Investigation of the Effective Use of Lexical Collocation in Essay writing

Abstract

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners need to possess sufficient collocational competence to achieve a high level of writing proficiency. It is proved that EFL learners face a variety of problems that make their writing not proficient. The current research aims to investigate the use of lexical collocation in academic writing of Master One students at Mohammed Seddik Ben Yahia University; more specifically, it attempts to determine both the frequency and correctness of students’ collocation use. To reach this aim, the researchers used content analysis to collect data. That is, the analysis of 20 out of 140 Master One exam copies. The results showed that students use lexical collocation to a large extent. In addition, it was found that students have the tendency of using verb + noun and adjective + noun collocations more than other types. With regard to collocational errors, it is noted that adjective + noun and verb+ noun are the most problematic. Moreover, it was revealed that the lack of collocational knowledge and the interference of the students’ first language are the main reasons behind students’misuse of collocations in writing. Consequently, the current study suggests the need for an explicit and systematic teaching of this linguistic aspect of English language