
The key to destroying the top effects of poverty is to attack the causes
Negative transfer Deal with the causes
Once they have cheated sucess, they would do it again and again until they get caught
To ensure objectivity and data validity in identifying collocations and related errors, the researcher consulted with a fellow writing instructor at the same institution and a native English teacher from an English center in Hanoi Their insights provided valuable reference points, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the data analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Research question 1: what are the types of lexical collocations usually used by
On analysing students‘ essays, the researcher has calculated 187 collocations of
Among the six types of collocations, Verb-Noun combinations accounted for the highest percentage at 40.6%, making them the most frequently used Adjective-Noun collocations were also popular among students, representing 36.9%, which is quite close to Verb-Noun usage In contrast, Verb-Adverb collocations contributed only 13.5%, nearly a third of the Verb-Noun percentage The remaining three collocation types were less common, with Noun-Verb and Quantity-Noun collocations being the least used, each comprising just over 2% of the writing samples.
Table 6.Frequency of use in the writing samples
No Types of collocations Frequency Percent Total
Analysis reveals that nearly all writing samples exhibit a similar pattern of collocational frequency, as outlined in Table 6 and illustrated in Table 7 The most commonly used collocation types within each essay are Verb-Noun and Adjective-Noun constructions, highlighting their prominence in academic writing Notably, essays No 31 and No 47 deviate from this trend, with Type 6 (Verb-Adverb) being employed more frequently than other collocation types This consistent pattern underscores the significance of specific collocations in structuring effective written communication.
There is a significant disparity in the total number of collocations used across 50 essays, with some students demonstrating strong awareness of key collocations such as "No.1," "No.2," and "No.10," incorporating 17, 13, and 14 collocations respectively Conversely, many students tend to express their ideas through lengthy sentences with few collocational expressions, indicating varying levels of competence in using effective collocations for clearer and more cohesive writing.
20, No 37, and No 45 only had 2 collocations in their writings Additionally, it is of great consideration that compared to the length of an essay which is about
250 words, generally the collocations found in each piece of writing are quite small in number Specifically, 17 is the highest number of collocational expressions identified in one essay
Table 7.Lexical collocations used by students
Research question 2: what are the common errors students make in using
Analysis of Collocational Errors Reveals That students made 51 errors out of 187 collocations across 50 essays The majority of these errors, accounting for 62.7%, occurred in Type 1 (Verb + Noun) collocations, indicating significant difficulty with this structure Following this, Type 2 (Adjective + Noun) collocations showed 13 errors, while Noun-Verb collocations contributed only 3 errors The remaining three collocation types each had only one error, highlighting relatively fewer issues in those areas.
What can be certainly drawn from Table 8 is that although Type 1 was the most used collocational expressions, it also took the first place in the number of errors
Verb+ Noun Adjective + Noun Noun + VerbQuantity + Noun Adverb + Adjective Verb + Adverb
Table 8.Correlation between collocational frequency and the number of errors
No Types of collocations Frequency Number of errors
Table 8 demonstrates that students struggle most with Noun-Verb collocations, especially those used incorrectly Despite their limited frequency, 75% of Noun-Verb collocations in students’ writing are erroneous Common mistakes include the incorrect pairing of nouns and verbs, which hampers overall language accuracy Addressing these problematic collocations is essential for improving students’ language proficiency and fluency.
Table 9.Examples of Wrong Noun-Verb collocations Students’ writings Suggested collocations
The era of wireless connection ascended
The era of wireless connection began
Another issue arisen relating to social media
Another issue arises relating to social media
More issues occur More issues arise
Among all incorrect noun-verb collocations, verb-related errors are the most problematic for students Notably, verb-noun collocations account for approximately 42% of all collocation errors, highlighting their significance in language learning challenges Addressing these common mistakes can greatly improve students' overall language proficiency and accuracy.
Table 10.Examples of Wrong Verb-Noun collocations Students’ writings Suggested collocations
Narrow the gulf Narrow the gap
Cheaters will get serious consequences Cheaters will suffer serious consequences
It will erase the gap between people to people
It will bridge the gap between people to people
Some students make an unreasonable assessment that they cannot pass the exam
Some students make an unreasonable assumption that they cannot pass the exam
Therefore cannot afford to raise their qualifications in the future to escape poverty
Therefore cannot afford to obtain their qualifications in the future to escape poverty
The study reveals that students struggle most with the verb component in Verb-Noun collocations, with 27 out of 32 combinations exhibiting incorrect verb usage In contrast, only 3 collocations contain errors related to nouns, highlighting the greater difficulty with verbs Notably, two collocations are used inaccurately, such as the phrase “narrow boundaries” in the sentence “The boundaries that kept the world apart were narrowed,” which is rarely found in corpus data Instead, more appropriate collocations would be “remove barriers,” emphasizing the importance of correct verb choices for natural language use.
Quantifier-Noun collocations often lead to common errors, with a notable 25% error rate within this category Despite this high proportion, the actual data reveal only one mistake made by a student, who used the phrase “a huge amount of adverse effects” instead of the correct “a huge number of adverse effects.” It remains unclear whether this error was accidental or a recurring issue, highlighting the importance of focusing on accurate quantifier use in language learning.
Out of 69 identified Adjective-Noun collocations, approximately 18% (13 combinations) were incorrectly paired, indicating common errors in collocation usage Notably, all problematic expressions involved the use of incorrect adjectives, highlighting a recurring pattern of adjective misuse in collocational errors (see Table 11 for examples) Addressing these incorrect adjective-noun pairings can significantly improve language accuracy and fluency.
Table 11.Examples of wrong Adjective-Noun collocations Students’ writings Suggested collocations
The Internet has vast contribution to humanity evolution
The Internet has enormous contribution to humanity evolution Far distance and the lack of time are huge barriers for meeting face-to-face
Far distance and the lack of time are major barriers for meeting face-to-face
I certainly agree with this opinion due to some remarkable reasons
I certainly agree with this opinion due to some major reasons
In the category of Adverb-Adjective collocations, only one error was identified, making them among the least frequently used word combinations in students’ essays at just 4.8% The analysis revealed that the student incorrectly paired an adverb with the adjective "priced," choosing the wrong adverb to create the collocation This highlights the need for improved understanding of correct adverb-adjective combinations to enhance writing accuracy and coherence.
The term "costly priced" is incorrect; the proper phrase is "highly priced." It is unreasonable to determine which part of the type is more problematic for students due to the lack of sufficient evidence Additionally, students made a grammatical mistake in using Verb-Adverb collocations by writing "talk direct" instead of the correct form "talk directly," highlighting an area for grammatical improvement.
Incorrect lexical collocations mainly fall into two categories: Word Choice and Word Form Word Choice errors occur when one or both words in a collocation are inaccurate, while Word Form mistakes involve using the wrong grammatical form of a word Understanding these categories is essential for improving language accuracy and enhancing overall communication quality Proper use of correct word combinations and forms is crucial for clear and effective writing.
Research question 3: what are the sources of those collocational errors?
To understand why students make mistakes in writing, erroneous collocations were categorized based on Liu's (1999b) classification These errors can be attributed to factors such as false concepts hypothesized, the misuse of synonyms, ignorance of rule restrictions, negative transfer from L1 interference, and approximation errors Recognizing these categories helps in addressing common collocation mistakes and improving language proficiency.
Table 12.Causes of collocational errors
Negative Transfer is identified as the primary source of collocational errors, accounting for approximately 49% of all errors, with most belonging to Type 1 (19 out of 27 errors) Other contributing types include Type 2 (5 errors) and Type 3 (2 errors), highlighting the significant influence of the mother tongue on second language production Students often create collocations based on their L1 knowledge to compensate for gaps in their L2 collocational competence, leading to typical errors caused by negative transfer.
Table 13.Collocational errors caused by Negative Transfer Type Students’writing Suggested collocations
1 Making the world smaller by bringing people together or increasing the gap between us all depends on the ways using Internet
The way individuals use the Internet significantly influences whether the world becomes smaller by bringing people together or wider by creating gaps between us all Effective online engagement fosters global connectivity and understanding, making the world feel more unified Conversely, misuse or neglect of digital platforms can deepen divisions and hinder communication Ultimately, responsible Internet usage has the power to bridge distances and promote unity worldwide.
2 Poor people tend to make their children focus on having a job to pay off for necessary needs
Poor people tend to make their children focus on having a job to pay off for fundamental needs
3 Sometimes more issues occur among the countries or within country
Sometimes more issues arise among the countries or within country
5 A call or message is costly priced A call or message is highly priced
Students have a relatively fair chance of making collocational errors, including approximation, false concept hypotheses, and synonymous mistakes Specifically, approximation and false concept hypothesis errors account for 17.7% of all collocational errors, highlighting the common challenges students face in accurate language usage Additionally, the misuse of synonyms contributes approximately 14% of these errors, emphasizing the importance of proper lexical choice in language learning Improving awareness of these error types can enhance students' language proficiency and accuracy.
Approximation errors occur when vocabulary items or sentence structures are used incorrectly, leading to inaccuracies in writing In the analyzed samples, a total of eight approximation errors were identified, spanning Types 1 through 6, with the exception of Type 5 (refer to Table 12) These errors highlight common challenges in ensuring precise language use, emphasizing the need for careful vocabulary selection and grammatical accuracy to improve overall writing quality.
Table 14.Collocational errors caused by Approximation Type Students’writing Suggested collocations
2 They may know about the serious consequences of it but with highly self-respect, they behave like cheaters
They may know about the serious consequences of it but with high self- respect, they behave like cheaters
3 Another issue arisen relating to social media
Another issue arises relating to social media
6 You won’t know the others’ feelings if you don’t direct talk with them
You won’t know the others’ feelings if you don’t directly talk with them
False concept hypothesized errors are caused by students‘ inability to differentiate the meaning of de-lexical verbs such as ―do‖ and ―make‖, ―have‖ and
Understanding the differences between ―get‖, ―take‖, and ―bring‖ is essential, as these words often confuse students due to their limited standalone meaning when combined with specific nouns The true meaning of these structures is primarily linked to the nouns they accompany, rather than the verbs themselves Delexical structures are prevalent in English and mastering their use is crucial for achieving language fluency Data indicates that most errors—specifically seven cases—fall under Type 1 (Verb-Noun) errors, highlighting that students often struggle with verbs that have similar meanings, making Type 1 errors particularly challenging to learn.
15 below illustrates how students made mistakes due to false concept hypothesis
Table 15.Collocational errors caused by False concept hypothesized Type Students’writing Suggested collocations
1 Cheaters will get serious consequence
Cheaters will take serious consequence
2 The aftermath has put several countries into deep difficulty and underdevelopment
The aftermath has put several countries into severe difficulty and underdevelopment
Synonyms are a significant source of collocational errors, as students often lack awareness of their nuanced meanings and incorrect usage sometimes leads to non-interchangeability Most errors stemming from synonym misuse are classified as Type 2 (Adjective-Noun), with five instances, while Type 1 (Verb-Noun) errors are less common, totaling only two Notably, students frequently struggle with conveying the meaning of "big," often substituting it with synonyms like "huge" or "vast," leading to incorrect collocations The accompanying table illustrates examples of these maladapted collocations related to synonym use, highlighting common mistakes made by learners.
Table 16.Collocational errors caused by the use of synonyms Type Students’writing Suggested collocations
2 The Internet has vast contribution to humanity evolution
The Internet has great contribution to humanity evolution
2 Far distance and the lack of time are huge barriers for meeting face- to-face
Far distance and the lack of time are major barriers for meeting face-to- face
A notable source of collocational errors in students' essays is the ignorance of rule restrictions, which occurs when learners fail to observe established structural rules These errors stem from inconsistent application of language rules in second language (L2) acquisition Although these mistakes account for only 5.9% of the total errors, they primarily affect Type 1 and Type 4 collocations Table 17 provides examples of such errors arising from ignorance of rule restrictions, highlighting the importance of understanding and applying grammatical rules accurately to improve collocational proficiency.
Table 17 Collocational errors caused by the ignorance of rule restrictions Type Students’writing Suggested collocations
1 You can easily access to the Internet with just a mobile device or a laptop
You can easily access the Internet with just a mobile device or a laptop
2 Mankind still has to confront a huge amount of adverse effects
Mankind still has to confront a huge number of adverse effects.