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 Recent statistics from the 2019 Academic IELTS test reveal that the average writing score for Vietnamese students is only 5.6 out of 9.0, the lowest among all tested skills, with Reading at 6.2, Listening at 6.1, and Speaking at 5.7 (source: https://www.ielts.org) This situation highlights the difficulties students encounter in developing their writing skills, particularly in academic contexts Consequently, English teachers face the daunting task of equipping students with the necessary proficiency in academic writing.
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 fundamentally a mental activity, as noted by 2011 researchers, and various studies have explored the factors influencing students' writing competence According to Dar & Khan (2015) and Haider (2012), key factors include academic background, personal interest, and psychological, linguistic, and cognitive aspects Heaton (1975) identified five essential elements for effective writing: language use, mechanical skill, content treatment, stylistic skill, and judgment skill These elements are interconnected with the factors highlighted by Dar & Khan and Haider, emphasizing the complexity of writing competence.
(2012) Obviously, writing is a multitasking process; therefore, it is extremely challenging for learners of English
University syllabuses for English majors focus on developing essential academic writing skills, which are crucial for entering the research-oriented academic world It is important to recognize that academic writing differs significantly from other writing styles, such as personal writing.
2 narrative writing in the single factor mentioned previously Therefore, the criteria to mark students‘ academic essay are, of course, different too
One key criterion for assessing student writing is the use of lexical resources, which refers to vocabulary utilization Writing is evaluated based on vocabulary range, word choice, and collocation It's crucial to understand that words are context-dependent; knowing which words to use and when is essential Additionally, words do not function in isolation; they often appear in groups or chunks In any language, vocabulary includes both single words and multi-word expressions, with collocations being a prominent example of these multi-word combinations.
Collocations, defined as lexical relationships arising from common usage rather than strict rules, pose a significant challenge for learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) Native speakers often rely on fixed expressions stored in their minds through language acquisition, making it difficult for non-native speakers to create collocations independently Many EFL learners tend to translate phrases directly from their mother tongues, leading to inaccuracies in meaning Mastery of collocations is crucial for advancing language proficiency, as effective use of these expressions brings learners closer to an advanced level of English It is also important for students to recognize the distinctions between collocations used in informal speech and those required in formal academic writing, as the latter necessitates a more structured and formal approach to language.
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
In 2007, researchers explored the collocational errors made by EFL students in various writing forms, excluding a focus on academic writing Comparative studies, such as those by Koya (2006) and Shin (2006), examined the differences in collocation usage between native and non-native speakers Additionally, some research has implemented learning programs to enhance students' collocational competence, with Abdellah (2015) notably contributing through his article on the impact of a lexical approach program on improving English majors' use of collocations.
This research paper, titled "An Investigation into the Use of English Collocations in Writing Essays by Second Year Students at a University in Hanoi," is motivated by several compelling reasons that highlight the importance of understanding collocation usage in academic writing.
Research aims and research questions
The researcher seeks to identify common lexical collocations in student essays and examine prevalent errors in their usage Additionally, the study aims to uncover the sources of these collocational errors Ultimately, it is crucial to share the findings with teachers to enhance their awareness of integrating collocations into writing instruction and to implement strategies that can help prevent students' collocational mistakes.
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, although conducted on a small scale, aims to address the existing gap in collocational research and provide valuable insights for English teachers, particularly in teaching writing skills By identifying students' limited use of specific lexical collocations, educators can develop strategies to enhance their vocabulary Additionally, awareness of common errors made by students allows teachers to propose effective solutions Ultimately, this research serves as a reliable resource for fellow researchers interested in the same field.
Scope of the study
This study focuses on second-year English major students at a university, specifically examining their performance in writing academic essays, including cause and effect and opinion essays The research does not explore how students learn collocations but rather how they utilize them in their writing It adopts a common definition of collocations as the co-occurrence of words based on syntactic and semantic relationships, classifying them into lexical and grammatical groups, with a particular emphasis on lexical collocations as the primary subjects of examination.
The structure of the study
The study is structured into five chapters, starting with Chapter 1, which introduces the research problem, rationale, aims, significance, and scope of the study Chapter 2 offers a comprehensive literature review that discusses fundamental concepts related to collocations, including their definitions, characteristics, classifications, and significance in the context of the research.
5 collocations in writing, sources of collocational errors were discussed Chapter 3-
Methodology presents the research design, the setting of the study, population and sampling, data collection methods and procedures and data analysis procedures
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, a term popularized by linguist J R Firth in 1957, refer to the co-occurrence of words or word combinations that are often used together McCarthy & O'Dell (2005) describe collocations as pairs or groups of words that are frequently found in conjunction, making them challenging to predict for language learners While native speakers naturally use these combinations, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students may struggle with them For instance, although "fast" and "quick" are synonyms, students might incorrectly interchange them, saying "a quick car" instead of "a fast car" or "a fast meal" instead of "a quick meal."
Palmer (1993) emphasized that collocations should be learned as complete units rather than by assembling individual words This is crucial because the arbitrary nature of collocations increases the likelihood of errors when combining words based solely on their separate meanings.
Woodlard (2000) defined collocations as the tendency of two or more words to co-occur more frequently than by chance Similarly, Lewis (2008) noted that the collocational phenomenon is evident when specific words consistently appear together.
Collocations present a significant challenge for English learners due to their natural and unpredictable nature, as highlighted by Woodlard (2000) and Lewis (2008) Understanding the frequency and context of these word combinations is essential for mastering the language.
Collocations are groups of words that commonly appear together in spoken and written language, and their specific combinations are often unpredictable.
Characteristics of collocations
Collocations are often confused with other linguistic phenomena like idioms, discourse markers, and figurative expressions due to their shared feature of frequent co-occurrence Despite a general consensus on their definition, distinguishing collocations from these similar categories remains ambiguous Consequently, efforts have been made to clarify the characteristics of collocations to better differentiate them within the English language.
According to Sinclair (1991), spoken and written English are governed by two key principles: the Open Principle (OP) and the Idiom Principle (IP), with collocations positioned between them The OP aligns with Chomsky's Universal Grammar theory, which focuses on the ability to create sentences based on grammatical and semantic rules In contrast, the IP pertains to the use of conventional socio-lexical combinations, demonstrating that certain phrases are both grammatically and semantically acceptable.
While "crowded traffic" may convey the intended meaning, it sounds unnatural to native speakers who prefer the phrase "heavy traffic." This illustrates the variability in word combinations, ranging from weak partnerships like "weak company" to stronger, more fixed combinations such as "strong company." In this context, we can differentiate between free combinations, collocations, and idioms, with free combinations being more flexible in their usage.
In linguistics, a free combination occurs when language users create phrases that are both grammatically and semantically acceptable, such as "buy a book," where "buy" can be substituted with words like "sell" or "select," and "book" can be replaced with "ticket" or "pen." The meaning of such phrases is determined by the speaker's intent Conversely, idioms are fixed expressions with established meanings, and while some collocations exhibit a degree of fixedness, they are typically understood by analyzing the meanings of their individual components It is noted that idioms represent a specific subset of collocations, although 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 phrases, as highlighted by researchers such as Howarth (1998a), Hill (2000), and Pawley & Syder (1993) Tode (2013) distinguishes prefabrication from generation, where generation involves creating language based on rules, while prefabricated language consists of meaningful units stored and retrieved as whole entities during communication In essence, prefabricated phrases, or "prefabs," represent ready-made vocabulary that native speakers have memorized, enabling them to use natural word combinations that enhance speech fluency.
According to Stulpinaitė, Horbačauskienė, and Kasperavičienė (2016), replacing a word within a collocation can lead to a loss of meaning, highlighting that the elements of collocation cannot be substituted either syntactically or semantically This view is supported by Nesselhauf (2005), who noted that lexical substitution in collocations is limited Additionally, Kurosaki (2012) contributed to this discussion.
Combinability, a term synonymous with substitutability, refers to the ability of words to interchange within a given context This principle applies even when the substitute words share the same part of speech or have closely related meanings, such as synonyms For instance, while "strong" and "powerful" are synonymous, they cannot be used interchangeably in the phrase "strong tea" versus "powerful tea," highlighting the importance of context in word choice.
The syntagmatic effect highlights that only a limited number of collocations can be modified, as certain lexical items cannot be inserted within a phrase (Stulpinaitė, Horbačauskienė & Kasperavičienė, 2016) For instance, the idiomatic expression "kick the bucket" cannot be altered to "kick the large bucket," as such modifications disrupt its collocational meaning and sound unnatural to native speakers.
Transparency in language refers to whether the elements of a combination, such as collocations and idioms, have a clear or opaque meaning (Nesselhauf, 2005) This distinction is crucial for differentiating between collocations, which typically have transparent meanings, and idioms, which do not convey their meanings through their individual components For instance, the idiom "under the weather" cannot be understood from its words alone, while the collocation "make a decision" is easily grasped by non-native speakers.
Different approaches and classifications of collocations
Proponents of the Lexical Approach argue that a word's meaning is influenced by its context and the company it keeps Interestingly, native speakers often communicate effectively without consciously applying grammatical rules; instead, they rely on an extensive reservoir of their mother tongue's vocabulary and expressions.
In contrast to traditional EFL teaching methods that focus on imparting grammatical rules before word combination, Lewis (1993) emphasizes the importance of word chunks in language acquisition Halliday (1966) supports this view by highlighting that collocations transcend grammatical boundaries, suggesting that lexis operates independently of grammar Firth (1957) further elaborates on this concept, stating that the meaning of a word is influenced by its collocates, which are often limited in number This perspective shifts the focus from paradigmatic relationships to syntagmatic ones, underscoring the significance of lexical connections in language learning.
The Semantic Approach focuses on understanding the underlying reasons for word combinations, exploring why certain words naturally collocate with others For example, it examines why we say "blonde hair" but not "blonde car." This method allows linguists to investigate collocations based on a semantic framework, distinct from grammatical rules (Gitsaki, 1999).
The Structural Approach to collocation, as proposed by Gitsaki (1999), emphasizes the influence of grammatical structure on collocations, suggesting that they manifest in specific patterns This perspective highlights the necessity of incorporating grammar into the study of collocation, positioning it as an essential element that is intrinsically linked to lexis, unlike the previous two approaches.
Collocations can be categorized in various ways, but they primarily fall into three main classifications: Degree of Fixedness, Upward and Downward Collocations, and Grammatical and Lexical Collocations.
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)
Both classifications of collocations analyze them on a continuum from weak to strong and fixed However, Hill differentiates between strong and unique collocations, whereas Lewis incorporates unique collocations within the definition of strong collocations.
Mahmoud (2005) presents a classification of collocations into two types: open and restricted Open collocations consist of words that can combine with a wide range of other terms, aligning closely with Lewis's concept of weak collocations.
(2000) and Hill (2000) The other one, restricted collocations, shares the same
This article highlights 12 distinct characteristics of strong collocations, which are fixed word combinations akin to idioms, such as "rain cats and dogs." However, it notes that this classification primarily focuses on two extremes of a continuum, potentially overlooking other variations that exist between these extremes.
Sinclair (1991) introduced a unique classification of collocations, distinguishing between upward and downward collocations Upward collocations consist of words that frequently pair with more commonly used terms in English, such as prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions, and pronouns For instance, the word "back" collocates with more frequent words like "at," "down," "from," "into," and "on." Conversely, downward collocations involve words that typically combine with less frequent terms, such as "arrive" and "bring," which can pair with "back." Sinclair noted that upward collocations represent weaker statistical patterns and often serve as elements of grammatical structures, while downward collocations provide a semantic analysis of a word Although this classification enhances understanding in corpus-based linguistics, it poses challenges in teaching due to the difficulty in determining the frequency of words.
Benson, Benson, and Ilson (1997), as referenced in Begagic (2014), classify collocations into two main types: grammatical and lexical Grammatical collocations involve content words—such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives—that frequently pair with grammatical items, typically prepositions There are eight distinct types of grammatical collocations, detailed in Table 1.
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 lexical items, including nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives, without grammatical elements (Benson, Benson, and Ilson, 1986) According to The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English, there are seven distinct types of lexical collocations.
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
Compared to the other classifications mentioned before, this classification of collocations into grammatical and lexical collocations seems to have more benefits
Lexical collocations, as emphasized by Benson, Benson, and Ilson (1986) in *The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English*, are distinct from free lexical combinations and are categorized into seven types based on their common usage The authors highlight the importance of fixedness in their classifications Research indicates that English language studies predominantly focus on lexical collocations due to their arbitrary and unpredictable nature, which complicates learning compared to grammatical collocations typically found in grammar books Consequently, the current study adopts a lexical-oriented classification framework to analyze students' usage of collocations.
The importance of collocations in writing
Vocabulary acquisition is essential for learning a second language and should be the focus of language teaching, as language is built on grammaticalized lexis rather than lexicalized grammar (Lewis, 1993) The effective use of words in context takes precedence over choosing grammatical structures (Hammer, 1991) A strong command of English vocabulary enables students to communicate effectively (Hanks, 1987).
Collocation plays a crucial role in vocabulary acquisition, as highlighted by Richard (1973), who identified three key elements for mastering a word: its frequency in language, its grammatical patterns, and its associations with other words This paper focuses specifically on the third criterion, emphasizing that traditional vocabulary teaching often restricts itself to learning individual word definitions and usage (Mallilamas & Pongpairoj, 2005).
Learning English through reading and listening enhances students' receptive skills by helping them understand word meanings and overall text comprehension However, this method can lead to challenges in productive skills, particularly in writing, where there is a significant difference between writing in English and writing well in English Given the polysemous nature of many English words, careful consideration of word meanings in context is crucial Additionally, students may mistakenly replace words with synonyms without recognizing potential awkwardness To improve their writing, students should study English vocabulary in chunks, or collocations, to learn natural expressions used by native speakers Linguists assert that mastering these collocations allows second language learners to achieve a level of proficiency akin to that of native speakers Moreover, research indicates that students often lose marks in writing due to a lack of understanding of key collocates related to their main ideas.
According to Hill (1999), enhancing writing and speaking skills provides students with greater opportunities to practice collocations EFL teachers are encouraged to emphasize the importance of collocations and motivate students to learn words in chunks This approach effectively equips students with a repertoire of natural expressions for their writing.
Sources of collocational errors
Errors in learning a foreign language are unavoidable, but they do not indicate a lack of understanding Identifying the root causes of these errors is crucial for educators to gain insights and develop effective solutions Researchers, including Channell (1981), Bahns & Eldaws (1993), and Liu (1999b), have shown significant interest and consensus regarding the underlying causes of erroneous collocations.
The article identifies 16 types of errors in language use, including analogy, overgeneralization, paraphrasing, L1 interference, intralingual and interlingual transfer, as well as a lack of collocational knowledge Notably, Liu (1999b) presents a comprehensive model that systematically categorizes the sources of collocational errors.
Table 3.Sources of Collocational Errors by Liu (1999b)
Cognitive strategies in language learning involve Intralingual Transfer and Interlingual Transfer Intralingual Transfer occurs when errors arise from incomplete or incorrect understanding of the target language.
The phrase "talent singer" is incorrect; the proper term is "talented singer," highlighting the impact of a writer's limited knowledge Such errors often stem from interference from the learner's native language, as seen in examples like "cut a relationship" instead of "break a relationship" (Nada & Alaa, 2011) False concept hypothesized errors typically occur when learners do not fully grasp the distinctions in the target language, leading to confusion in their 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 differentiate between similar language structures For example, a student might incorrectly say, "I am worry about" instead of the correct form, "I am worried about." This mistake arises from the overgeneralization of the phrases "I worry about" and "I am worried about."
Synonyms are words or phrases that share similar meanings in specific contexts, but they are not always interchangeable While native speakers may still understand the use of one synonym in place of another, it can sound awkward Advanced language learners excel at recognizing the subtle differences between synonyms and using them appropriately in conversation.
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 challenge faced by foreign language learners, particularly those studying English It occurs when students translate directly from their native language to the target language, which can lead to errors For example, Vietnamese students might say "clean the bed" instead of the correct phrase "make the bed," as the word "clean" implies organizing and tidying up.
Word coinage refers to students inventing new words or phrases to effectively convey their ideas, particularly when they lack collocational knowledge for fluid communication For example, instead of saying "see the sunset," students might creatively say "see sun down." This process serves as a valuable tool for enhancing conversational skills.
Approximation is a key cause of collocational errors, where students mistakenly use incorrect structures or vocabulary in their expressions For instance, the phrase "the people were sleeps" illustrates this error, as the correct term should be "sleepy."
Related studies
Collocations since its first coinage have attracted much attention from researchers A wide range of studies related to collocations have been conducted on
Research on collocations in language learning and teaching primarily revolves around three key approaches: first, studies examining collocational errors made by EFL students and their understanding of collocations; second, investigations into the usage of collocations by native speakers through corpora, compared to non-native speakers; and third, experimental programs aimed at enhancing collocational competence or utilizing collocation training to improve other language skills (Abdellah, 2015).
Recent research from Iran and Kuwait has focused on collocational errors in students' writing Farghal and Al-Hamly (2007) examined lexical collocations in EFL writing, revealing that verbal collocations pose the greatest challenge for university students Similarly, Hashemi, Azizinezhad, and Dravishi (2012) investigated collocational errors in 76 writing assignments from Iranian university students, incorporating a questionnaire to assess students' perceptions of collocation types Unlike the first study, which concentrated solely on lexical collocations, the latter also addressed grammatical collocations Additionally, Talakoob and Koosha (2017) explored advanced EFL learners' understanding of various collocation types, further contributing to the discourse on collocational competence in academic writing.
In their studies, Hashemi, Azzinezhad & Dravishi (2012) and Takaloob & Koosha (2017) utilized grammatical and lexical collocation categories to analyze students' collocational errors However, the latter focused only on specific subcategories such as verb-noun, verb-preposition, and adjective-noun collocations, without emphasizing particular skills like writing or speaking Instead, Takaloob & Koosha concentrated on the overall collocational knowledge of students, employing a distinct methodology that included three separate collocational tests The results of these tests were analyzed using the SPSS tool to identify collocational errors.
In her 2006 study, "What is the reality of collocation use by native speakers of English?", Taeko Koya examined high-frequency verb-noun collocations from the British National Corpus (BNC) and the TIME corpus This research aimed to identify essential collocations for Japanese learners of English The findings revealed that these collocations are commonly used across various topics However, Koya noted a significant gap, suggesting that the collocations identified in the BNC and TIME corpus may not align with the basic collocations expected for Japanese learners, highlighting the need for further pedagogical research.
In their respective studies, Koya (2006) and Shin (2006) focused on identifying high-frequency collocations in both spoken and written English by analyzing data from various corpora Shin's research specifically aimed to uncover the most commonly used collocations, contributing to a deeper understanding of language usage in 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
The study of English corpora, including the ACE, Brown, LOB, FROWN, FLOB, Kolhapur, and WWC corpora, highlights significant differences in research focus One researcher concentrated on verb-noun collocations, while the other examined collocations more broadly, illustrating the diverse approaches within linguistic analysis.
Recent trends in collocational research focus on programs designed to enhance students' collocational knowledge, attracting significant scholarly attention In Egypt, Abdellah (2015) examined the impact of a lexical approach program on English majors' collocation usage The study began with a pilot test to assess the collocational competence of fourth-year students at an Egyptian university, followed by a training program on lexical collocations Students were split into control and experimental groups, both taking a pre-test with 70 multiple-choice items The experimental group underwent a seven-unit program, while the control group continued with traditional coursework emphasizing grammatical and lexical exercises A post-test revealed that exposure to various corpus-based activities significantly improved learners' collocational awareness Similarly, Rad & Saniei (2016) conducted research in Iran on the use of projected visuals to teach collocations to intermediate EFL learners.
In their 2016 study, Rad and Saniei investigated the effectiveness of a novel collocational teaching method that utilized visual aids, specifically slides with pictures, to enhance understanding Similar to previous Egyptian research, university students were chosen as participants and randomly divided into control and experimental groups The study involved a pre-test before a ten-session treatment and a post-test afterward The findings indicated that incorporating visuals as instructional aids significantly improved the teaching of English collocations.
Vietnamese collocational research primarily aligns with previously mentioned trends, with a notable exception being studies that explore native speakers' collocation usage through corpora Instead, many contrastive studies have emerged, comparing specific types of collocations between native speakers and Vietnamese speakers However, most of these studies are geared towards linguistic purposes, particularly in the context of translation Consequently, this section of the thesis will concentrate solely on research pertinent to the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Nguyen & Webb (2016) conducted a study on Vietnamese EFL learners' understanding of verb–noun and adjective–noun collocations, targeting the first three 1,000-word frequency levels The research involved 100 English majors from a university in Da Nang, Vietnam, who completed a collocation test with 180 items based on the British National Corpus (BNC) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) The findings revealed that participants demonstrated less than 50% knowledge of collocations at all frequency levels, indicating a lack of mastery Similarly, Pham (2012) examined common errors in the use of "DO" and "MAKE" collocations among non-major English students at Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business Administration, focusing specifically on lexical collocations.
The second study involved 30 non-English major students, contrasting with the first research focused on English majors It utilized three distinct multiple-choice tests on collocation, each designed for a specific purpose For example, Test 1 assessed students' comprehension of the verb components within the provided collocations.
2 aimed at investigating students‘ understanding of noun element in the given
In a recent test assessing students' understanding of the verbs "Do" and "Make," it was found that many students struggled with distinguishing between these two terms in various contexts The results highlighted frequent errors stemming from a misunderstanding of both the verb and noun components Additionally, students often faced confusion regarding collocations associated with "Do" and "Make."
A significant area of research on collocations focuses on developing innovative teaching methods and programs to enhance students' language competence Researchers Tran (2012) and Nguyen (2013) have explored this topic, with Tran's study providing valuable insights into effective collocational instruction.
The studies by Tran (2012) and Nguyen (2013) investigated the impact of collocation instruction on the writing skills of English major students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology Both researchers utilized action research as their methodological framework, which is ideal for evaluating the effectiveness of instructional methods on student performance Tran's study involved 21 university students, who underwent a pre-test followed by a post-test after the intervention, similar to Nguyen's approach in enhancing collocational usage in student writing.
In 2013, a study involving 20 second-year students utilized pre-tests and post-tests to evaluate the effects of an intervention The findings from both assessments indicated a significant positive impact of the intervention on students' collocational awareness and their writing performance.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design: qualitative research design
The researcher utilized a qualitative research design with content analysis of textual materials to explore the aims and characteristics of current research Qualitative research, as defined by Crossman (2019), involves gathering non-numerical data to interpret meanings and understand social phenomena, enabling researchers to delve into the meanings individuals assign to their behaviors and interactions Unlike quantitative research, which emphasizes macro-level trends, qualitative research focuses on micro-level insights (Crossman, 2019).
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 investigates the use of lexical collocations in written materials, focusing on non-numerical data To identify the types of lexical collocations, common errors, and their appropriateness within an academic context, a theoretical framework is essential for interpreting students' behaviors reflected in the data Therefore, an appropriate research method is crucial for this analysis.
Due to limitations in time and human resources, the researcher opted for a qualitative research design, as conducting a large-scale study was not feasible.
The setting of the study
The study was conducted at a university in central Hanoi, where the majority of students pursue law rather than linguistics Notably, English majors represent only about 6% of the total annual admissions, as the English Language program is relatively new, having been established just four years ago The English Department is currently focused on developing its human resources and curriculum In the first two years, English majors are taught General English courses to enhance their linguistic knowledge and skills Subsequently, they study law-related subjects in both Vietnamese and English, which sets them apart from English students at other institutions.
The research analyzed the writings of second-year English major students in their first semester, who participated in an 8-week writing course During this course, they engaged with five types of academic writing: descriptive, narrative, opinion, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect essays The course utilized the textbook "Effective Academic Writing 2" by Savage & Mayer (2006).
Population and sampling
The study focused on 60 writing samples from second-year English major students Given that the English major is newly established at the university, the annual intake of students into the English Department is limited.
A total of 25 essays were evaluated based on their length and English proficiency to select suitable samples for the research Essays that fell below the required 250-word count and contained excessive grammar mistakes or incorrect vocabulary usage, which hindered comprehension, were excluded This process ensured that the remaining essays were of a comparable quality Ultimately, 50 essays meeting the necessary length and language criteria were chosen as the research samples.
Data collection instrument
The researcher utilized writing samples as the primary instrument for data collection, effectively aligning with the study's objective of analyzing collocation usage in academic writing.
Data collection method and procedure
In the initial phase of the study, the researcher identified three writing topics for opinion and cause-and-effect essays that were covered during the first half of the writing course The first topic focused on the debate surrounding the Internet's role in fostering global communication, asking, "To what extent do you agree that the Internet is making it easier for people to communicate with one another?" The second topic explored the reasons behind students' cheating in exams, while the third addressed the underlying causes of poverty.
During the second phase of the research conducted amid the Covid-19 pandemic, data were collected online as physical submissions were not feasible Students participated in a progress test where they selected one of three provided topics and wrote their essays within 45 minutes Subsequently, they submitted their work via the Google Classroom app or website, allowing the researcher to download the essays for analysis in the study.
Data analysis method and procedure
The researcher utilized document analysis as the exclusive method for the study, creating coding categories to interpret the non-numerical raw data effectively This approach was essential for addressing the first research question.
The study examined 26 types of lexical collocations used in essays, beginning with the identification of these collocations Following this, the collocations were categorized according to the classification system established by Benson, Benson & Ilson (1986) The table below illustrates the classification and encoding of the data.
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 prevalent issue that impacts numerous students during their educational journey It can take various forms, including copying from another student's answers, glancing at a peer's test, or bringing unauthorized materials into an exam Addressing this problem is essential for maintaining 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
Once the coding stage was done, the percentage of each collocational type would be calculated in correlation with the others within each essay Then, the
28 researcher compared and contrasted the data from one essay with the other essays to attain a more panoramic view of the data
To address the second research question regarding common errors students make with lexical collocations in essay writing, the researcher referenced the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English, a trusted resource from Oxford University Press Initially, each collocation was assessed for acceptable usage, and the identified problematic collocations were classified into various categories based on their types The researcher then analyzed the collocational errors within each category to reach a logical conclusion.
The researcher investigated the reasons behind students' errors in collocations by analyzing incorrect phrases and identifying error sources based on Liu's (1999b) classification This classification includes cognitive strategies such as intralingual and interlingual transfer, as well as communication strategies like word coinage and approximation.
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 enhance the objectivity of the research and validate the data, the researcher collaborated with a fellow writing instructor from the same institution and a native English teacher from a Hanoi language center Their insights and assistance provided valuable references for analyzing the collocations and related errors.
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
In a study of collocations, Verb-Noun combinations emerged as the most prevalent, accounting for 40.6% of the total usage, followed closely by Adjective-Noun pairs at 36.9% In contrast, Verb-Adverb collocations were significantly less common, comprising only 13.5% The remaining types of collocations, particularly Noun-Verb and Quantity-Noun combinations, saw minimal usage, each representing just over 2% of the writing samples.
Table 6.Frequency of use in the writing samples
No Types of collocations Frequency Percent Total
The analysis reveals a consistent pattern of collocational frequency across nearly all writing samples, as illustrated in Table 6 and confirmed by Table 7 In each essay, Verb-Noun and Adjective-Noun combinations were predominant, with the exception of essays No 31 and No 47, where Verb-Adverb constructions were more frequently employed.
The analysis of 50 essays reveals a significant disparity in the use of collocations among students Notably, some students effectively utilized collocations like No.1, No.2, and No.10, achieving impressive frequencies of 17, 13, and 14 occurrences, respectively This highlights the varying levels of awareness and application of collocations in academic writing.
31 collocations used respectively, many other students merely expressed their ideas in long sentences with few collocational expressions For example, student No
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
In a study analyzing 50 essays, 51 collocational errors were identified among 187 collocations The most significant issues arose with Type 1 (Verb + Noun) collocations, which accounted for 32 errors, representing 62.7% of the total mistakes Following this, Type 2 (Adjective + Noun) collocations had 13 errors The remaining four types of collocations showed considerably fewer errors, with Noun-Verb collocations contributing 3 errors and the last three types recording only one error each.
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 illustrates that students struggle most with Noun-Verb collocations, with 75% of these instances in their writings being identified as erroneous Despite their limited frequency, these problematic collocations highlight a significant area of difficulty for learners.
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
Many students struggle with incorrect Noun-Verb collocations, particularly with the verbs in these pairs Additionally, Verb-Noun collocations also present challenges, as around 42% of these combinations are found to be incorrect.
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 researcher analyzed Verb-Noun collocations to identify flaws, discovering that students struggled primarily with the verbs Out of 32 collocations examined, 27 featured incorrect verb usage, while only 3 had issues with nouns Notably, two collocations were misused, such as the incorrect pairing of "narrow" with "boundaries" in the sentence "The boundaries that kept the world apart were narrowed." This phrase is rarely found in any corpus, suggesting a need for revision to alternatives like "the barriers" and "remove."
In the analysis of Quantifier-Noun collocations, a significant 25% of collocational errors were identified, despite only one specific mistake made by students The error involved the use of "a huge amount of adverse effects" instead of the correct phrase "a huge number of adverse effects." It remains unclear whether this mistake was a one-time error or indicative of a systematic issue in understanding collocations.
In a study of Adjective-Noun collocations, 69 combinations were identified, of which 13 were incorrectly paired, representing nearly 18% of the total Notably, all the problematic collocational expressions share a common issue of employing incorrect adjectives.
Table 11.Examples of wrong Adjective-Noun 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 analysis of Adverb-Adjective and Verb-Adverb collocations, only one error was found in each category Notably, Adverb-Adjective collocations were the least utilized by students, representing just 4.8% of their essay content (See Table 1) Upon reviewing the incorrect Adverb-Adjective combination, it was discovered that the student chose an inappropriate adverb to pair with the adjective "priced."
The term "highly priced" is more appropriate than "costly priced." It is difficult to determine which aspect poses a greater challenge for students due to a lack of evidence Additionally, students often struggle with Verb-Adverb collocations, which are primarily grammatical issues For instance, instead of using the adverb "directly" with the verb "talk," students may incorrectly write "talk direct."
Incorrect lexical collocations can be categorized into two primary types: Word Choice and Word Form Word Choice involves instances where one or both words in a phrase are used incorrectly, while Word Form pertains to the use of an incorrect grammatical form of a word.
Research question 3: what are the sources of those collocational errors?
To understand the reasons behind students' writing mistakes, erroneous collocations were classified based on Liu's (1999b) framework The identified incorrect collocations stem from several factors, including false concept hypothesized, the use of synonyms, ignorance of rule restrictions, negative transfer, and approximation.
Table 12.Causes of collocational errors
According to Table 12, Negative Transfer is the primary source of collocational errors, accounting for approximately 49% of total errors Most of these errors fall under Type 1, with 19 out of 27 errors attributed to this category, while Type 2 and Type 3 contribute 5 and 2 errors, respectively This highlights the significant influence of the mother tongue on second language (L2) production, as students often rely on their first language (L1) knowledge to create collocations, compensating for their limited understanding of L2 collocations The following table provides examples of collocational errors resulting from 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
Making the world smaller by bringing people together or widen the gap between us all depends on the ways using Internet of each people in the
37 of each people in the world world
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 considerable likelihood of making errors related to approximation, false concepts, and synonyms Specifically, approximation and false concept errors account for 17.7% of collocational mistakes, while synonymous errors make up about 14% of the total errors identified.
Approximation errors occur when vocabulary items or structures are used incorrectly In the analyzed writings, there are eight identified errors, categorized from Type 1 to Type 6, with the exception of Type 5 (refer to Table 12).
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
The verbs "get," "take," and "bring" can often confuse students due to their limited inherent meaning when paired with specific nouns The actual meanings of these phrases are largely derived from the nouns they accompany rather than the verbs themselves Mastering delexical structures, which are prevalent in English, is essential for achieving fluency in the language.
Type 1 errors, specifically those involving Verb-Noun combinations, account for 38 hypothesized false concept errors, with 7 identified instances As previously noted, students often struggle with verbs that have similar meanings, making Type 1 errors particularly challenging for them.
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 can often lead to collocational errors, as students may not fully grasp the nuances in meaning between them While synonyms are generally perceived as interchangeable, they frequently differ in their specific connotations and usage Analysis reveals that most errors stem from Type 2 collocations (Adjective-Noun), with five instances recorded, whereas Type 1 (Verb-Noun) errors are less common, totaling only two Notably, students often struggle with conveying the meaning of "big," mistakenly substituting it with synonyms like "huge" or "vast." The following table illustrates these incorrect collocations associated with synonym usage.
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
The last category of collocational sources that was also identified in the students‘ essays is the ignorance of rule restrictions These errors are caused
Students learning a second language (L2) often struggle with consistent application of structural rules, leading to errors that account for 5.9% of total mistakes Specifically, only Type 1 and Type 4 errors are affected by this issue Table 17 provides examples of collocational errors that arise from a lack of awareness of these rule restrictions.
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