Assessing Collocational

Knowledge: The
relationship of L2 on L1
and L1 on L2
Henelsie B. Mendoza
Philippine Normal University
mendoza.hb@pnu.edu.ph
 1
Introduction
The background of the study

2
Introduction
• Vocabulary knowledge
• Wray (2002)
• Gyllstad (2007)
• Henry & Roseberry (2007)

3
Introduction
Examples
• By and large
• Make a mistake vs. do a
mistake
• Lose count vs. drop count
• Draw a conclusion vs. make
a conclusion

4
Introduction
• Clearly, there are word
combinations that are
PREFERRED over
others even if some
formulaic expressions are
plausible.

5
Introduction
• University level students
• Teachers
• Pre-service teachers
• Professionals
• Researchers
• Writers

6
 “
Word combinations
outnumber single-words
units.
Hill (2001), Erman & Warren (2000)
Foster (2001)

7
 58.6%
Spoken Discourse
Erman & Warren, 2000 Hill (2001)

52.3% Single-word
units
30%
Written Discourse
Erman & Warren, 2000

32.2%
Written Discourse Fixed
Foster, 2001 expressions
and
collocations
70%
8
Thus,
◎ The role of collocations
is fundamental in
forming one’s mental
lexicon.

9
 Problem
Arabski, 1979
Farghal & Obiedat, 1995
Henry & Roseberry, 2007
Schmitt, 1999
Tono, 2006

Henriksen, 2013 Khonamri &

Roostaee, 2013

Nesselhauf, 2005 Chen, 2011

Wu, Witten &

Biskup, 1992 Franken, 2010

Collocations pose problems to L2 learners.

10
This study is interested in…
Explaining the cross-
linguistic influences
on bilingual learner’s
collocational
knowledge both in L1
Identify the possible
and L2.
sociolinguistic
variables that may
affect cross-linguistic
influence

11
 2
Literature Review
The conceptual groundwork of the study

12
Outline
i. What is collocation?
ii. Conceptual Groundwork of L2
collocation research
iii. Cross-linguistic influence on
collocation research

13
What are collocations?
◎ Nation (1990)
◎ Eight word knowledge
that native speakers
possess

14
 Association Meaning Written form

Word
Knowledge Grammatical
Behavior Register

Nation (1990)

1940-1970
Pre-occupation
on structure Frequency Collocation Spoken Form

15
 “
Without grammar very little
can be conveyed, without lexis
nothing can be conveyed.
Wilkins (1972)

16
Biskup (1992)
Collocations are relatively fixed
expressions that are non-
idiomatic.

Halliday (1961)
Node, Collocate, Span

Benson, Benson & Ilson (1986)

Grammatical collocation
Lexical collocation

17
Outline
i. What is collocation?
ii. Conceptual Groundwork of L2
collocation research
iii. Cross-linguistic influence on
collocation research

18
Two traditions
1. Frequency-based
2. Phraseological traditions

19
 Frequency-based tradition

Firth (1957) Halliday (1961) Sinclair (1991)

Word Forms Lexical Items Statistical

Proximity Open-choice principle
Frequent Idiom principle

20
 Russian phraseology

Howarth Difficulty
Cowie (1998)
(1998) • Rigid
• Open

Substitution Heavy rain and

rain heavily
Run a business Fixed word Allows words to
Run a theatre combinations combine

21
Combination of FB and PT

Nesselhauf
Stubbs (1995)
(2003)

Frequency Degree of
Grammar restrictiveness

22
Outline
i. What is collocation?
ii. Conceptual Groundwork of L2
collocation research
iii. Cross-linguistic influence on
collocation research

23
Cross-Linguistic
Influence on CK
◎ Errors on NNS
◎ L1 interference errors has
been the limelight.
◎ Cook (2003)
◎ Standard
◎ Power, value, utility
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Cross-Linguistic
Influence on CK
◎ L1 is crucial in one’s cultural
identity, expanding speaker’s
worldview, enriching his/her
sensitivity to other people,
improving cognitive functions.
◎ Bernardo (2007), Veliyeva
(2015) and Curdst-Christiansen
(2016)
25
 Effects of L1 on L2
◎ Biskup (1992)
◉ Perception vs. production
◉ Translation from L1 to L2
promotes L1 influence on the
production of L2 equivalents.
◎ Grosjean (2015)
◉ Complementarity principle
◉ Collocation approximates

26
Effects of L1 on L2
◎ Farghal and Obeidat (1995), Liu
(1999)
◉ synonymy, avoidance,
paraphrasing, transfer
◉ collocation restrictions
◉ similar lexical features
◉ open-choice principle

27
Effects of L1 on L2
◎ Weinrich (1953)
◉ Deviation from norms of
either languages can be an
effect of one’s familiarity
with more than one
language.
◉ L1 on L2 but also L2 on L1
◉ L2’s negative effects
28
Effects of L2 on L1
◎ Language attrition
◎ Pearson (2007) & De Houwer
(2011)
◉ Language input
◉ Social environment

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Focus
1. Lexical knowledge & Use
2. Wrong? L1 / L2
3. Which would most likely
influence the other?
4. Factors? Use or learning
environment?

30
 Research Questions
1. How well can English education
majors who study in an L2
environment recognize and correct
non-native-like L1 collocations and
non-native-like L2 collocations
compared with Filipino education
majors who study in an L1
environment?

31
 Research Questions
2. How is the correctness
judgment of collocations
influenced by the following
sociolinguistic variables:
a. Year Level
b. Frequency of use of Filipino
c. Frequency of use of English

32
Research Questions
3. How much does L1 influence L2
collocation knowledge and vice
versa?

33
 3
Methodology
The process of the study

34
Methodology
◎ Design: Quanti-Quali
◎ Collocation test adapted from
Cook (2003) modified to
accommodate Filipino
collocations.
◎ Background questionnaire
(Cook, 2003)

35
Methodology
◎ T-test was used to determine
the significant differences of
the collocation errors.
◎ Chi-square was used to look at
the significant relationship
between L1 on L2 and vice
versa.

36
Methodology
◎ Cluster sampling
◎ 120 ESL learners, 60 Filipino
education majors, 60 English
education majors
◎ Language background
questionnaire
◎ Both completed Filipino and
English collocation test
37
Methodology
◎ Sample Item
◉ Pakisarado ang TV para
makatipid tayo.
◉ I closed the TV.
◉ Pakipatay ang TV para
makatipid tayo.

38
 Point System
◎ If it is wrong, the students are asked
to correct it. An error that is
recognized and corrected is scored 2
points. And error recognized but not
corrected is 1 point. An error not
recognized gets 0 points. A correct
sentence spoiled is counted as minus
1 point.

39
 4
Results and Discussion
The answer of the study

40
Results & Discussion

41
 Discussion
◎ Challenging
◎ Filipino majors
◉ Bilinguals
◉ Translate
◉ Collocation restrictions
◉ Collocation practices
◉ Difficulty revising
◎ English - 60%, Filipino – 56%
◎ Learning environment
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Results & Discussion

43
Discussion
◎ Challenging
◎ Poorly in English collocation
test
◎ English - 81%, Filipino – 90%
◎ English majors
◉ Still struggle
◉ Other domains?
44
Results & Discussion

45
 Discussion
◎ Year level have an effect in
Filipino
◎ Home language

46
Results & Discussion

47
Discussion
◎ Use of language
◎ Use of Filipino
◉ English collocation test
◉ Disadvantage

48
Results & Discussion

49
Discussion
◎ Relationship of L1 on L2 and L2
on L2
◎ L1 on L2 = YES
◎ L2 on L1 = NO
◎ This does not prove that L2 no
longer affects L1 scores.

50
 Conclusion
◎ Collocation tests are difficult.
◎ Learning environment and
frequency of use of the
language are instrumental in
improving their scores.
◎ The use of L1 worsen their L2
collocation test scores.

51
Conclusion
◎ Each language that a bilingual
uses affects his/her
collocational knowledge to a
lesser or greater extent.

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 Implication to
Language Teaching
◎ Language use
◎ Develop materials to improve
collocation knowledge
◎ There are genres that require
the correct use of collocation.
◎ Teach explicitly

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 Thanks!

Any questions?
You can find me at Teacher Henelsie
mendoza.hb@pnu.edu.ph

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