EFL Learners’ Collocation Acquisition and Learning in Corpus-Based Instruction: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review critically examines 32 previous empirical studies on corpus-based collocation acquisition and learning in EFL contexts, aiming to identify the research contexts, corpus types, instructional methods, and how corpus-based training affects EFL students’ acquisition and learning of collocations. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of corpus-based collocation instruction and its effectiveness in enhancing learners’ collocation acquisition and learning. It makes use of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach to achieve these objectives. The findings reveal a progressive growth in research and publications on corpus-based collocation acquisition and learning, indicating its increasing significance in language education. This review highlights the wide applicability of corpus-based approaches across different language learning contexts, particularly among English language learners in foreign language settings. It also underscores the global significance of corpus-based collocation instruction, with attention and research conducted in various countries, notably, in Asian regions. This review discusses the positive effects of corpus-based tools and data-driven learning on collocation acquisition and learning, demonstrating the improvement in learners’ collocation knowledge, usage, and retention by comparing and summarizing research results. However, conflicting results regarding implicit and explicit instruction methods warrant further investigation. The collective findings of the reviewed studies contribute valuable insights into the effectiveness of different instructional methods and call for further research to optimize collocation instruction strategies with both theoretical and pedagogical implications.