Collocations, prefabricated multi-word combinations, are considered to be a crucial component of language competence and also a challenge to L2 learners at different proficiency levels. This study focuses on the evaluation of a specific pedagogical approach to teaching collocations, the corpus-based data-driven learning approach (DDL) which has been argued to offer an effective teaching method in language learning. However, large-scale, quantitative studies evaluating the effectiveness and assessing the benefits of DDL in the acquisition of academic collocations were limited in number when compared to a different method of teaching of collocations (Boulton & Cobb, 2017).
This study, therefore, uses data from 100 Chinese students of English from a Chinese university and employs a quasi-experimental method, using a pre-test-and-post-test (including delayed test) control-group research design to compare the achievement of the use of DDL and online dictionary in teaching academic collocations to the Chinese EFL learners. One of the experimental group uses #Lancsbox (Brezina, McEnery & Wattam, 2015), an innovative and user-friendly corpus tool. The other experimental group uses the online version of the Oxford Collocations Dictionary. The results are analysed for the differences in collocation gains within and between the two groups. Those quantitative data are supported by findings from semi-structured interviews linking learners' results with their attitudes towards DDL. The findings contribute to our understanding of the effectiveness of DDL for teaching academic collocations and suggest that the incorporation of technology into language learning can enhance collocation knowledge.
References: Boulton, A., & Cobb, T. (2017). Corpus use in language learning: A meta‐analysis. Language Learning, 67(2), 348-393. Brezina, V., McEnery, T., & Wattam, S. (2015). Collocations in context: A new perspective on collocation networks. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 20(2), 139-173.