• Search Research Projects
  • Search Researchers
  • How to Use
  1. Back to previous page

The development of productive knowledge of collocations and overall English proficiency

Research Project

Project/Area Number 21K00757
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 02100:Foreign language education-related
Research InstitutionKanazawa University

Principal Investigator

Brown Dale  金沢大学, 外国語教育系, 准教授 (50781168)

Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) D・G Coulson  立命館大学, 言語教育情報研究科, 教授 (50341988)
Project Period (FY) 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥130,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥30,000)
Keywordscollocations / productive knowledge / English proficiency / second language learning
Outline of Research at the Start

Collocations, pairs of words that frequently co-occur, are common in language use and crucial for fluency and accuracy. However, using collocations (in speech or writing) is challenging for language learners due to their unpredictability. This project will employ a new measurement tool, LexCombi 2 to explore how productive knowledge of collocations develops as overall English proficiency develops. By providing a better understanding of how collocation knowledge develops, this project may in turn enable more effective facilitation of its development by teachers and teaching materials.

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project used a collocations test created by the first researcher to investigate Japanese English learners’ knowledge of collocations (e.g. heavy rain). Collocations are essential for successful language use, but how learners acquire them is as yet unclear. We conducted four studies involving high school and university learners. There were various conditions under which different groups of learners were tested: across school years, repeatedly over time, or before and after study abroad. The project’s main findings were that: (1) The ability to produce collocations develops very slowly. In some cases, no progress in productive collocation knowledge was seen. (2) Changes in the quality of the collocations learners produce take place before changes in the quantity of collocations they produce. (3) Learners with an interest in English show faster development in collocation knowledge. This suggests motivation for English may be important.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

研究者にとって、このプロジェクトで得られた知見は、第二言語学習者のコロケーション知識の発達に関する豊かな示唆を提供する。また、研究結果の解釈を模索する中で、さらなる研究の方向性についてもいくつかの示唆を与えている。教育者にとっては、このプロジェクトは、学習者のコロケーション知識の速やかな進歩を期待すべきではないこと、したがって、短期間での明確な進歩がないことを否定的にとらえるべきではないことを示唆している。同時に、このプロジェクトは、コロケーション知識の進歩は可能であることを示している。これからの課題は、この進歩をよりよく理解することである。

Report

(4 results)
  • 2023 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2022 Research-status Report
  • 2021 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (4 results)

All 2023 2022

All Presentation (4 results) (of which Invited: 1 results)

  • [Presentation] Three studies of L2 learners’ productive knowledge of English collocations2023

    • Author(s)
      Brown, D. & Coulson, D.
    • Organizer
      Swansea University Language Research Centre seminar
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] The relationship between productive knowledge of L2 collocations and proficiency in listening, reading, speaking and writing2023

    • Author(s)
      Brown, D. & Coulson, D.
    • Organizer
      EUROSLA 2023 Conference
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
  • [Presentation] The longitudinal development of productive L2 collocation knowledge in a group of Japanese high school learners2023

    • Author(s)
      Brown, D. & Coulson, D.
    • Organizer
      BAAL 2023 Conference
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
  • [Presentation] High school learners’ productive knowledge of English collocations: A cross-sectional investigation2022

    • Author(s)
      Dale Brown; David Coulson
    • Organizer
      Hiroshima Lexical Research Forum 2022
    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report

URL: 

Published: 2021-04-28   Modified: 2025-01-30  

Information User Guide FAQ News Terms of Use Attribution of KAKENHI

Powered by NII kakenhi