Quantifying controlled productive knowledge of collocations across proficiency and word frequency levels
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Date
2012-03
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Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu
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Abstract
The present study explores the relationship between controlled productive
knowledge of collocations and L2 proficiency, the role of frequency in controlled
productive knowledge of collocations, and the quantifiability of controlled productive
collocational knowledge growth alongside L2 proficiency and word frequency
levels.
A proficiency measure and a productive collocation test modelled on Laufer
and Nation (1999) were presented to Belgian and Burundian English majors. The
results show that scores on both tests distinguish between proficiency levels and,
furthermore, highly correlate. This suggests that controlled productive knowledge
of collocations develops as proficiency increases, supporting earlier studies (Boers,
Eyckmans, Kappel, Stengers, & Demecheleer, 2006; Bonk, 2001; Eyckmans, Boers,
& Demecheleer, 2004; Gitsaki, 1999) that had established a relationship between
collocational knowledge and L2 proficiency. The results also show that the more
frequent the collocations, the better they are known, which highlights the crucial
role played by frequency in knowing words (Nation & Beglar, 2007). Furthermore,
the number of collocations added can be quantified and we observe moderate
gains at beginner and advanced levels, and impressive gains at intermediate levels.
This supports and extends Laufer’s (1998) and Zhong and Hirsh’s (2009) findings
and lays basic ground work for teaching collocations, the amount of which should
increase with proficiency levels.
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Keywords
quantifying, controlled productive knowledge, L2 proficiency, frequency levels
Citation
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2012, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 67-92