Trang 1 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES --- TRAN NHU QUYNH THE USE OF VERB-PREPOSITION COLLOCATIONS IN ACADEMIC ESSAYS BY EFL STUDENTS AT HUE UNI
Introduction
Rationale of the Study
Writing is a skill that is needed throughout one’s life in many circumstances (Browker,
2007) The use of collocations has been approved to become an element to boost students’ writing skills (Abdullayeva, 2022; Adelian et al., 2015; Bhumadhana & Gajaseni, 2010; Namvar,
Grammatical collocations are considered as an essential component for learners to express ideas more efficiently and accurately in academic writing (Alsulayyi, 2015; Rezvani, 2011) Furthermore, grammatical collocations contribute to the overall coherence and cohesion of the essay, leading to a better understanding of the thesis statement and supporting ideas
Verb-preposition collocations, in particular, are of great significance in academic writing as they contribute to the accomplishment of texts (Vyatkina, 2016) Understanding and employing proper verb-preposition collocations are regarded as an essential step of learning for non-native English speakers to produce fluent and accurate academic writing However, despite the significance of verb-preposition collocations, choosing and using these collocations appropriately in academic writings might be an ongoing challenge for English as a foreign language (EFL) students (Kamarudin et al., 2020) The consequences of improper verb- preposition collocation usage in academic writing can be detrimental Essays might lose their clarity, coherence, and effect due to incorrect chosen verb-preposition collocations (Sadeghi & Panahifar, 2013; Zhang & Reynolds, 2023) As a result, the quality of their written work may suffer overall if EFL students are unable to accurately convey their intended meanings (Sadeghi
Previous research on collocations has primarily focused on lexical and grammatical collocations, as well as their impacts on language learning Furthermore, a number of studies (e.g., Phoocharoensil, 2011; Shih, 2000; Shitu, 2015) were conducted to investigate students’ perceptions and common errors of collocations Despite their significance, verb-preposition collocations have received less attention in the literature, especially in the context of Vietnam although they have been used frequently and a main source of errors made by EFL learners Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by specifically exploring the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays
By systematically studying these aspects, the researcher was stimulated to conduct the study to investigate HUFLIS second-year students’ perceptions on the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays and the common types of errors that they frequently make when applying verb-preposition collocations in academic essays.
Research Aims
Having reviewed the importance and features of using collocations, the primary aims of this study are:
1 To investigate HUFLIS second-year EFL students’ perceptions towards the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays;
2 To explore the types of errors that HUFLIS second-year EFL students make when using verb-preposition collocations in academic essays.
Research Questions
With those mentioned aims, the following research questions can be formulated for the current study:
1 What are HUFLIS second-year EFL students’ perceptions towards the use of verb- preposition collocations in academic essays?
2 What are types of errors that HUFLIS second-year EFL students make when using verb-preposition collocations in academic essays?
Significance
Investigating EFL students’ perceptions about the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic writing can explore their awareness of verb-preposition collocations, their understanding of the importance of these collocations, and the difficulties they face in using them accurately By understanding students’ perceptions, educators can tailor their instruction and provide the necessary support to enhance learners’ awareness and understanding of verb- preposition collocations Furthermore, exploring students’ perceptions about the use of verb- preposition collocations can help contribute to the development of learner autonomy
Understanding their perceptions can help educators create activities for students to reflect on their language use, leading to increased confidence and autonomy in their academic writing
Additionally, by analyzing academic essays, this research can identify the errors or misconceptions related to verb-preposition collocations made by second-year EFL university students Understanding these errors is essential for educators as they can provide targeted feedback and corrective measures to help students improve their verb-preposition collocation use in their writing As a result, the findings of this research are expected to contribute to the development of targeted pedagogical interventions and instructional materials aimed at addressing the identified errors By understanding the specific types of errors students made when using verb-preposition collocations, educators can design exercises, activities, and lessons to address these challenges and facilitate better language acquisition and accuracy.
Organization of the Study
This research paper is structured into five chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Literature
Review, (3) Research Methodology, (4) Findings and Discussions, and (5) Conclusion and
Chapter 1 serves as the foundation for the study, presenting the rationale behind conducting the research, establishing the research aims, and research questions The significance of the study is also highlighted in this chapter
Chapter 2 revolves around a comprehensive literature review of key elements related to the study It delves into defining important terms such as collocations, verb-preposition collocations, academic essays, categories of collocations, as well as categories of verb- preposition collocations Additionally, it explores types of verb-preposition collocation errors, demonstrates causes of errors, and identifies gaps in existing literature
Chapter 3 focuses on the research methodology employed to explore the HUFLIS second- year English students’ perceptions regarding the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays and the types of errors that they frequently make when using verb-preposition collocations This chapter provides a detailed description of the research design, research setting, participants, and research instruments It also outlines the procedures for data collection and analysis
Chapter 4 is dedicated to reporting and interpreting the primary findings of the study, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative results It incorporates discussions on the findings by comparing them with those of previous studies
Chapter 5 concludes the research paper by summarizing the key findings and offering implications for various stakeholders such as EFL students, teachers, and curriculum designers Additionally, this chapter acknowledges the limitations of the research and provides suggestions for further studies in the same field.
Literature Review
Definitions of Key Terms
When delving into the complexities of language, one encounters the fascinating concept of collocations As a fundamental aspect of linguistic study, there are a number of definitions to define what collocation means The term “collocation” was first used by Firth (1957, as cited in Hong, et al., 2022) to refer to the frequent co-occurrence of particular words According to this view, it appears to be a list of words Since then, linguists, academics, and researchers have come to consensus on a number of definitions of collocation, which they identify as an amalgam of a pair or a collection of words which frequently occur together in a specific context of communication to sound proper and natural in the intended language, specifically in English
According to Tutin (2008), in the two conventional definitions of lexically constrained collocations, collocations are perceived as two different ways: (1) Collocations are relationships between two lexical units, or more generally, two language components, (2) The base, which is the more conspicuous part in the connection, and the collocate, which is dependent upon the base, each has different levels of importance
As defined by Lewis (2000), collocations are set word pairings that are regularly and naturally used together by native speakers The author also claimed that words that are arranged or discovered together in a predictable way are known as collocations Collocations are described as the habitual connection of a word in a language with other specific words in sentences
(McKeown & Radev, 2000) Similarly, according to Benson (1990), collocations are defined as a pair or a group of words that are commonly collaborated together
In general, these definitions shed light on the idea that collocations are fixed word combinations which occur frequently in language use They go beyond the individual meanings of words and acquire a specific, co-selective meaning when being used together
Language learners are likely to encounter verb-preposition collocations which are regarded as a significant aspect of studying language structure and usage As defined by Vyatkina
(2016), verb-preposition collocations refer to specific pairings of verbs and prepositions that go beyond their individual meanings, forming cohesive units of expression This type of collocations belongs to the lexical domain as they consist of a content word and a functional word (Vyatkina,
2016) They are essential in constructing grammatically correct and contextually appropriate sentences
Verb-preposition collocations refer to specific combinations of verbs and prepositions that are commonly used together in the English language These combinations have established meanings and usage patterns, and they contribute to the overall meaning and structure of a sentence or phrase Verbs in these collocations require specific prepositions to accurately convey their intended meaning Each of collocations has a different meaning and cannot always be readily interpreted by the individual meanings of the verb and preposition used separately As stated by Dı̇nỗer et al (2022), understanding verb-preposition collocations is essential for English language learners to improve the ability of fluency, accuracy, and comprehension when writing
By mastering these verb-preposition collocations, learners can develop their essays with more natural and idiomatic phrasing, which enhances their language proficiency (Schneider & Zipp,
In the realm of academia, the academic essay stands as a fundamental pillar of scholarly communication Defined as a thoughtfully crafted piece of writing, an academic essay seeks to explore a specific topic or issue, employing a logical and coherent argument supported by evidence and extensive research Rafikova (2022) asserted that an academic essay is a form of expression that disseminates knowledge gained in a particular subject of study Writing for academic purposes helps EFL students analyze knowledge, communicate it, think critically, and emphasize their learning style and method Thus, academic writing is of the utmost importance in helping students develop their research and academic work Rafikova (2022) stated that academic writing should be extensive, formal, precise, objective, explicit, accurate, and trustworthy
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language as it should be formal Facts and figures are conveyed explicitly in academic writing On account of these features, many students in higher education are likely to struggle with particular difficulties in writing, like lexical variety, grammar or inappropriate text structure (Rafikova, 2022) Through a structured format, academic essays demonstrate critical thinking skills, analytical prowess, and the ability to communicate ideas effectively It is an essential tool used by educators to evaluate students’ understanding of subject matter and their capacity to articulate thoughts in a formal and scholarly manner As students embark on their academic journey, mastering the art of writing academic essays becomes paramount in successfully navigating the intricacies of higher education
As stated by Pablo & Lasaten (2018), a text with a clearly defined form, consisting of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, is termed an academic essay Learners are expected to provide a thesis statement and back it up with facts and evidence when writing an academic essay The academic essay additionally adheres to formality, objectiveness, transparency, cautiousness as well as structural principles Essays, thus, are one of the most regular written assignments that EFL students at universities are requested to complete Essays can be written for a variety of reasons, including to enlighten, entertain, investigate, or convince To be more specific, essays are typically composed in answer to an issue
An academic essay is generally defined as a written document on a topic relevant to the course of study delivered at an educational institution, university, or college that is rarely less than 500 words in length or in excess of 5000 words in length (Saihi, 2015) The author also claimed that EFL students are required to provide an explanation of their point that must be encapsulated in a thesis statement before creating a defense of the thesis There are core steps that should be included in the essay-writing process, but each student is free to use their own technique Instructors can distinguish between the actual levels of EFL learners by using academic essays, which remain to be a crucial assessment tool (Saihi, 2015) Additionally, it gives students the chance to showcase their talents and skills When providing questions that allow EFL students to demonstrate their true writing talents, essay writing has grown to become considerably more challenging
Based on the aforementioned definitions, an academic essay is a piece of writing that presents a clear and logical argument or analysis on a specific topic It typically follows a structured format and demonstrates critical thinking, research skills, and the ability to effectively communicate ideas and evidence Mohammed (2021) divided academic essays into four main categories, namely descriptive, argumentative, expository, and narrative essays
However, in the current study, the researcher analyzed the data from two types of academic essays, which are descriptive essays and argumentative essays Therefore, the definitions of descriptive essays and argumentative essays will be provided in the next section of the literature review
The goal of a descriptive essay is to convey to the reader the author’s intended impression of certain things, ideas, settings, events (Dewi & Al Arief, 2021; Mohammed, 2021; Sembiring, 2020; Wahid et al., 2020) To put it another way, students have to construct their phrases in this type of essay so that they relate to one another
As stated by Gerot and Wignell (1994), a descriptive essay is a special type of essay that is distinguished by the usage of attributive and determining relational processes and the current situation of special participants It could be claimed that students’ knowledge is related to experience, setting, comprehension, reasoning, instinct, and creativity when they produce descriptive essays (Dewi et al., 2021) As a result, how well students grasp descriptive essay structure, linguistic characteristics, and purposes, as well as how effectively they have written descriptive essays themselves, could have an impact on how well they write (Dewi et al., 2021)
The writing process of descriptive essays includes 5 main stages, namely pre-writing, making drafts, editing, re-writing, and ultimately publishing Thanks to the writing process, learners are encouraged to employ new terms and figurative language when writing descriptions (Tshering, 2015) Examples of descriptive essays include descriptions of a person’s appearance, a city’s culture, a specific landscape, a memorable childhood experience, or an important event in history
Categories of Collocations
In the vast realm of language study, the classifications of collocations serve as valuable tools for understanding and categorizing the various patterns and combinations that words form There are different types of collocations, including lexical collocations, grammatical collocations, each with its unique characteristics and rules
Collocations have been classified in a comparable way by linguists The aforementioned classification was in line with Lewis’s classification of collocations in 2000, which subdivided them into lexical and grammatical collocations Lewis (2000) outlined grammatical collocation as an amalgamation of content expressions and words with functions (mostly prepositions), and lexical collocation as a combination of multiple content words (Noun, Verb, Adjective, and Adverb), which can be categorized into six different subcategories illustrated in Table 2.1 The collocation of a noun, verb, or adjective with a preposition is known as grammatical collocation, whereas the collocation of a noun, verb, or adjective with an adjective is known as lexical collocation
Adjective + Preposition afraid of, excited about Verb + Preposition believe in, look at Noun + Preposition fear of, approval of
Adjective + Noun tall building, happy child Verb + Noun make friends, pay attention Noun + Noun music festival, English lesson Verb + Adverb drive carefully, speak clearly Adverb + Adjective incredibly talented, extremely tired
Additionally, the study of Benson et al (1986) divided collocations into lexical and grammatical collocations A noun, an adjective, or a verb combined with a preposition or an infinitive make up a grammatical collocation Conversely, neither prepositions nor infinitives are present in lexical collocations As in Table 2.2, they exclusively contain content terms
Table 2.2 Benson et al.’s (1986) collocation categories
Grammatical collocations noun + preposition adjective + preposition verb + preposition preposition + noun
Lexical collocations noun + noun verb + adverb verb + noun adjective + noun
According to Mahmoud (2005), collocations can be classified as either open or restricted Open collocations are nodes that can form clusters with a variety of different words, such as a little house, a light blue house, and a pricey house Fixed or idiomatic clusters, such as “kick the bucket”, “rain cats and dogs”, and similar expressions, are referred to as restricted collocations
In accordance with Mahmoud’s (2005) study, Lewis (2008) claimed that there are two distinctive kinds of collocation, which are open and restricted collocations
Similarly, Huang (2001) concentrated solely on lexical collocation categorization to classify lexical collocations into the following groups:
(1) Free combinations: They are word combinations whose meaning derives from the literal meaning of each component “Blow a trumpet” and “blow a whistle” are examples of free combinations
(2) Restricted collocates: This category is used in a more restricted context, and there do not appear a wide variety of collocates, such as “blow a fuse”
(3) Figurative idioms: This classification includes expressions with a broader metaphorical meaning that may be inferred from the context, such as “blow your own trumpet”
(4) Pure idioms: This category includes expressions with a single meaning that is completely unrelated to the meanings of its constituent parts, such as “blow the gat”, which means to disclose a secret
In a comparable way, Hill (2000) classifies collocations into the following categories:
(1) Unique collocations: “To foot the bill”, “to foot the invoice”, or “to foot the coffee” are prime examples of unique collocations that are fixed and cannot be changed by any other terms
(2) Strong collocations: Although not exclusive, these collocations are intense or very powerful Strong collocations typically only have a small number of prospective collaborators For example, “move to tears” means someone being affected so seriously that he/she cries
(3) Weak collocations: These combinations of words are straightforward to make assumptions about and include phrases like “a black skirt”, “a yellow skirt”, “an emerald skirt”,
“a lengthy skirt”, “a special skirt”, etc
(4) Medium-strength collocations: This classification is similar to Lewis’s (2000) study They may occasionally be clumsy conjunctions like to hold a discussion and to make an error The majority of the time, language learners already comprehend each individual word, such as “to hold” and “a discussion”, but they can also use it singly or as part of a collocation
Last but not least, Sinclair (1991) broke down collocations into the following two groups:
(1) The upward collocations are words that commonly combine with other words that are used in English more frequently than they are, and the majority of these words are prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions, and pronouns For instance, the term “back” is frequently used in conjunction with other words rather than by itself, such as at, down, from, into, on, etc
(2) The downward collocations combine with other words less frequently than they do when used alone and provide a word’s semantic analysis As an illustration, “back” is more frequently used in conjunction with other terms than “arrival” and “bring”
To summarize, although numerous ways are seen in the classifications of collocations, the most common observed categorizations are lexical and grammatical collocations, followed by unique, strong, and weak collocations.
Categories of Verb-Preposition Collocations
The categories proposed by Hudcovičová et al (2021) provide a systematic way to categorize and analyze verb-preposition collocations, which helps understand the patterns and structures of these collocations Therefore, in this study, verb-preposition collocations are divided into three primary categories based on Hudcovičová et al.’s (2021) framework, namely verb- preposition, phrasal verbs, and verb-preposition-fixed elements The categories of verb- preposition collocations are described as follows
Table 2.3 Hudcovičová et al.’s (2021) categories of verb-preposition collocations
Categories of verb-preposition collocations
Verb-preposition (strong collocations) - provide for (give someone money/ things)
- depend on (be influenced by or determined by something)
- agree with (have the same opinion with someone)
Phrasal verbs (weak collocations) - look for (search for information)
- look after (take care of someone/ something)
- run out of steam (be completely out of energy)
- drive someone up the wall (annoy someone very much)
- cry over spilt milk (make complaint about the loss in the past)
The first type is seen as a strong collocation since the terms are so closely related to one another, e.g “provide for” The lexical verb “provide” is used in combination with the preposition “for”, which means to give someone money and the necessities, such as clothing and food
The second classification of verb-preposition is phrasal verbs To be more specific, words that associate with a broad variety of other words are the components of weak collocations For example, the lexical “look” can collaborate with various prepositions to form different meanings,
“look for” is to search or to hunt for someone/something, “look after” has the same meaning with
“take care of someone/something”, and “look into” means to investigate or examine the fact about a specific situation
The last category is referred to as fixed collocations as they are unchangeable The meaning of this word combination comes from the entire sentence, not just the collocations it contains The fixed element indicates a certain word that exclusively collocates with the verb and preposition before it Additionally, one semantic unit is represented by each element in the structure The majority of the fixed elements in his study fall under the noun and adverb categories It is possible to observe fixedness in this form of verb-preposition structure not only between the verb and the preposition but also within the triplets of the specific verb-specific preposition-specific fixed element In other words, this type of verb-preposition collocation is called idioms, e.g “run out of steam”.
Causes of Collocation Errors
Numerous studies have been conducted to identify the causes of collocation errors in language learning These studies have shed light on various factors that contribute to the occurrence of these errors
In the opinion of Setiarini (2018), the use of translation techniques might have an enormous impact on the learners’ collocation errors Additionally, interlingual transfer and intralingual errors are two other reasons for these problems Lexical collocation errors tend to come about by intralingual and interlingual transfers, as illustrated in Table 2.4
Table 2.4 Causes of lexical collocation errors Causes of lexical collocation errors
Interlingual transfer The wrong selection of words
The wrong selection of parts of speech Literal translation
Intralingual errors The wrong selection of pronoun
However, compared to lexical collocation errors, grammatical collocation errors are more frequently driven on by intralingual errors than by interlingual transfers The wrong decision regarding the preposition, an incorrect choice of tense, as well as the erroneous choice of verb types are the sources of errors that are categorized as intralingual errors Table 2.5 shows the causes of grammatical collocation errors
Table 2.5 Causes of grammatical collocation errors Causes of grammatical collocation errors
Interlingual transfer The use of L1 structure
Intralingual errors The wrong selection of preposition
The wrong selection of tense
The wrong selection of kinds of verb According to Harta et al (2021), there are numerous causes of collocation errors in students’ essays, including lack of collocation competence, native language influence, the use of synonyms, overgeneralization, and approximation
It is anticipated that a lack of proficiency in collocation regularly causes students to make errors as it is not the primary focus of teaching English as a second language, particularly in writing courses This problem might be caused by the fact that English collocation is not taught in required English courses and that students are not continuously exposed to it As a result, many EFL students make a lot of collocation errors because they lack a thorough understanding of collocation (Duan & Qin, 2012; Harta et al., 2021; Kuo, 2009; Lubis, 2013; Yanjuan, 2014)
In addition to an absence of collocation proficiency, it is speculated that native language influences have a significant impact on the production of second languages, notably in the formation of collocations (Abdullayeva & Aynakulova, 2023; Boonraksa & Naisena, 2022; Lubis, 2013) Due to the inadequate collocational transfer from students’ native language into English, the majority of students attest to the incorrectness of collocation occurring in their essays (Dahlmeier & Ng, 2011; Yan, 2010) In other words, students make collocation errors in light of the way they think in their native tongue For instance, “arrive school” is acceptable when it comes to the meaning in Vietnamese, but it is not correct in English
The use of synonyms is an additional cause of collocation errors (Boonraksa & Naisena, 2022; Farghal & Obiedat, 1995; Harta et al., 2021; Yan, 2010) The language learners change one of the collocation’s components for its synonym This happens as a result of the requirement that EFL students employ academic vocabulary and advanced syntax in order to create an English essay that sounds and appears more scholarly (Dahlmeier & Ng, 2011) Since some English terms cannot be randomly paired with other words, most students in Harta et al.’s (2021) study struggled to employ the synonym technique For example, instead of using “involve in the activity”, students use “involve into the activity”
As stated by Harta et al (2021), overgeneralization is another contributing factor to the collocation errors which were found in students’ essays This arises because the student’s awareness of differences in the target language that is being learnt is flawed In other words, EFL students generalize a single word that can be used to convey a variety of meanings For example, the students use the collocation “speak with your friend” instead of “speak to your friend”
Another possible cause of collocation errors in the study of Harta et al (2021) is an approximation It alludes to the usage of improper terminology or structural elements EFL students are likely to use the wrong word classes to produce collocation To illustrate, instead of using “react to the news”, the students use “react against the news”.
Categories of Verb-Preposition Collocation Errors
In the study of language, the classification of verb-preposition collocation errors is of utmost importance Errors in verb-preposition collocations can arise due to various factors, such as interference from one’s native language or inaccurate exposure to the target language These errors can be classified into different categories, including wrong verb-preposition collocations, omission of proper prepositions and addition of unnecessary prepositions This way of classifying the types of errors regarding verb-preposition is similar to Suvarnamani’s (2017) study which is shown as follows
When the students compose their sentences, they employ the direct translation approach, which, upon closer inspection, displays that this type of inaccuracy is made Take the sentence
“Mother bought candies and a cake to me” as a good illustration Preposition “to” is incorrect because “for” is a proper collocational preposition This type of verb-preposition collocations is split into three classifications, namely using incorrect forms of preposition, using prepositions that change the meaning of the verb, and mixing up prepositions with similar meanings
The omission of proper prepositions was cited as an additional type of verb-preposition errors by Suvarnamani (2017) Similar to the first group, there is an explanation for this form of collocation errors Since it appears that EFL students often translate the sentences they intend to form from their native language into the target language This is the reason they frequently leave out the crucial preposition from their statements That is why they omitted the necessary preposition in these sentences For example, “I talk to her * everything”, the preposition “about” is needed in this statement
This type of inaccuracy was also caused by the students’ mother tongue interfering and their belief that they could translate a writing word for word To illustrate, one student intended to write, “She walked around her house”, but that student put the adverb “in” before “her house”, making the adverbial redundant In this type of errors, there are two main classifications which are using more than one preposition in a collocation (e.g get on with, look forward to, run out of) and using prepositions with verbs that do not require a preposition (e.g join in, drive on, sing about)
Understanding these classifications allows language learners to identify and address specific areas of difficulty and misconception in using verb-preposition collocations (Vyatkina,
2016) By recognizing these errors, language learners can refine their language skills, improve their communicative competence, and enhance their overall fluency (Boonraksa & Naisena,
Previous Studies
A wide range of studies focusing on this area of study have been conducted with a variety of results that have significantly added to the literature in the field and given an overview of how collocations are used by ESL/EFL learners for future research regarding the significance of collocations in strengthening English learners’ acquisition ability Studies on the use of collocations could be divided into two main categories: research using elicitation techniques and research using production data
There have been two studies conducted in two different contexts in relation to university students’ writing competence with English collocations
The research by Mongkolchai (2008) was based on the analysis of collocational proficiency among Thai university students The research design appeared to involve a quantitative methodology that utilizes a proficiency test to measure the ability of university students to use English collocations appropriately The test administered to the participants consists of 60 multiple-choice questions that assess their knowledge of collocations in English The findings revealed that verb-adverb and adverb-adjective were two collocation types that English majors found the most challenging
Another study by Kamarudin et al (2020) focused on examining the knowledge of collocations among ESL learners The study aimed to investigate the levels of understanding and comprehension of collocations, with a particular emphasis on verb-preposition collocations The researchers used a quantitative approach, administering a collocation test to a sample of ESL learners The test consisted of various types of collocations, including noun-noun, verb-noun, adjective-noun, and verb-preposition combinations The results of the study indicated that ESL learners had different levels of knowledge of collocations, which could be attributed to the frequency and familiarity of the collocations Specifically, the findings revealed that verb- preposition collocations were the most challenging for the learners to comprehend This difficulty could stem from the complex nature of verb-preposition combinations and the numerous possible prepositions that can follow specific verbs
A number of previous studies used production data to conduct the students’ perceptions and the errors related to collocations
According to Sari and Gulử’s (2019) study, the use of grammatical collocations in students’ writing was found to be generally lacking The researchers found that there were several types of grammatical collocations, such as noun-preposition, verb-preposition, and adverb- adjective, which were frequently missing in the students’ writings Secondly, a study by
Thongvitit and Thumawongsa (2017) examined collocations found in the abstracts of research articles written by Thai EFL writers using a corpus-based approach The researchers analyzed the data on the occurrences of collocations in the abstracts and classified them according to their types and frequency The study also found that there were some errors in the use of collocations by the Thai EFL writers, particularly with regards to preposition-noun and adjective-adverb collocations
In order to contribute to the literature of the field, Hong et al.’s (2022) study aimed to investigate the collocational patterns and accuracy in the essays, as well as explore the students’ perceptions and proficiency when applying collocations in their writing The findings of the study revealed that the English-majored students at Can Tho University demonstrated a certain level of collocational competence in their academic essays However, there were still frequencies of errors and inaccuracies in their use of collocations
The study by Boonraksa and Naisena (2022), which also contributed to the literature of the field, focused on the analysis of collocation errors made by Thai English as a Foreign
Language students The findings of the study revealed the types of collocation errors, including inappropriate verb-noun collocations, preposition-noun collocations, adjective-noun, and verb- preposition collocations In addition, the study by Do and Le (2023) aimed to investigate the lexical collocation errors made by Vietnamese EFL students in their essay writing, as well as explore their perceptions of these errors The researchers adopted a mixed-method approach for this study, including a corpus of essays written by Vietnamese EFL students and interviews The findings of the study indicated some students are aware of the importance of collocations, many others lack knowledge and understanding of collocations and their impacts on their writings.
Research Gaps
Based on the aforementioned studies, it could be said that collocations in EFL and ESL teaching and learning have been the subject of various studies (Boonraksa & Naisena, 2022; Do
& Le, 2023; Hong et al., 2022); yet they have not specifically investigated students’ perceptions and the errors when using verb-preposition collocations in Vietnam, especially at the level of tertiary education Therefore, there is a research gap in understanding how verb-preposition collocations are perceived and used by Vietnamese EFL university students in their academic essays Furthermore, although verb-preposition collocations are reported as one of the most frequent and problematic for ESL learners regarding grammatical collocations, there is a research gap in terms of focusing on this specific type of collocation errors
By addressing the gaps mentioned above and conducting a comprehensive study on the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays by EFL university students at HUFLIS, this research aims to contribute to the existing literature on collocations in the context of EFL teaching and learning, particularly in Vietnam
These research gaps highlight the need for further investigation and understanding of verb-preposition collocations used by EFL university students in their academic essays, with a specific focus on their perceptions, qualitative and quantitative analysis, specific types of collocation errors, and contribution to the field of EFL teaching and learning.
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter examined the relevant literature, including definitions of key terms, categories of collocations, and the types of verb-preposition collocation errors In addition, related studies have also been reviewed The current study’s literature review offers a theoretical framework that can be used as guidelines for conducting the investigation The study’s methodology will be fully explained in the next chapter.
Methodology
Research Design
This design integrated a mixed method research Mingers (2001) defined mixed methods research, also known as multimethod research, as the use of more than one research method in a particular study, such as two quantitative methods or two qualitative methods, or a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods Another definition of mixed methods research is a strategy for studying phenomena that produces multiple data sets utilizing various data collection methods (Sawyer, 2001) As stated by Byrne and Humble (2007), the implementation of mixed methods helped cancel out certain of the drawbacks of specific methods because every method of data collection has its own limitations Additionally, the advantages of each approach can reinforce one another
The current study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research topic This study’s quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from the participants using a questionnaire, academic essays, and semi-structured interviews The researcher initially conducted the quantitative method of the study by using questionnaires to survey a large sample size of second-year students at HUFLIS Cohen et al
(2007) stated that the questionnaires offer researchers a structured approach to gather specific information by using standardized questions and response options This helps ensure consistency in data collection and allows for comparability across different participants and studies
Questionnaires are able to be administered without the researcher’s presence, and frequently being comparatively easy to analyze
The second phase of the study involved analyzing essay samples and conducting interviews with second-year students The qualitative phase provided more detailed information about students’ experiences and perceptions Analyzing the writing essays complemented the qualitative findings by providing concrete examples and further understanding of the errors students tend to make (Cohen et al., 2007) Therefore, questionnaires, essays and semi-structured interviews were combined in the current study to complement each other and refine the data collected.
Research Site
The research site for the study is HUFLIS, where two specializations including English Language Teaching and English Language Studies are offered to EFL students It takes 4 years to complete the full-time program, including 8 semesters
First-year and second-year students are all offered courses related to linguistics and practical language skills in the training program For the purpose of developing the students’ practical language abilities, courses in Translation Practice, Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing are also provided Furthermore, undergraduates are offered the studies of British and American culture, literature, and cross-cultural communication Phonetics and Phonology,
Morphology and Syntax, Semantics, and Discourse analysis are among the linguistic subjects that students have to learn
Students majoring in English Language Teaching continue to receive Language teaching methodology and teaching practice in their third year Meanwhile, regarding English Language Studies students, according to their Average Grade Point (GPA) in the first and second years of their undergraduate program, they are then assigned to majors including Translation and
Interpretation, English for Young Learners, and English for Tourism The knowledge of specialized fields allows the students to effectively handle work that relates to their expertise
In addition to completing all the compulsory courses, all English majors are required to obtain the C1-leveled certificate of the Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency
(VSTEP), a test of English proficiency with the 6-level foreign language competency framework This is also one of the graduation conditions that students have to satisfy.
Participants
The participants of this research were 100 second-year English-majored students at
HUFLIS, including 82% females and 18% males Ranging from 20 to 23 of age, they have studied English from eight to ten years at primary, secondary, and high schools, as well as for nearly two years at university
The participants are required to engage in increasingly complicated tasks such as writing academic essays (Writing 4), with the aim to provide the students with a fundamental understanding of producing academic essays, especially descriptive and argumentative essays At the end of the course, the participants are expected to achieve the English proficiency level which is equivalent to B2 (the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) As a result, their use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays is particularly pertinent to the research topic
The study was done in the middle of the Writing 4 course of the academic year 2022-
2023, so the participants had already received instruction in writing academic essays and had practiced writing descriptive essays and argumentative essays These types of essays are the focus of HUFLIS’s training program for the Writing 4 course In addition, second year students were at an intermediate level, as a result, they were able to produce essays of relevant topics.
Research instruments
The study was conducted with a combination of a questionnaire, academic essays analysis, and interviews The questionnaire provides quantitative data, the academic essays analysis offers qualitative insights into actual usage, and the interviews provide an in-depth understanding This comprehensive approach allows the researcher to gather a better dataset and generate more meaningful conclusions (Kelle, 2006)
The questionnaire (Appendix 1), which was self-designed in line with the relevant literature in the area of study, consisted of 20 items in total and was organized into three main sections based on the study’s objectives, including, background information, students’ perceptions about the use of verb-preposition collocations, and the errors that second-year students make when using verb-preposition collocations in academic essays as shown in Table 3.1 below
Table 3.1 Three main clusters of the questionnaire
Cluster 2: Students’ perceptions about the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays
Cluster 3: Types of errors second-year students make when using verb- preposition collocations in academic essays
The majority of the items were closed-ended questions, and participants were asked to select the most relevant answer from a list of possibilities Furthermore, there were certain open- ended questions where the research participants were able to share their own viewpoints
Four questions related to participants’ age, gender, major, and their English learning experience made up the initial part of the survey’s first section Three out of four questions were closed-ended questions and only one question was open-ended
Nine multiple-choice questions were included in the second section, which was intended to elicit responses from participants regarding their attitudes about the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays The participants were asked to indicate their answers by checking the option next to the statement in the questionnaire that best reflected their opinions
Three out of nine questions which were open-ended questions were designed to require participants to select more than one possible answer from a list of options
Seven items made up the third section in total Question 12 including six items with a Likert scale of 1 to 5 was designed with the aim to ask participants to report any verb-preposition collocation errors they made when writing academic essays The questionnaire concluded with an open-ended inquiry to see whether students had any suggestions related to strategies or techniques for improvements in understanding and the usage of verb-preposition collocations among EFL university students at HUFLIS
The questionnaire was written in English to extract the data from the questionnaire to create the figures or tables more correctly, making it more practical to gather information about students’ experiences and perceptions related to the use of collocations Moreover, using English helps to reduce the risk of misunderstandings or misinterpretations that could arise during the procedures to collect and analyze the data To ensure the internal validity of the questionnaire, it was piloted for comprehensibility with a small number of students who shared similar characteristics as the target population Based on their feedback, several items in the questionnaires were slightly modified prior to administering them The quantitative data collected from the questionnaires were coded to be analyzed by SPSS software version 20
All in all, the questionnaire included a mix of closed-ended (i.e., multiple-choice, Likert scale) and open-ended questions to capture both quantitative and qualitative data This enabled the researcher to analyze the participants’ perceptions, identify errors, and gather insights into their familiarity, attitudes, and challenges related to verb-preposition collocations
The academic essays (Appendix 4) that the students wrote for the Writing 4 course served as the data-collecting tool in this study 85 samples of mid-term writing essays of second-year students from two classes were collected and closely analyzed in order to find out the types of errors when the students used verb-preposition collocations The participants handwrote their essays on the paper provided by the lecturer of these two classes There were two different topics for the students to choose, one was a descriptive essay and the other was argumentative
Additionally, the use of academic writings assisted in determining whether or not the students’ perceptions of their verb-preposition collocation errors were consistent with their performance in their mid-term writing test Academic essays provide an opportunity for the participants to express their thoughts, ideas, arguments, and knowledge on a given topic in their own words This allowed the researcher to draw a connection between the students’ perceptions and their ability to produce verb-preposition collocations in academic writings
Semi-structured interviews (Appendix 2) are a type of qualitative data collection method where the researcher had a predetermined set of questions to guide the interview, but also had the flexibility to ask follow-up questions and explore participants’ responses in more depth Semi- structured interviews require the use of frameworks and questions that must be applied continuously throughout all interview sections in order to make sure objectivity and validity (Diefenbach, 2009; Doody & Noonan, 2013) Another reason why semi-structured interviews were utilized in this study was that they were more adaptable and flexible than other methods such as surveys As a result, a semi-structured interview offers a series of questions that are straightforward for interviewees to comprehend and respond to
The semi-structured interview was conducted in Vietnamese so that the participants could express their opinions more precisely and thoroughly An interview guide was established to gather extra information for the two research questions based on the information from the questionnaire data with three main themes: (1) to explore how the participants perceived the use of verb-preposition collocations in their academic essays, (2) to discover the typical verb- preposition collocation errors that students frequently make when writing their compositions, (3) to identify the participants’ suggestions about strategies or techniques to improve the understanding and usage of verb-preposition collocations for EFL students.
Data Collection Procedures
3.5.1 Procedures of Collecting Questionnaire Data
As stated by Van and Hundley (2001), a pilot study is a scaled-down version of a larger study (also known as a feasibility study), as well as a pre-test of a specific research instrument like a questionnaire or interview schedule
The procedures for collecting questionnaire data typically involved the following steps First of all, the researcher developed a structured questionnaire that aligns with the research objectives, and considered the types of concise and unbiased questions (i.e multiple-choice, rating scales, and open-ended questions) Subsequently, the supervisor reviewed the questionnaire to see if the questions could capture the perspectives of English majors and characterize the verb-preposition collocation errors in academic essay writing Following the comments, the researcher edited certain questions After having the questionnaires checked by the supervisor one more time, the researcher conducted a pilot test with a small group of participants containing 10 second-year students By the time the pilot test had been carried out, the 10 participants showed that they fully comprehended every question in the questionnaires This helped identify any potential issues, such as confusing or ambiguous questions, and allowed the researcher to make necessary revisions before distributing the questionnaire to a larger sample
The questionnaire was distributed online through a survey platform which is Google Forms Clear instructions on how to complete the questionnaire and deadlines for submissions were also provided by the researcher Additionally, the researcher followed ethical guidelines when collecting questionnaire data by obtaining informed consent from participants, ensuring their privacy and confidentiality, and addressing any potential risks It was distributed online to
128 second-year students in the Writing 4 classes via Google Forms They were all instructed to complete the questionnaires honestly, independently, and anonymously in 10 to 15 minutes However, 100 individuals answered the questions and filled out the questionnaires
3.5.2 Procedures of Collecting Students’ Academic Essays
The academic written data were collected as part of the study conducted by the researcher in collaboration with one lecturer who is currently an English teacher of the English Department of HUFLIS The academic written data were gathered from 85 students who were from two writing classes, Class 1 (43 students) and Class 2 (42 students) of the Writing 4 course The participants were required to write a mid-term test with a 250-word essay in 40 minutes These essays were collected and provided to the researcher for analysis by the lecturer of these two classes
To keep data confidential for participants, At the beginning of the test, the participants were duly informed that their academic essays would be used in an ongoing research study conducted by the researcher with the lecturer’s support They were explained the purpose of the study, how their data would be used, how it would be kept confidential and made sure they understood their rights and that their participation was entirely voluntary During the data collection, all identifying information from the essays, such as names, student numbers, or other personal details were also removed This would ensure that the participants couldn't be identified from the data They were assured that their identities would remain anonymous All the participants’ names cited in the study are pseudonyms (e.g C.T.H.V - Cl1) This ensured that they could not be identified from the analysis
The students from Class 1 were to select one of the following topics:
Topic 1: “Online shopping is very convenient.” Do you agree or disagree?
Topic 2: Describe a well-known landmark in your country and explain why it is famous
The students from Class 2 were asked to choose one of the following topics:
Topic 1: “Listening to music is very beneficial.” Do you agree or disagree?
Topic 2: Describe a visit to a famous place and explain why it is so well-known
The students were specifically instructed not to use any reference resources such as dictionaries during the writing task This was to ensure that their essays would reflect their individual language proficiency and use of verb-preposition collocations without external assistance The mid-term test took place during the 15th week of the semester at HUFLIS
Upon completion of the writing test, the lecturer collected all of the academic essays from the participants A total of 85 essays were gathered, representing the combined efforts of Class 1 and Class 2 The lecturer then provided copies of these academic essays to the researcher for further analysis in the ongoing research study
It is important to note that the four topics featured in the mid-term test were assigned by the lecturer based on the course curriculum and academic objectives This ensured that the collected essays would cover a diverse range of ideas and perspectives related to the use of verb- preposition collocations in academic writing
3.5.3 Procedures for Collecting Interview Data
At the last stage of the data collection procedure, a subset of participants was invited for in-depth interviews Out of the 85 participants involved in writing essays, 10 individuals were invited to take part in the next phase However, only 8 students agreed to take part in the interview section To protect the participants’ identities, pseudonyms were assigned to each individual cited in the study (e.g S1, S2) The interviewees included 2 males and 6 females Half of them stated that they began learning English at grade three when they were in primary school, the other half said they began in grade six when they were in secondary school Therefore, they had all spent between eight and ten years of learning English as a compulsory subject at school
The interviews were conducted in Vietnamese using Google Meet, a video teleconferencing software program, which allowed for remote communication between the researcher and participants During the interviews, the researcher employed a set of predetermined questions to elicit detailed responses from the participants Follow-up questions were used to encourage clarification and elaboration on their initial answers The average duration of each interview was approximately 15 to 20 minutes
With the participants’ consent, all the interviews were audio recorded to ensure accurate data capture In addition to audio recordings, the researcher also took notes during the interviews to supplement the recorded information Data collection continued until no new information or insights were obtained, ensuring that a comprehensive and exhaustive range of perspectives and opinions were considered in the study.
Data Analysis
The data were collected from multiple sources, namely the questionnaires, academic essays, and interview recordings Each source provided different types of data, such as quantitative responses from the questionnaires and qualitative insights from the essays and interviews Combining multiple data sources contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of the research topic
The dataset included responses from a sample of 100 completed questionnaires This sample size helped provide a reasonable representation for analysis and drawing conclusions about the target population Furthermore, the dataset contained 85 academic essays which allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the chosen topic or research questions The essays potentially provided diverse perspectives and insights from a variety of individuals Additionally,
8 recordings captured qualitative data, such as participants’ opinions, experiences, or in-depth responses The interviews provided rich contextual information that complemented the data obtained from the questionnaires and essays
The analysis of the completed questionnaires in this study followed a systematic procedure to uncover insights and patterns within the data set The study collected a total of 100 completed questionnaires, each representing the perspectives and experiences of the participants about the use of verb-preposition collocations The analysis process involved organizing the data The questionnaires were carefully reviewed, and the information provided by each participant was entered into spreadsheets in Excel manually This ensured that the data was structured and easily accessible for further analysis
The analysis procedure for academic essays was outlined as follows The first step was identification and extraction In this initial stage, the researcher carefully reviewed the academic essays to identify any instances of verb-preposition collocations The researcher manually extracted these combinations, noted down each occurrence and its position within the essays
Once the verb-preposition collocations were extracted, the researcher undertook a process of sorting and classifying them Based on the classification regarding verb-preposition collocations outlined by Hudcovičová et al (2021), the researcher assessed each combination to determine its suitability as a collocation The collocations were then categorized as verb- preposition (strong collocations), phrasal verbs (weak collocations), and verb-preposition-fixed element (idioms) based on dictionaries and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) Strong collocations refer to combinations of a verb and a preposition that have a fixed and predictable meaning, such as “run out of” or “believe in” Weak collocations, or phrasal verbs, involve a verb and one or more particles that together form a single unit of meaning, such as “look for” Finally, idiomatic collocations are those that have a fixed structure and meaning that cannot be predicted from the individual words used, such as “blow off steam”
After the sorting and classification stage, the researcher further divided the identified collocations into two main groups, which were correct collocations and incorrect collocations This categorization was based on established linguistic norms and conventions for verb- preposition usage in English Correct collocations represented combinations that adhered to these norms, demonstrating appropriate grammatical and semantic compatibility Incorrect collocations, on the other hand, were those that did not conform to the expected patterns or violated the rules of idiomatic usage The researcher, then, classified incorrect verb-preposition collocations into different categories based on Suvarnamani’s (2017) framework For example, some common errors from 85 students’ academic essays are “believe on”, “depend of”, and
Dictionaries and COCA corpus are valuable resources for identifying and categorizing collocations Dictionaries often provide definitions and examples of how words are used in specific collocations, while COCA allows the researcher to analyze collocations in authentic language use COCA displays a list of examples of the verb-preposition collocation being used in context, along with its frequency and location within the corpus This corpus contains a wide variety of texts, including academic news, magazines, or blogs, fiction, which makes it a valuable resource for identifying the types of words in different contexts The following picture displayed the software interface of COCA
Subsequently, the researcher asked for help from two native English teachers who are currently working at an English center, based in Hue city, to confirm the verb-preposition collocations and errors that the researcher had found out By working with experienced teachers who have deep knowledge of the language, the researcher received useful suggestions to identify the verb-preposition collocations and errors
By following these stages, the researcher was able to systematically extract and analyze the verb-preposition collocations in the academic essays, differentiate them based on their categories (strong collocations, weak collocations, and idioms), and further classify them into correct and incorrect collocations This approach helped in assessing the second-year students’ proficiency and accuracy in the use of verb-preposition collocations within their essays
The procedure to analyze the interview data can be described as follows To begin with, the qualitative data obtained from the interviews were transcribed verbatim This involved converting the audio of the interviews into written text, capturing the participants’ exact words and expressions This step ensured that the data was in a readable and manageable format for analysis
The second step was participant validation After transcribing the interviews, the researcher sent the transcriptions back to the participants This step aimed to validate the accuracy of the transcriptions by allowing the participants to review their own statements and provide feedback or corrections if necessary Participant validation enhances the validity and reliability of the data (Lindheim, 2022)
To become familiar with the data, the researcher read and reread the transcriptions This process involved reading through the data multiple times, seeking an understanding of the participants’ perspectives, and identifying pieces of data that held particular value or relevance to the research objectives
Subsequently, the researcher compared and contrasted the interview data across different participants by looking for similarities and differences in the participants’ responses, perspectives, and experiences This comparative analysis helped provide additional insights and elucidate commonalities or divergences within the data The researcher creates a list of codes that emerge from the data, namely familiarity with collocations, frequency use of verb-preposition collocations, the importance of verb-preposition collocations, and the types of verb-preposition collocation errors The researcher groups similar codes into broader categories that reflect the underlying meaning and concept This allowed the researcher to compare and contrast the data across participants by looking for similarities and differences in the distribution of each category
Integrating the interview data with the findings from the questionnaires was regarded as one of the prominent stages of the procedure The researcher interpreted these codes in light of existing literature and theoretical frameworks to generate insights and conclusions about the research question
These steps could deepen the analysis of the interview data and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the participants’ perspectives towards the use of verb- preposition collocations in the context of academic writing.
Reliability and Validity of the Research
According to Joppe (2000), reliability is defined as the degree to which results are consistent over time and an accurate representation of the entire population under study A research instrument is considered reliable if its findings can be replicated using a comparable methodology
In this study, there were 100 second-year students participating in the survey The value for Cronbach’s Alpha for the questionnaire data was α = 884 Therefore, the data is reliable enough for analysis Moreover, the responses from the questionnaire were meticulously collected and organized in Excel to facilitate analysis and interpretation of the data In other words, organizing data in Excel can help to streamline the data analysis process and make it easier to draw meaningful conclusions from survey responses Additionally, a thorough examination and verification process of the data took place prior to conducting any analysis This involved reviewing each response to identify any potential errors, inconsistencies, or missing information
By conducting this careful examination, any questionable or incomplete data points were identified and addressed, thereby enhancing the reliability of the subsequent analysis
Validity assesses the degree to which the research measures what it set out to measure or the accuracy of the research findings Typically, researchers use a set of questions to assess validity, and they frequently examine other researchers’ work for the answers (Joppe, 2000)
In this study, to ensure the internal validity of the questionnaire, it was piloted for comprehensibility with 10 second-year students who shared similar characteristics as the target population Based on their feedback, several items in the questionnaires were slightly modified prior to administering them
With regard to academic essays analysis, the validity of the academic essays analysis was enhanced by the support from two native English teachers who are experienced and have profound knowledge of the language They provided feedback and suggestions for the lists of verb-preposition collocations as well as the errors that the researcher had drawn out from the students’ essays
In terms of interviews, its validity was enhanced by carefully designing interview questions that aligned with the research objectives and providing opportunities for respondents to express their experiences, the types of errors that they frequently make, and their suggestions related to verb-preposition collocations These interview questions were designed based on the previous research which helps to identify the key concepts, theories, and variables that have been explored in the context of the research topic Moreover, prior research provides a foundation of knowledge regarding the types of questions that have proved effective in gathering relevant data (Golafshani, 2003).
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter focused on the research methodology used to carry out the study The research design, research site, and participants were all thoroughly described This chapter also provided information on the research instruments for data collection, and procedures of data collection and data analysis The findings and discussion of the study will be presented in the following chapter.
Findings and Discussion
Students’ Perceptions about the Use of Verb-Preposition Collocations in Academic
The following sections present various perspectives of second-year students regarding the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic writings
4.1.1 Second-year Students’ Knowledge about the Term “Collocations”
Figure 4.1 (data from the questionnaires) details the level of knowledge that HUFLIS second-year EFL students have regarding collocations
Figure 4.1 Second-year students’ level of familiarity with the term “collocations”
Based on Figure 4.1, the distribution of familiarity with the term “collocations” among the second-year students at HUFLIS can be described as follows With 37% of the students having a foundational understanding of collocations, they are likely to have some knowledge of commonly used collocations Over a third of second-year students have limited knowledge or understanding of collocations Over a fifth of 100 students have a solid understanding of collocations and are able to employ them effectively in their academic writings However, only a small number of students have a high level of proficiency in collocations, indicating that they have extensive knowledge and experience in using collocations correctly and creatively in academic writing 2% of 100 students have never come across the term or concept of collocations in their academic studies or previous language learning experiences
The responses of the interviewees about how familiar they get with collocations were also reflected in the interviews, which was in agreement with the findings from the questionnaires All eight interviewed students showed that they were familiar with collocations To illustrate, S1 and S2 expressed that they could have basic understanding about collocations and defined collocations in their own ways Interestingly, both S5 and S6 said that they got familiar with collocations thanks to their lecturers when studying writing essays in the class This finding is consistent with Rao’s (2018) study which mentioned that collocations should be given more focus in the classroom by teachers due to their significance in producing effective and persuasive essays
4.1.2 The Importance of Collocations in Academic Essays
Figure 4.2 (data from the questionnaires) depicts the second-year students’ opinions on the significance of collocations in the context of academic essays
Figure 4.2 Second-year students’ opinion of the importance of collocations in academic essays
According to Figure 4.2, a large number of second-year students believe that collocations play an essential role in the setting of academic writings, as indicated by the high percentages in the “strongly agree” and “agree” categories, at 58% and 33%, respectively Moreover, it is important to note that only 9% of the students selected the “neutral” category Furthermore, none of the 100 participants admitted that collocations were unimportant in academic writings
Previous studies have also supported the importance of collocations in academic writing For example, Bui (2021) argued that collocations are commonly used in English speech and writing and are considered an indispensable factor in the proficiency of the learners of English Additionally, the author found that language learners actively using collocations have a higher level of lexical competence and are able to produce natural-sounding, native-like language Yorio’s (1980) study was also aligned with the findings and emphasized the crucial part collocations play in the communicative competence improvement of EFL learners Collocations are a specific instance of a conventionalized language structure that, according to Yorio (1980), collocations are able to create communication more orderly due to their regulatory nature
Similarly, Channel (1981) contended that lexical phrases and collocations satisfy communication requirements and that improving learners’ awareness and knowledge of collocations is a very efficient way of enhancing their communicative competence
Additionally, Lewis (2000) asserted that studying chunks or strings of words rather than individual words helps language learners develop their skills more effectively In addition, collocation has become a significant category of lexical patterning and is quickly establishing itself as a recognized unit of description in language instruction courses and materials (Woolard,
2000) In the words of Liu (2000), the more effectively students learn English collocations, the more frequently they are exposed to them because collocations are an integral part of the use and acquisition of vocabulary in language learning (Balcı & Çakır, 2012; Rao, 2018)
4.1.3 Frequency Distribution of Verb-Preposition Collocations in Students’ Academic Essays
Figure 4.3 depicts the finding from the questionnaires regarding the frequency in the use of verb-preposition collocations of second-year students
Figure 4.3 Second-year students’ frequency of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays
It is apparent from Figure 4.3 that a majority of the students acknowledged their frequent use of verb-preposition collocations in their academic essays Noticeably, half of the students reported employing this type of collocations very frequently Additionally, 21% of the students used them fairly frequently A smaller percentage utilized them occasionally (17%) or rarely (12%) None of the students claimed to never use these collocations
A substantial proportion of the surveyed students reported using verb-preposition collocations in their academic essays, with a significant number using them either fairly frequently or very frequently This highlights their awareness of the benefits of incorporating them into their writing This finding is consistent with the responses given by the interviewed participants in relation to the frequency of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays All the eight participants admitted combining verbs and prepositions quite often For example, S2 stated that she often used verb-preposition collocations in her academic essays, depending on the context and content of the essay Moreover, S6 revealed that she tried her best to use verb- preposition collocations in her essays to improve the quality of the essays
That is to say verb-preposition collocations are a consistent feature of my academic writing, and I consciously seek opportunities to use them to enhance the quality of my essays (S6)
This finding is also supported by Thongvitit and Thumawongsa (2017), who claimed that verb-preposition collocations are frequently used in students’ writings They found out that certain verb-preposition combinations were more frequent than others For example, “divide into” was the most used verb-preposition collocation
The frequency of verb-preposition collocations, which included strong collocations, weak collocations, and idioms, was shown in Table 4.1 after the collocations were manually extracted from 85 academic essays written by second-year students, with an essay’s length requirement being an average of about 250 words
Table 4.1 Frequency distribution of verb-preposition collocations in students’ academic essays
No of verb-preposition (strong collocations) 435 84.47%
No of phrasal verbs (weak collocations) 73 14.17%
No of verb-preposition-fixed elements
Table 4.1 shows that the total number of 515 verb-preposition collocations were used in
85 students’ academic essays The 435 strong collocations, which account for 84.47%, are commonly used in English and are essential for accurate and fluent communication Examples of such collocations include “catch up with”, “agree with”, “listen to”, “depend on”, and “believe in”
The 73 weak collocations consist of phrasal verbs, which are combinations of a verb and a preposition (such as “for”, “to”, “on”, or “of”) that function as a single unit and can have different meanings depending on the context These collocations can be challenging for non- native English speakers to learn and use appropriately, as they often have multiple meanings and can be idiomatic in nature However, the presence of a relatively high number of phrasal verbs in the students’ essays suggests that they were skillful in using these constructions
Finally, the 7 verb-preposition-fixed element idioms identified indicate that the students were able to incorporate specific idiomatic expressions into their writings These collocations are commonly used in English and can convey figurative meanings that may not be apparent from the literal meaning of the words (Hudcovičová et al., 2021) Examples of such idioms include “buy for a song”, “blow off steam”
The analysis of the verb-preposition collocations in the student essays indicated a good command of these combinations, the use of common strong collocations, adeptness in employing phrasal verbs, and the incorporation of idiomatic expressions into their writings In accordance with this finding, a study by Soleimani et al (2013) investigated the role of collocations, including verb-preposition collocations, in academic writing among Iranian university students The study found that specific instruction on collocations resulted in improved academic writing and performance among these students Alsakran’s (2011) study, which examined the knowledge of collocations by Arabic-speaking EFL learners, found that knowledge of verb-preposition collocations was significantly related to learners’ comprehension of English texts These studies support the importance of teaching and learning verb-preposition collocations in language learning and academic writing contexts
4.1.4 The Level of Impacts of Verb-Preposition Collocations on Academic Essays
Figure 4.4 (data from the questionnaires) demonstrates how verb-preposition collocations have influences on second-year students’ academic writings
Figure 4.4 Second-year students’ perceptions about the level of impacts of verb-preposition collocations on academic essays
It can be clearly seen from Figure 4.4 that of the 100 students surveyed, the majority of second-year students (60%) believed that verb-preposition collocations had a significant impact on academic essays, enhancing precision and fluency Additionally, a significant portion of students (22%) perceived of a moderate impact of verb-preposition collocations on academic essays, contributing to clarity and coherence However, a smaller percentage of students (12%) believed that verb-preposition collocations had a minimal impact on academic essays This suggests that these students may not consider collocations to be essential for their writing and may prioritize other aspects of their essays A minority of students (6%) perceived that verb- preposition collocations had some impacts, but not a significant one Interestingly, none of the second-year students surveyed selected the option that verb-preposition collocations have no impact at all on academic essays
Summary of the Chapter
To sum up, this chapter provided the results from the questionnaire data, the students’ academic essays and interviews to answer the two research questions which investigated (1) second-year students perceptions of the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays and (2) the types of verb-preposition collocation errors committed in their academic essays The comparison of the key findings with those from relevant studies was also discussed and presented.
Conclusion and Implications
Conclusion
The aim of the study was to investigate the perceptions and the use of verb-preposition collocations in academic writings by second-year students at Hue University of Foreign
Languages and International Studies The findings of this research indicate that most of the participants were well aware of the importance of verb-preposition collocations and their impacts on essay writing Despite being aware of the significance of verb-preposition collocations, the students still made errors in using them in their writings
In terms of the level of frequency, it is concluded that second-year students frequently employed verb-preposition collocations into their academic essays in order to achieve higher scores, make essays more fluent and natural, and develop ideas in a better way Therefore, a large number of verb-preposition collocations were generated in their writing essays, including strong collocations, weak collocations, and idioms
Furthermore, based on the findings of the current study, it is concluded that second-year students encounter a great number of difficulties such as the lack of understanding about the term collocation, limited range of vocabulary, the lack of language proficiency as well as the reliance on Vietnamese-English translation during the process of writing essays
In addition, the types of errors that second-year students made when writing verb- preposition collocations in their academic essays were recorded The results showed that there was a marginally high percentage of erroneous verb-preposition collocations formed The types of errors made by the students when employing verb-preposition collocations in their academic essays were also identified, with incorrect use of prepositions and preposition omission being the most frequent
Additionally, it can be drawn from the findings that teachers play a crucial role in designing activities, giving feedback, as well as providing students with a large number of relevant resources so that students are able to apply verb-preposition collocations into their academic essays more effectively This can help students develop a deeper insight into academic writing and the use of verb-preposition collocations
Finally, as can be seen from the findings, in order to provide opportunities for students to practice and improve their use of collocations in context, it is necessary to concentrate on these collocations in class more often Due to the fact that most students find verb-preposition collocations particularly challenging, focusing on verb-preposition collocations in the academic writing class can make their academic writing more natural, fluent, and native-like, contributing to their overall academic success and confidence in using English for academic purposes
In accordance with the study’s findings, a number of pedagogical implications will be presented in order to reduce the errors that students make when producing verb-preposition collocations in academic essays and to enhance their level of collocational competence.
Pedagogical Implications
Several pedagogical implications for students, teachers, and curriculum designers could be proposed based on the findings of the current study
According to Lateh et al (2021), understanding collocation is crucial for helping learners use a language fluently Learners write more fluently and proficiently when they can show that they have a strong understanding of collocation utilization Thus, the great significance of collocations in general and verb-preposition collocations in particular in helping learners write academic essays more effectively could not be underestimated Instead of concentrating on writing down individual words, students should raise their awareness of collocations as a component of formulaic language and vocabulary knowledge
Furthermore, as recommended by the majority of the surveyed participants, students should read an extensive number of academic writings to enhance their comprehension of verb- preposition collocations in a variety of contexts In other words, EFL students should prioritize expanding their vocabulary and improving their knowledge of verb-preposition collocations This can be achieved through various means such as using online resources, dictionaries, and language learning apps that specifically focus on collocations Students could gather more information and be exposed to more verb-preposition collocations, which they could then study and use in their essays Masoudi (2020) stated that EFL students practice the language in real-world settings both inside and outside of the classroom in order to learn and absorb the use of many words more effectively
The findings of Thongvitit and Thumawongsa’s (2017) study can be useful for language learners who want to understand how verb-preposition collocations are used in English It is crucial for students to learn collocation both receptively and productively (Tsai, 2015) This means that in addition to being able to comprehend or understand the meanings of collocations encountered in the text, students should be able to recollect their knowledge of word combinations and construct them on their own, either in written or spoken forms (Nation, 2001) Students can practice using collocations in writing exercises that focus on specific topics or tasks, such as describing a process, summarizing a text, or presenting an argument They can also practice using collocations in speaking activities, such as debates, discussions, or presentations
Last but not least, students should develop a habit of constantly reviewing and revising their academic essays for correct usage of verb-preposition collocations They should pay close attention to common errors and areas where they might struggle, seeking guidance and feedback from their instructors or peers when necessary Noonan and Duncan (2019) investigated how teachers used peer and self-assessment in the classroom They argued that by immersing students in the learning process, formative assessment contributes to the improvement of student performance Moreover, students who received teachers’ feedback could perform better than those who did not receive it (Bitchener, 2008) They can also use online resources such as grammar checkers or language exchange platforms to receive feedback and correction from native speakers In order to gain a better insight into the use of verb-preposition collocations, it is necessary for students to work in groups where they have opportunities to support and learn from each other
First of all, teachers can use the findings of this study to explicitly teach verb-preposition collocations to their students By providing clear explanations and examples, teachers can help students understand the correct usage and meaning of these collocations Teachers can provide examples of correct verb-preposition collocations to help students understand how they are used in context These examples can be drawn from everyday speech and writing, or from textbooks and other resources By seeing how these collocations are used in real life situations, students can gain a better understanding of their meaning and usage Since even EFL writers at an advanced level appeared to struggle with employing English collocations, it is suggested that EFL teachers concentrate on teaching them (Thongvitit and Thumawongsa, 2017)
EFL teachers should design activities and exercises that provide opportunities for students to practice using verb-preposition collocations in various contexts These exercises can include fill-in-the-blank activities, matching games, and multiple choice or sentence completion tasks By scaffolding the learning process, teachers can gradually increase the complexity of tasks, supporting students as they develop their proficiency Providing targeted instruction or exercises to enhance their understanding and application of correct verb-preposition combinations can help reduce these errors and improve their language proficiency The teachers should provide clear and specific feedback, point out the error and explain why it is incorrect This feedback should be given in a constructive and supportive way, helping the student to understand the correct usage of the collocation
Additionally, it is crucial for educators to emphasize the importance of incorporating appropriate verb-preposition collocations in order to enhance the precision, fluency, clarity, and coherence of students’ academic essays To improve the overall grades or evaluations of second- year students, it is important to address their frequent occurrence of verb-preposition collocation errors Therefore, more attention should be paid to the teaching of verb-preposition collocations (Schneider & Zipp, 2013) According to Schneider and Zipp (2013), teaching collocations to EFL/ESL students will help them better understand the relevance of this phenomena By doing so, students can enrich their ability to accurately convey meanings, improve the coherence of ideas, demonstrate language skills, and add complexity to their writings, all of which are key factors in learning for successful academic writing Through targeted instruction and practice, students can develop a stronger command of collocations and use them effectively in their writing endeavors
According to Jafarpour and Sharifi (2012), error corrective feedback works well and is beneficial at the intermediate and advanced levels As a result, it is important for EFL teachers to focus more on collocation errors using methods such as peer feedback, and self-reflection
Occasional and rare occurrence of errors should also be addressed to ensure students develop a solid grasp of verb-preposition collocations With the knowledge gained from this study, EFL teachers can focus on error correction related to verb-preposition collocations in students’ writings They can provide targeted feedback and guidance to help students improve their accuracy and usage of these collocations in their academic essays
Furthermore, teachers should supplement their teaching materials with resources that specifically address verb-preposition collocations This can include textbooks, online exercises, or reference materials that provide further practice and support for students According to
Masoudi (2020), in order to enable students to acquire the rules implicitly in context rather than merely by memorization, teachers should also make use of extracurricular materials like movies, articles, and online videos Introducing students to use corpus tools such as COCA and BNC to look for the definitions of new words more exactly is considered as one of the most effective ways for students to improve their knowledge and understanding of collocations
Teachers can also encourage students to work together in pairs or small groups to practice using verb-preposition collocations, which helps students to learn from each other, as they share their knowledge and insights about these collocations By working together, students can also develop a greater sense of confidence and fluency in using these collocations correctly
It is important for EFL teachers to combine these methods, adapting them to the needs and abilities of their students By providing explicit instruction, exposure to authentic materials, and opportunities for practice and collaboration, teachers can help students improve students’ understanding and usage of verb-preposition collocations in academic writings
5.2.3 Pedagogical Implications for Curriculum Designers
Curriculum designers who play an important role in developing language programs can select appropriate resources such as textbooks, reference materials, and online tools to provide EFL students comprehensive knowledge of verb-preposition collocations Moreover, assessments that align with the learning outcomes and reflect real-world applications should be developed as well This is because authentic assessments, such as projects, portfolios, and performance-based tasks, allow students to demonstrate their understanding as well as apply their knowledge of verb- preposition collocations in authentic writing tasks It is stated by Fook and Sidhu (2010) that the project helps students to study by doing and think critically, and the portfolio plays a role in helping students to reflect on their own learning By considering these implications, curriculum designers can create a well-rounded curriculum that addresses the specific needs of students in developing their proficiency in verb-preposition collocations
There are some research limitations that are necessary to take into account To begin with, the limited representation of all EFL university students is considered as one of the major limitations of this study In other words, focusing on second-year students may limit the generalizability of findings, as their language proficiency and academic writing skills might differ from those of other year levels Since the study was conducted at HUFLIS in Hue city with a specific sample of 100 participants, the findings might have limited generalizability to other universities, student populations, or EFL contexts
Suggestions for Further Studies
On account of the study’s aforementioned limitations, various suggestions for further research can be taken Firstly, a larger number of EFL participants who are of different language competence levels should be taken into consideration in further studies in order to increase the generalizability of the findings This would give more comprehensive perceptions about the use of verb-preposition collocations of EFL students in academic essays
Secondly, incorporating a larger and more diverse range of topics should be considered by further research in order to broaden the scope of analysis By including a wider variety of writing topics, researchers can explore how learners’ collocational use and errors vary across different contexts This can help provide a more comprehensive understanding of some factors that influence learners’ collocational competence and identify any common patterns that may arise
Finally, considering factors such as time constraints or external pressures (stress, anxiety, and distractions) in the research design is important for further studies to gain valuable insights into the impact of these variables on learners’ verb-preposition collocational performance since these factors could hinder participants’ ability to perform well, leading to less accurate results.
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter provided a summary of the research’s findings along with the possible implications It also pointed out the study’s remaining limitations and offered suggestions for further studies
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Questionnaire
I am conducting a research study titled “The use of verb-preposition collocations in academic essays by EFL university students at HUFLIS” This study aims to explore their perceptions in the use of verb-preposition collocations and the types of errors that they frequently make when using verb-preposition collocations in the context of academic essays I would like to invite you to participate in this research to answer 20 questions
Your participation in this study is crucial, as it will provide valuable insights into the current state of verb-preposition collocation use among EFL university students at HUFLIS Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary, and you may withdraw at any time without penalty or consequences By completing the questionnaire, you are providing informed consent for your responses to be used as data for this research study
You will be asked to rate your familiarity with the term collocations, provide insights into your attitudes towards incorporating verb-preposition collocations in your writing, and identify any errors about verb-preposition collocations you encounter when using them
Your responses will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and will only be used for the purposes of this research study Your anonymity will be strictly maintained, as no identifying information will be collected during the questionnaire The data collected will be analyzed collectively to ensure privacy and confidentiality
I appreciate your time and willingness to contribute to this study Your participation will greatly contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of EFL academic writing If you have any questions about the research or the questionnaire, please feel free to contact me via email: nhuquynh10061997@gmail.com
1 What is your gender? o Male o Female
3 What is your major in HUFLIS? o English Language Teaching o English Language Studies
4 How many years have you been studying English as a foreign language? o 5-7 years o 8-10 years o More than 10 years
SECTION 2: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE USE OF VERB-
Please mark your selection in response to each of the following questions with a tick (√) You may choose more than one option or give your opinions in several questions
- The term ‘collocation’ refers to word combinations generated when two or more words are frequently used together in a right manner
- ‘Verb-preposition collocations’ are combinations of a verb and a preposition that, when used together, convey a specific meaning distinct from the individual words themselves
5 How familiar are you with the term “collocations” in the context of academic writing? o I have never heard of collocations before o I have heard of collocations but have limited knowledge or understanding o I have a basic understanding of collocations o I have a good understanding of collocations and can use them confidently in my writing o I am an expert in collocations and can use them effectively in various contexts
6 Do you believe that using collocations enhances the quality of your academic essays? o Strongly agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly disagree
7 How frequently do you use verb-preposition collocations in academic essays? o Very frequently o Fairly frequently o Occasionally o Rarely o Never
8 How do you typically approach incorporating verb-preposition collocations into your essays? o I actively search for and use verb-preposition collocations o I identify relevant collocations o I consider the context o I occasionally use verb-preposition collocations when they come to mind o I am not sure how to incorporate verb-preposition collocations effectively
9 How important do you think the use of verb-preposition collocations is in academic essays? o Very important o Important o Moderately important o Somewhat important o Not important at all
10 To what extent do you think verb-preposition collocations have an impact on your academic essays? o Significant impact, enhancing precision and fluency o Moderate impact, contributing to clarity and coherence o Minimal impact o Some impact, but not significant o No impact at all
11 Why do you use verb-preposition collocations in your academic essays?
To convey precise and specific meaning
To enhance the coherence and logical organization of ideas
To showcase a strong command of the English language
To add complexity and sophistication to the writing
To provide a strong foundation for persuasive arguments
12 Do you believe that a lack of knowledge and awareness of verb-preposition collocations can hinder your academic writing progress? o Strongly agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly disagree
13 What are the main benefits you perceive from incorporating verb-preposition collocations in your academic essays?
I can avoid awkward or incorrect phrasing and convey my intended meaning more effectively
Incorporating verb-preposition collocations can make my writing more fluent and natural
Collocations provide a natural linking mechanism that helps me follow the train of thought and understand the connections between ideas
Verb-preposition collocations can also enrich my vocabulary and expand my language repertoire
Using appropriate collocations demonstrates a deeper understanding and mastery of the language
Verb-preposition collocations expose me to a wider range of word combinations, improving my lexical knowledge and helping me become more proficient in the language
SECTION 3: COMMON ERRORS OF SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WHEN USING VERB-PREPOSITION COLLOCATIONS IN ACADEMIC ESSAYS
14 Do you find it challenging to identify and use appropriate verb-preposition collocations in your academic writing essays? o Yes, very challenging o Yes, somewhat challenging o Neutral o Not much challenging o No, not challenging at all
15 How frequently do you encounter verb-preposition collocation errors in your academic essays? o Very frequently o Frequently o Occasionally o Rarely o Never
16 To what extent do verb-preposition collocation errors in academic essays affect your overall grades or evaluations? o Very significantly o Significantly o Moderately o Slightly o Not at all
17 This question including 6 items were designed to ask about your frequency of making errors when using verb-preposition collocations in academic essays
Types of verb- preposition errors
Use “listen with” instead preposition of “listen to”, use “rely for” instead of “rely on”
Use “agree the proposal” instead of
Use more than one preposition in a collocation
Use “agree on with” instead of “agree with”
Use prepositions that change the meaning of the verb
Use prepositions with verbs that do not actually
Use “join in” instead of
Mix up prepositions with similar meanings
Use “think about solutions” instead of
18 How do you practice and reinforce the use of verb-preposition collocations to reduce your errors in your academic writing class?
Through verb-preposition collocation exercises and worksheets provided by the instructor
Receiving teacher and peer feedback and editing sessions focusing on enhancing verb- preposition collocations
Analyzing and discussing examples of well-used verb-preposition collocations in academic texts
Frequent writing assignments with specific requirements to use verb-preposition collocations
19 Do you think that more focus should be given to verb-preposition collocation teaching and practice in your academic writing class? o Strongly agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly disagree
20 Are there any strategies or techniques would you suggest to improve the understanding and usage of verb-preposition collocations among EFL university students at HUFLIS? (optional)
Interview
1 How familiar are you with the term “collocations” in the context of academic essays?
2 How frequently do you use verb-preposition collocations in your academic essays?
3 Do you think the use of verb-preposition collocations is important in academic essays?
4 Are there any challenges or difficulties you face when using verb-preposition collocations in your academic essays?
5 What types of verb-preposition collocation errors do you often make in your academic essay writing? Give some examples
6 How do you practice and reinforce the use of verb-preposition collocations to limit your errors in your academic writing class?
7 What strategies or techniques would you suggest to improve the understanding and usage of verb-preposition collocations among EFL university students at HUFLIS?
Collocation analysis sheets
Verb - preposition - fixed element (Idioms)
Correct Incorrect Types of errors
1 distract on ! Use incorrect forms of the preposition
Academic essay samples
There were totally 85 copies of academic essays collected However, the ones above are shown as representative samples.