Collocations: A Linguistic view and Didactic Facet

Roohollah Shojaee and Mohammad Bavali, Iran

Roohollah Shojaee is an English teacher in Iran. His research interests are contextualization
in reading comprehension and vocabulary achievement in chunk forms (typically
collocations). He has published a book for pre-university students and university entrance
examinations (UEE) applicants in Iran with the name; Contextualized Activity Book for Preuniversity Students. E-mail: Shojaeir56@gmail.com
Mohammad Bavali (b. 1979, Abadan, Iran) is assistant professor at the IAU Science and
Research, Shiraz Branch, where he is also a faculty member at the School of English
Language Teaching and Translation. His research interests include theories of testing and
assessment, methods of research in L2, foreign language learning and teaching, CDA, critical
pedagogy, and translation studies.Email: mohammadbavali_57@yahoo.com.

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Introduction
Origin and definitions of collocation
Importance of collocations in English
EFL/ESL learners' problem in collocations
How to teach collocations
Some pedagogical and practical implications
Conclusion
Introduction
In L2 teaching and learning process, traditionally there was a segregated view and strategy
about teaching and learning vocabularies. For many years, a large number of EFL/ESL
teachers focused on teaching vocabularies separately, out of context and even regardless of
the chunk forms of words. Through this method, EFL/ESL learners may stick in their mind a
host of new words, but it could not be remedial in communicative level because it was
occurred out of context without considering collocational aspect or structure of the lexis.
At the present time moving beyond theoretical framework and employing a functional one in
L2 classrooms has been made a great challenge among EFL/ESL teachers. They have
attempted to draw a communicative perspective in their classes to promote their pupils'
vocabulary achievement. With this in mind, scholars and researchers came to collocations as
a considerable fact which develops EFL/ESL learners' performance not only in vocabulary
achievement but also in reading comprehension.
Origin and definitions of collocation

Linguists and scholars have defined the term collocations in different ways. According to
Martynska (2004, P.2) the term "collocation" was first introduced by Firth to define a
"combination of words associated with each other". Taylor (1997) defines collocations from
Saussures view as "a well-known dichotomy between syntagmatic and paradigmatic
relations of lexical items"(p.38). In this case the syntagmatic axis refers to a words ability to
combine with other words in the same string.
According to Oxford Collocations Dictionary (2009) "collocation is the way words combine
in a language to produce natural-sounding speech and writing. For example, in English you
say "strong wind", but "heavy rain". It wouldn't be normal to say heavy wind or strong rain.
All four of these words would be recognized by a learner at pre-intermediate or even
elementary level, but it requires a greater degree of competence with English language to
combine them correctly in language productions" ( P.v).
For Yarmohammadi (1996, P.45) "collocation is habitual co-occurrence of individual
vocabulary items", and Woolard (2005) holds that collocation is the grammar of words how
words go together with other words. Collocation tells us which words can come before or
after other words. Tajalli (2007, P.30), however, defines collocations from another
perspective, in which he defines it "as fixed nonidiomatic constructions the meaning of
which reflects the meanings of their components. Collocations are, therefore, different from
idioms whose meanings are not the combination of the meanings of the individual words in
them".
Importance of collocations in English
Collocation is a linguistic fact that runs through the whole English language to make a natural
and authentic utterance. L2 users in every level whenever and wherever use a collocation
which is grammatically and lexically correct can be more clear, precise and native-like. Ur
(1996) asserts that the importance of collocational competence presents for L2 learners both
in receptive and productive skills. Richards (2002) raises the term "restriction" for
collocational structures in producing lexical or grammatical collocations correctly. To sum
up, we can claim that having collocational knowledge can simultaneously promote EFL/ESL
learners' macro-skills (productive & receptive ones).
Types of collocations
Collocations fall into different categories. According to Deveci (2004, P. 2) collocations can
be presented in the following types:
-Adjective + Noun = In this department store they have a wide choice.
-Verb + Noun = The back yard gives light to the kitchen.
-Noun + Verb = light shines
-Noun + Noun = A light source had shown the road.
-Preposition + Noun = The cop was visible by the light of the moon
-Noun + Preposition = the light from the window has made the room bright.
-Verb + Adverb = you must choose the model of the cell phone carefully.
-Verb + Verb = They are free to choose any kind of salad.
-Verb + Proposition = They are looking for a better apartment.
-Verb + Adjective = To keep safe the company, the manager employed a guard.
-adverb + Adjective = This city is pretty safe for living

-Adjective + Preposition = This new hospital is safe from any attack.

EFL/ESL learners' problem in Collocations

There can be at least two main types of collocations; lexical collocations and grammatical
one. The problems that EFL/ESL learners may potentially be involved in can be listed as:
1. Collocations in textbooks. The authors of syllabuses usually commit two noticeable
mistakes; firstly, they try to simplify and adopt the textbooks which cause the texts to
lose their authenticity and collocational features.
2.The methods of teaching usually ignore the collocational aspects or pay less
attention to the words from collocational perspective or chunk forms, meaning that
they cover words separately not contextually.
How to teach collocations
In general we can teach and learn collocations through two different methods;
a) Explicit method: Explicit learning is a conscious awareness and intention to learn
(Brown, 2000, p.217). It is a teacher-centred and a deductive process that EFL/ESL
learners employ to get the structure of the presented information and their attention is
directed to the subject.
b) Implicit method: As cited in http://languagelinks2006.wikispaces.com, Brown defines
it as learning without conscious attention or awareness. It is an inductive teaching
that has no plainly expressed of subjects.
Some studies (Chang, 2009; and Sadat Kiaee, Heravi Moghaddam, & Moheb Hossaini, 2013)
assert that explicit method in teaching collocations is more effective and useful, since EFL
learners' consciousness is raised, while some other studies such as Ellis, 2006; Mackin, 1978;
and Rott, 2007 emphasize the implicit way of teaching collocations and believe that learning
and memorizing collocations must occur quite naturally and in a native-like fashion and there
is no need to pay focal attention.
As Sadat Kiaee, Heravi Moghaddam and Moheb Hosseini( 2013) state, teaching lexical
phrases (collocations with pragmatic functions) will lead us to fluency in speaking and
writing. McCarthy (as cited in Farrokh, 2012) considered the notion of collocation as a kind
of cohesive device. He claimed that "collocation refers to the probability that lexical items
will co-occur, and is not a semantic relation between words" (p.55).
Kellerman and Jordens (as cited in Salimi,Tavakoli, & Ketabi, 2010); and as cited in
Salimi,Tavakoli, & Ketabi (2010) Gabrys-Biskup have stated the psychological aspects of
learning collocations and the influence of native language on it. Salimi, Tavakoli and Ketabi
(2010, P.162) have cited Allerton's claims that ... this level of word co-occurrence restriction
is not something the speaker has to learn about. Once the meanings of the words are known,
the limitation follows automatically. Nesselhauf (2003) categorized the restricted
collocations in two groups: the combinations of verbs can only take a limited number of
nouns (e.g., run a risk), and the combinations of verbs can take a wider range of nouns (e.g.
exert + control, pressure, influence, authority, power).

Some pedagogical and practical implications

In teaching collocation through an implicit or explicit method we can apply the following
tips to promote L2 learners' collocational competence:
Underlining, making bold or italicizing the collocations:
In this step which is an explicit method, you can write or select a text and underline or
italicize the grammatical or lexical collocations to make clear for your pupils the
combinations of the chunks. In this way, they can memorize and remember the
collocations much better.
Asking pupils to make flash cards and make a sentence for collocations:
By making flash cards L2 learners will have a good chance to enhance their
vocabulary achievement through meaningful sentences. In other words, whenever
they use a dictionary to complete their flash cards, they face authentic sentences and
concentrate on the natural orders of the words and their particles.
Giving L2 learners cloze-passage tests (exact method or appropriate method) and
vocabulary test
One of the most functional and effective ways of evaluating and enhancing L2 learners'
performance in collocations can be cloze-passage tests and vocabulary tests, since through
these test items, no matter in an exact word method or appropriate one, they will find a time
to assess their collocational ability. The exact word method is a type of cloze-passage that has
just one correct answer and normally presented in multiple-choices test items, while in an
appropriate method there can be more than one correct answer and we don't design it in
multiple-choices form.
Making text summary in classrooms
EFL teachers can ask their pupils to summarize the texts including collocations. This text
summarizing as a pedagogical strategy can be in a written form or orally. The point is that
how L2 learners through reading a text can enhance their collocational competence
contextually.
Paraphrasing the reading texts
Paraphrasing is another form of the text summarizing. It is worth mentioning that in
paraphrasing L2 learners use their own words and elaborate the major message of a text,
while in text summarizing EFL learners use the original words of a text in describing
meaning of a passage.
Designing reading tests on the basis of comprehension, implying and inferring
Inferring in reading comprehension means understanding the whole meaning of a text
through a top-down method and eliciting the denotational and even conotational meaning of
terms in a passage and some complicated sentences including collocations. In other words, if
EFL learners get the exact meaning and use of collocations, they can infer texts and reading
comprehension tests much better since it is a practical facet.

Conclusion
On the basis of our own observations and experience in the classrooms, we can assert that in
teaching collocations more than other points EFL/ESL learners' proficiency level and their
age must be observed, since ones who are in upper-levels can learn the collocations implicitly
much better than in an explicit method, whereas learners who are beginners and children are
eager to follow explicit method and outperform in collocation learning. On the basis of the
studies, authors' observations and experience and learners' assertions, we cannot claim that
which method can merely will be effective in teaching collocations and enhance L2
performance considerably, since there some more factors than the employed methods. In
teaching collocations and employing a method the points like learners' collocational
knowledge, their language competence and their ability in reading comprehension must be
regarded. Considering these points leads us to this fact that language teaching and learning is
a complicated process and achieving a beneficial level of enhancement just occurs under an
integrated situation.
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