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Second language productive knowledge of collocations: Does knowledge of individual words matter?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2022

Suhad Sonbul Open the ORCID record for Suhad Sonbul [Opens in a new window] ,
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs Open the ORCID record for Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs [Opens in a new window]  and
Ahmed Masrai Open the ORCID record for Ahmed Masrai [Opens in a new window]
Suhad Sonbul*
Affiliation:
Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs
Affiliation:
Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Masrai
Affiliation:
Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sssonbul@uqu.edu.sa
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Abstract

Recent studies suggest that developing L2 receptive knowledge of single words is associated with increased receptive knowledge of collocations. However, no study to date has directly examined the interrelationship between productive word knowledge and productive collocation knowledge. To address this gap, the present study administered a controlled productive word test and a controlled productive collocation test to 27 native English speakers and 55 nonnative speakers (L1-Arabic). The tests assessed word and collocation knowledge of the most frequent 3,000 lemmas in English (1K, 2K, and 3K frequency bands). The test scores were analyzed using three mixed-effects models for the following outcome variables: collocation appropriacy, collocation frequency, and collocation strength. Results revealed productive word knowledge as a significant predictor of productive collocation knowledge, though with a small effect. This association was omnipresent regardless of frequency band. We discuss implications of these findings for L2 learning and teaching.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , May 2023 , pp. 480 - 502
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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