The Potential of Corpus Based Collocation Instruction on the Awareness Levels of the Turkish EFL Students in Terms of Reading Performances

Abstract

It is an old consensus by now that languages all throughout the world consist of prefabricated chunks or multi-word combinations which are important for EFL learners in their efforts to perceive and produce language of native speakers in the form of combinations or chunks. The combinative nature of English language lends itself in various ways and sometimes they are called as “collocations” which constitute the biggest part of these chunks. In this respect, it is understandable that collocation learning plays a significant role for EFL learners. Thus, the primary purpose of this research is to explore whether corpus based explicit collocation instruction will help the EFL students gain awareness of collocations. Another purpose is to reveal the extent to which EFL learners recognize collocations in different contexts. The final purpose is to observe whether this informed exposure will result in better reading performances in English. The research reported on an experimental study regarding the effect of corpus-based explicit collocation instruction on EFL students' reading performance. The data for the study were obtained through pre-test and post- test scores and interview which included open-ended questions. Tertiary level EFL students (n=50) from the English department of a middle sized university in the Eastern Black Sea region in Turkey participated in the study and the study lasted for eight weeks (spring term). The control group (n = 25) received in-class reading instruction and the experimental group (n = 25) integrated collocations into their reading processes. The study investigated whether there were any differences between the experimental and the control groups in terms of gaining awareness of collocations and exhibiting better reading performances after corpus-based explicit collocation instruction is delivered on a scheduled-order. Based on the analyses of students' reading scores, the main findings showed that the experimental group showed significant improvement when compared to the control group. Both post-test scores and the answers of the students participated in the interview proved that corpus-based explicit collocation instruction had positive effect on the awareness level and reading performances of EFL students. The study, therefore, concludes that English as a Foreign Language learners' use of collocations or word combinations has potential to create more effective reading performance.