An investigation into common errors related to collocations with “make” and “do” by efl students at van lam high school in hung yen province

NGUYỄN THU TRANG VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Nguyễn Thu Trang AN INVESTIGATION INTO COMMON COVER PAGE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ERRORS RELATED TO COLLOCATIONS WITH “MAKE” AND “DO” BY EFL STUDENTS AT VAN LAM HIGH SCHOOL IN HUNG YEN PROVINCE MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSE: 2016 – 2018 HANOI, 2018 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Nguyễn Thu Trang AN INVESTIGATION INTO COMMON ERRORS RELATED TO COLLOCATIONS WITH “MAKE” AND “DO” BY EFL STUDENTS AT VAN LAM HIGH SCHOOL IN HUNG YEN PROVINCE Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Phan Văn Quế HANOI, 2018 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person I hereby state that this thesis is the result of my own research and the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for any degrees to any other universities or institutions Author’s Signature Nguyễn Thu Trang Approved by SUPERVISOR Assoc Prof Dr Phan Văn Quế Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to Assoc Prof Dr Phan Văn Quế, my supervisor, for his helpful and warm encouragement as well as his insightful comments on my work from the beginning to the end of my study In addition, many thanks go to the teachers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, GASS, for their interesting lessons from which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of the thesis The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the cooperation from the respondents (38 EFL students at Văn Lâm high school) who have been willing to take part in the study I am very grateful to all of them for providing detailed information for the analysis of this study I also offer my special thanks to my colleagues and friends whose support and encouragement help me to have this thesis accomplished Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for their patience, endless love, and devotion Whatever choices I have made, they have always stood by me and believed in me I am immensely thankful for all the assistance they have given me ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION BY AUTHOR…………………………………….… I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………….… Ii ABSTRACT………………………………………………… …… V LIST OF TABLES……………………………….………… ……… Vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS ……………… Vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………… 1.1 Rationale………………………………………………………… 1.2 Aims of the Study……………………………………………… 1.3 Research Questions……………………………………………… 1.4 Scope of the Study……………………………………………… 1.5 Significance of the Study………………………………………… 1.6 Research Methods………………………………………………… 1.7 Structure of the Study…………………………………………… CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………… 2.1 Previous studies…………………………………………………… 2.2 Errors……………………………………………………………… 2.2.1 Definition of Error…………………………………………… 2.2.2 Error Analysis………………………………………………… 2.2.3 Problems of error classification……………………………… 10 2.2.4 Error correction………………………………………………… 11 2.2.5 Errors and collocations………………………………………… 12 2.3 Collocations……………………………………………………… 12 2.3.1 Defining Collocations………………………………………… 12 2.3.2 Types of collocations…………………………………………… 15 2.3.3 Characteristics of colloctions………………………………… 26 2.3.4 Collocations, free compounds, and idioms…………………… 28 2.3.5 Collocations with the verbs MAKE and DO………………… 30 iii 2.4 Summary…………………………………………………………… 36 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY…………………………………… 37 3.1 Research Setting…………………………………………………… 37 3.2 Data collection…………………………………………………… 38 3.2.1 Data collection instruments…………………………………… 38 3.2.2 Data Collection Procedures…………………………………… 40 3.2.3 Data Analysis………………………………………………… 41 3.3 Summary…………………………………………………………… 42 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS…………………… 43 4.1 Common errors ralated to “MAKE” and “DO” collocations commited by EFL students at Van Lam high school…………………… 43 4.1.1 Word choice errors…………………………………………… 43 4.1.2 Redundant article and Missing article errors………………… 47 4.1.3 Contextual errors……………………………………………… 50 4.2 Possible causes of “make” and “do” collocation errors…………… 53 4.2.1 Shortage of collocational knowledge ………………………… 53 4.2.2 Habit of learning individual word……………………………… 54 4.2.3 Misunderstanding the meanings of “make” and “do”………… 55 4.3 Summary…………………………………………………………… 58 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION………………………………………… 59 5.1 Recapitulation……………………………………………………… 59 5.2 Concluding Remarks……………………………………………… 60 5.3 Implications……………………………………………………… 61 5.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies………………… 63 REFERENCES………………………………………………………… I APPENDIX 1: Test 1……….…………………………………………… V APPENDIX 2: Test 2…………………….……………………………… VIII APPENDIX 3: Test 3…………………………………………………… XI APPENDIX 4: Questionaire………………………………… ………… XIV iv ABSTRACT This study is carried out to investigate the errors related to collocations with “make” and “do” by EFL students at Van Lam high school in Hung Yen province There are 38 students from class 11A9 take part in this study A questionnaire and tests are chosen as the data collection instruments According to the results of the research, when the students use the verbs “make” and “do” in their combinations with other words, they commonly commit errors of word choice, redundant article or missing article, word form, and misunderstading the two verbs In addition, the research has found out some possible causes of the common errors involving shortage of collocational knowledge, habit of learning individual words, and misunderstanding the meanings of “make” and “do” After analyzing and synthesizing the statistics, the researcher discussed and recommended some implications along with suggestions for further research Last but not least, it is much hoped that the results of the study could be useful for the development of teaching and learning English at Van Lam high school in Hung Yen province v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Data on the results of exercise - Word choice error 43 Table 2: Data on the results of exercise - Word choice error 44 Table 3: Data on the results of exercise - Word choice error 45 Table 4: Data on the results of exercise - Word choice error 46 Table 5: Data on the results of exercise - Redundant article and Missing article errors 47 Table 6: Data on the results of exercise 6- Redundant article and Missing article errors 48 Table 7: Data on the results of exercise 7- Redundant article and Missing article errors 49 Table 8: Data on the results of exercise - Contextual error 50 Table 9: Data on the results of exercise - Contextual error 51 Table 10: Lack of collocational knowledge - Contextual error 53 Table 11: Habit of learning individual words 54 Table 12: Frequency of “make” and “do” used with collocations 55 Table 13: Difficulty of learning “make” and “do” collocations 55 Table 14: Factors making “make” and “do” collocations confusing 56 Table 15: Causes of errors ralated to “make” and “do” collocations 56 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS CALD: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language ETL: English Teaching and Learning L1: The First Language L2: The Second Language OCD: Oxford Collocations Dictionary vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale In the process of international integration and development today, improving students’ English communication skills, which are one of the most important competences for 21st century global citizens, has been given prominence in Vietnamese National Educational Curriculum Thanks to the innovation in English textbooks and National exam policy, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methods have been widely applied in Vietnamese high schools all over the country in recent years In order to meet the requirement of the curriculum standards and achieve native-like competence in English, learners must concentrate on enhancing vocabulary, especially collocations A collocation is simply any combination of words that are commonly combined to create a phrase in the English language In fact, such phrases are so common in the language that using a synonym for one of the words in the phrase can lead to it sounding unnatural to a native speaker For example, make an error and fatal error are two commonly used word combinations that qualify as collocations The verb make and the adjective fatal recurrently co-occur with the noun error In addition, it has been believed that knowing a word includes knowing its collocations (Lewis, 2000; Nation, 1990/ 2001) Many scholars have maintained that collocational knowledge is one important factor that contributes to the differences between native speakers and foreign language learners (Aston, 1995; Fillmore, 1979; Pawley & Syder, 1983) Particularly, failure to use collocations accurately for EFL learners is a major indicator of foreignness (McArthur, 1992; McCarthy, 1990; Nattinger, 1980) The strongest position held so far is that collocational competence is an indispensable component in the process of second/ foreign language acquisition (Lewis, 1997/ 2000; Nattinger & DeCarrico, 1992; Richards & Rogers, 2001) Accordingly, learners’ collocational knowledge is the essense of language knowledge Chu Thị Phương Vân (2005) The study of the collocation in the English textbook on Electronics and Telecommunications, Unpublished MA Thesis Vietnam National University, Hanoi Đào Thị Ngọc Nguyên (2007), Collocations of HARD and HAPPY in English, Unpublished M.A thesis, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Lê Thanh Hà (2007) A study on lexical collocations and their implications for English – Vietnamese translation Unpublished M.A thesis, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Phạm Thị Ngà (2012) A study on common errors related to the usage of and make collocations by English non-major students at Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business Administration Unpublished M.A thesis, Vietnam National University, Hanoi IV APPENDIX 1: Test 1- Word choice error Exercise 1: Put in the correct form of ‘make’ or ‘do’: John worked hard and his best at his job, but he still wasn’t promoted The teenagers were such a noise that the neighbour called the police She a payment on her debt every month Soon she’ll have finished paying it off So many chores to ! I need to clean the bathroom and the kitchen, hoover and change all the beds Sorry, I a mistake The restaurant isn’t here, but on another street I called the hotel and a reservation for two people for Saturday the 16th Unfortunately his business a huge loss last year and had to close down If you don’t speak English, you’ll find it hard to business in the UK He a promise to his grandmother that he’d never fight anyone ever again 10 It’s late, and we should go home Let’s a move 11 The washing machine flooded and the water a lot of damage All the carpets had to be replaced 12 She a lot of lists of things to do, but she never does any of the things! 13 Unfortunately, all the students very badly on the test 14 Children such a mess! I spend my whole life tidying up 15 The car was 90 miles per hour on the motorway when it was stopped by the police 16 John went outside to a phone call V 17 Lucy has decided to a course this autumn She’s going to study Spanish 18 My grandmother loves crosswords 19 Anne a good point She said that it’s often cheaper to fly in the UK than take the train 20 If I were to a prediction, I’d say that it’ll rain this afternoon Exercise 2: Which phrases below can collocate with the verb “MAKE” an inquiry 11 a crossword a favour 12 a confession good 13 a fortune a journey 14 friends the ironing 15 the washing up the laundry 16 amends love 17 business a mess 18 a fuss a mistake 19 the dishes 10 money 20 harm Exercise 3: Which phrases below can collocate with the verb “DO” damage 11 things right / badly / well an excuse 12 a course money 13 harm a move 14 exception a noise 15 your best / worst your hair 16 an offer your nails 17 peace time - (to go to prison) 18 a report a talk 19 a plan 10 a number 20 a point VI Exercise 4: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentences She (makes/ does/ made/ did) a lot of lists of things to do, but she never does any of the things! Unfortunately, all the students (made/ did/ make/ do) very badly on the test My grandmother loves (do/ doing/ make/ making) crosswords The teenagers were (do/ make/ doing/ making) such a noise that the neighbour called the police Traditionally, three people (make/ do/ made/ did) speeches at weddings in the UK; the groom, the father of the bride, and the best man I enjoy going to new places and make new (friend/ friends/ a friend/ friendly) (Doing/ Making/ Do/ Make) gymnastics helps you have good health and keep fit She tried to make (amend/ amends/ amending/ amendment) by inviting him out to dinner I haven’t eaten chocolate for three weeks, but it hasn’t made any (difference/ different/ differently/ differences) to my weight! 10 Robert spent the weekend doing the (garden/gardens/ gardening/ gardened) He mowed the lawn and planted a lot of new plants VII APPENDIX 2: Test - Redundant article and missing article errors Exercise 5: Listen and fill in each blank with suitable words Dear class, You know, it was ‘Teachers’ Day’ on Monday When you celebrated my ‘Teachers’ Day’ I thought how lucky I am as a teacher because I have such great students It is obvious that you are (1) _ with your English, and I feel really happy Do you remember that we talked about the factors that lead to success? It was self-discipline and self-motivation I’m happy to see that you are all responsible (2) _ (3) _ students on because time, you you in your workbook and submit your assignments before the deadlines You also (4) _ to improve your paragraphs after you get the feedback for your first drafts As another good habit, you (5) _ keep your vocabulary improvement journals and When you (6) _, you don’t give up; instead, you try harder So you (7) _ I love your energy I love the positive attitude you have towards learning One can easily feel the sense of togetherness you have; you always help each other Remember your positive comments about Emre A in the second speaking task You can be very inspiring to each other at times I will always remember this class, every one of you… And I think you will also remember each other, too For example, we will always remember that Emre cannot (8) _ Russian girls Cagla is very good at cooking (By the way, she promised to (9) _ for us) Seray needs her mother to tidy her room; but I’m sure she is getting better each day Kadir is the earliest to get engaged Damla is the most unlucky while dancing I’m sure Sedef will remain as ‘the teacher’s pet’ in your memories We’ll say “There was a Ray Charles in our class” when we remember Doğukan; and we’ll never forget those big sun glasses All in all, it was a pleasure to have VIII such students Thank you for being good students And I know that you will be very successful in the future Lots of Love, Exercise 6: Fill in each of the blanks with suitable collocations Can you _ ? Will you give me a lift into town ? (do/ favour) Little Johnny has been painting at the kitchen table I'm afraid he's _ There's paint everywhere (make/ mess) It doesn't matter if you don't pass the test Just _ ! (do/ best) We can't go on discussing this problem all day We need to _ now and stick to it (make/ decision) My brother is a scientist He's currently _ into the causes of global warming (do/ research) I've been learning Chinese for three years but I _ much _ It's such a difficult language ! (not/ make/ progress) Chris _ He said we could all go out tonight (make/ suggestion) The party was really boring so I _and left I said that I had to finish some homework (make/ excuse) I spend far too much time _! I wish I had a cleaner! (do/ dish) 10 It's freezing! Let's turn on the heating and in the fireplace (make/ fire) Exercise 7: Complete the sentence below with the given words She/ effort/ promise/ get/ higher grades IX All/ her teachers/ pleased/ my little niece/ because/ she/ make/ progress/ all her schoolwork All the food/ the menu/ look delicious;/ I/ can’t/ make/ choice She/ make/ contribution/ the discussion/ with her interesting ideas I'll need/ you/ make/ decision/ before the end of the day Don't worry,/ you'll not/ do/ harm/ if you give/ peace/ chance Businesses primary focus/ is/ make/ profit for/ shareholders The children don't / make/ noise./ They're/ quiet and well-behaved If you ask him,/ he/ just/ make/ excuse/ and/ not/ take/ any responsibility 10 She'll mow/ the lawn/ while/ I/ do/ dishes,/ so you/ can do/ homework! 11 My uncle Frank/ will/ make/ fortune/ with his new invention 12 I'd like/ everyone in this class/ make/ effort/ their homework this week 13.Today, we'll/ make/ exception/ and let you/ play/ on our team 14 I'm afraid/ I can't/ make/ deal/ on this car./ It's the lowest price 15.I'll/ make/ arrangement/the meeting/ tomorrow X APPENDIX 3: Test - Contextual error Exercise 8: Fill in each of the blanks with a suitable phrase tell you the truth go sightseeing taking such a long time make an effort some revision get the chance I'm sorry for (1) _ to write back I've been so busy at work lately I've also not been studying very hard and my French exam is next month! To (2) _, I'm getting a bit nervous and will have to (3) _! The good news is I'm going on holiday with my parents before the exam, so if I (4) _ I'm going to try to (5) _ and work on my French Anyway, the reason I'm writing is to ask you if you would like to come to the UK I know you haven't been here before and we could (6) _ Let me know what you think Exercise 9: Choose the best answer to complete the sentences below The company _ of three million dollars so far A has done well B has made a profit C has gained ground D has earned livings Tomorrow, I’m _ to his sales staff on our new products A having an argument B making a presentation C doing an operation D performing an operation The teacher asked her students to _ practically in the lab A to the experiment B to make experiment C to have a suggestion D to conduct a survey Before opening a new web store, no one liked this idea and she couldn’t _ enough money A make B have C earn D raise We _ business with companies all over the world A take B make C XI D have I would like to _ about the quality of service at your restaurant A make a complaint B take a complaint C a deal D have an argument Stop _ me laugh! I can't breathe! A making B helping C letting D seeing I need to _, please excuse me A take my point B take a phone call C make a phone call D make a point Could you _ of my friend and me, please? A make full use B take a picture C good D get the best 10 I made _in that test yesterday, I'm sure of it A a lot of mistakes B a noise C a complaint D a presentation 11 I'm going to _ this afternoon There’s nothing in the fridge A good B business C the food shopping D my best 12 I don't want to _ again! A make much money B take the lead C the washing up D have a good laugh 13 I _ to show that water contains oxygen and hydrogen Hope this helps!! A made experiment B experiment C had a test D did a test 14 I _ and it was really high, she was so tired so I called the doctor A took her temperature B have a point C had a temperature D take my point 15 I _trouble I think my boyfriend is cheating on me A give you B take C make 16 We normally _ on Saturday mornings XII D have A go on business B the cleaning C make a loss D take a loss 17 He really needs to _ A his nails B take her promise C make up D have a haircut 18 We can’t get everything we want from life We must just _ the best of it A give B take C make D have 19 If they ask any awkward questions, just let me _ A the talking B make an operation C the massages D have an argument 20 He’s a boy from a poor background who _ on Wall Street A made good B did good C took good advice D gave the best of himself 21 I would like to _ to just say one thing A take this opportunity B make an opportunity C have an opportunity D give an opportunity 22 He usually _ time for walking in the evening A makes B does C has D takes 23 I am _ for cost reductions A having an argument B have an appointment C make an appointment D making an argument 24 When she was 40 she sold her business and _ She now spends most of her time at the beach A made profit B made a fortune C earned livings D saved a lot of money 25 I’m fine mum! There’s no need to call the doctor! Don’t _ A make a mess B make a noise C make a fuss D make an effort XIII APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS QUESTIONNAIRE Dear students! This survey questionnaire is designed with the hope of fiding out possible errors related to “make” and “do” collocations committed by the students at Van Lam high school Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated Data collected will remain confidential and be used for the study purpose only Thank you very much for your cooperation! Part Personal Background Information - Your gender: Male……… Female ……… - Your age: ……… - How long have you been learning English? year(s) - Did you have to English test for the entrance examination to high school? Yes: ……… No: ……… - What are the purposes of your learning English? ………The requirements of the curriculum ………Exams ………Interests XIV Part Put a tick in the appropriate column No items Do you often have lessons on collocations in your textbooks? options Yes How often you present or learn words in their combinations with others? How often you find the two verbs "make" and "do" used with collocations? Do you find it difficult to learn "make" and "do" collocations? Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never Very often Often Sometimes Rarely Never Yes What makes the two verbs "make" and "do" confusing to you the most? What may cause errors when you use "make" and "do" collocations? your choice No No Meanings of the two verbs Forms of the two verbs Structures The combinations of each verb with other words Misunderstading the meanings of the two verbs The meanings of their component parts Learning individual words No rules for collocations Poor knowledge of collocations THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION! XV Phiếu điều tra nhằm mục đích tìm nguyên nhân dẫn đến lỗi thường gặp em học sinh trường THPT Văn Lâm sử dùng kết hợp từ với động từ “make” “do”trong tiếng Anh Những ý kiến em quan trọng với nghiên cứu Các liệu điều tra phục vụ cho mục đích nghiên cứu Xin chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác em! Phần Thông tin cá nhân - Giới tính: Nam / Nữ - Tuổi:………………… - Em học tiếng Anh rồi? năm - Em có phải làm thi tiếng Anh kỳ thi tuyển sinh vào lớp 10 hay khơng? Có……………… Khơng…………… - Mục đích việc học tiếng Anh em gì? - yêu cầu chương trình học - mục đích thi cử - u thích mơn học XVI Phần Em đánh dấu () vào ô tương ứng với lựa chọn mình: Stt Câu hỏi Em có thường xuyên học kết hợp từ sách giáo khoa không? Mức độ thường xuyên em sử dụng học từ vựng qua kết hợp từ? Mức độ thường xuyên em thấy từ "make" "do" sử dụng kết hợp từ? Em có thấy khó học kết hợp từ với “make "do" không? Điều làm em thấy động từ "make" “do” gây khó hiểu nhất? Những yếu tố làm em mắc lỗi khó khắc phục sử dụng kết hợp từ với “make” “do”? Các phương án lựa chọn Có Khơng Rất thường xun Thường xuyên Thỉnh thoảng Hiếm Không Rất thường xuyên Thường xuyên Thỉnh thoảng Hiếm Không Có Khơng Nghĩa hai động từ Dạng thức hai động từ Cấu trúc Các kết hợp từ với động từ Nhầm lẫn nghĩa hai động từ Nghĩa danh từ theo sau Thói quen học từ riêng lẻ Các kết hợp từ khơng có qui tắc Thiếu kiến thức kết hợp từ Cảm ơn nhiều hợp tác em! XVII Lựa chọn em XVIII ... GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Nguyễn Thu Trang AN INVESTIGATION INTO COMMON ERRORS RELATED TO COLLOCATIONS WITH “MAKE” AND “DO” BY EFL STUDENTS AT VAN LAM HIGH SCHOOL IN HUNG YEN PROVINCE. .. carried out to investigate the errors related to collocations with “make” and “do” by EFL students at Van Lam high school in Hung Yen province There are 38 students from class 11A9 take part in this... students gain an insight into MAKE and DO collocations - Examining the influenced factors to possible errors made by the students - Improving my own teaching of English at Van Lam high school 1.3