Incidental learning of duplex collocations from reading: Three case studies

There is little research available on the incidental learning of figurative language from reading (e.g., Webb, Newton, & Chang, 2013). This study looked at collocations with both literal and figurative meanings, that is, duplex collocations (Macis & Schmitt, 2017a) and whether reading could enhance lexical knowledge of the figurative meanings of these collocations. In three case studies, relatively advanced second language (L2) learners read a semi-authentic novel that contained 38 target items. Through one-to-one interviews, the study examined how much learning occurred at the meaning-recall level and how repetition affected this knowledge. Results showed that knowledge of more than half of the target collocations for each participant was enhanced either partially or fully and that repetition was consistently positive, although not always statistically significant

The figurative nature of collocations: extent, knowledge and acquisition of duplex collocations by non-native speakers

As shown by research conducted in the fields of corpus linguistics, psycholinguistics and second language acquisition (SLA), formulaic sequences (e.g. collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, lexical bundles etc.) form a crucial part of second language learners’ language competence. One of the main characteristics of some of these multi-word combinations is their idiomatic nature and idioms have been widely researched as being the most compositional type. However, little is known whether collocations can be idiomatic too. Therefore, this thesis aims to fill that gap with a specific focus on statistically-derived collocations. Three studies have been carried out to this end. The first study examined the extent of collocations whose meanings were the sums of their component parts, those that were figurative (compositional or idiomatic) and finally, collocations that were polysemous, i.e. had both literal and figurative meanings. A corpus search was performed to find the most common V+N and Adj+N combinations and results showed that the majority of them had additive meanings (as reflected in traditional definitions of collocations), very few were completely opaque and a substantial percentage were those that allowed both literal and figurative interpretation. The second study was conducted in the Chilean classroom context and it focused on the knowledge of the figurative meanings of collocations. A meaning-recall test was used as a measurement instrument and variables such as corpus frequency, semantic transparency and language use factors were manipulated. The findings demonstrated rather weak figurative knowledge and a positive relationship between this knowledge and the amount of outside engagement. The last study investigated the same type of collocations, namely how non-native speakers acquired figurative meanings incidentally through reading. An authentic novel was used as a means to manipulate one single variable, frequency of exposure. Results showed that the figurative meanings could be acquired incidentally from reading and that the point at which a substantial amount of learning occurred varied greatly among individuals. Overall, results of the studies presented in this thesis stress the importance of researching the acquisition, use and knowledge of collocations with figurative meanings as they have important implications for instructed SLA

Not just ‘small potatoes’: Knowledge of the idiomatic meanings of collocations

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. This study investigated learner knowledge of the figurative meanings of 30 collocations that can be both literal and figurative. One hundred and seven Chilean Spanish-speaking university students of English were asked to complete a meaning-recall collocation test in which the target items were embedded in non-defining sentences. Results showed limited collocation knowledge, with a mean score of 33% correct. The study also examined the effects of frequency, semantic transparency, year at university, and everyday engagement with the second language (L2) outside the classroom on this collocation knowledge. Mixed-effects modelling indicated that there was no relationship between frequency and semantic transparency and the knowledge of the figurative meanings. However, a positive relationship was found between this knowledge and year at university, time spent in an English-speaking country, and time spent reading

The figurative nature of collocations: extent, knowledge and acquisition of duplex collocations by non-native speakers

As shown by research conducted in the fields of corpus linguistics, psycholinguistics and second language acquisition (SLA), formulaic sequences (e.g. collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, lexical bundles etc.) form a crucial part of second language learners’ language competence. One of the main characteristics of some of these multi-word combinations is their idiomatic nature and idioms have been widely researched as being the most compositional type. However, little is known whether collocations can be idiomatic too. Therefore, this thesis aims to fill that gap with a specific focus on statistically-derived collocations. Three studies have been carried out to this end. The first study examined the extent of collocations whose meanings were the sums of their component parts, those that were figurative (compositional or idiomatic) and finally, collocations that were polysemous, i.e. had both literal and figurative meanings. A corpus search was performed to find the most common V+N and Adj+N combinations and results showed that the majority of them had additive meanings (as reflected in traditional definitions of collocations), very few were completely opaque and a substantial percentage were those that allowed both literal and figurative interpretation. The second study was conducted in the Chilean classroom context and it focused on the knowledge of the figurative meanings of collocations. A meaning-recall test was used as a measurement instrument and variables such as corpus frequency, semantic transparency and language use factors were manipulated. The findings demonstrated rather weak figurative knowledge and a positive relationship between this knowledge and the amount of outside engagement. The last study investigated the same type of collocations, namely how non-native speakers acquired figurative meanings incidentally through reading. An authentic novel was used as a means to manipulate one single variable, frequency of exposure. Results showed that the figurative meanings could be acquired incidentally from reading and that the point at which a substantial amount of learning occurred varied greatly among individuals. Overall, results of the studies presented in this thesis stress the importance of researching the acquisition, use and knowledge of collocations with figurative meanings as they have important implications for instructed SLA

The Effect of Spacing on Incidental and Deliberate Learning of L2 Collocations

Previous studies investigating the effects of spacing on vocabulary learning have primarily focused on single words. There is limited research on how distributed practice affects the learning of the phrasal lexicon. The present study addresses this gap by focusing on collocations. In a pretest-treatment-delayed-posttest design, two controlled quasi-experiments (N = 55 and N = 50) were conducted in order to evaluate two spacing schedules, spaced versus massed. The participants learned 25 adjective-noun collocations either incidentally (Experiment 1) or deliberately (Experiment 2). In each experiment, a control group was included. Participants’ collocational gains were measured at a form-recall level of mastery three weeks after the treatment. Mixed-effects regression modelling results indicate that spacing had a significantly large effect on vocabulary gains in the deliberate learning condition and a small effect on gains in the incidental learning condition. Massing, on the other hand, appears to be more effective (with a medium effect) in incidental learning situations. Implications for pedagogy and materials design are followed by suggestions for future research

Investigating optimal spacing schedules for incidental acquisition of L2 collocations

Research investigating lag effects in second language (L2) collocation learning is very limited. To date, no intervention study has examined the relationship between intersession intervals (ISIs) and retention intervals (RIs) in relation to incidental acquisition of collocations. To fill this gap, the current study collected data from two groups of students in Saudi Arabia (Experiment 1, n = 73; Experiment 2, n = 69), using a pretest-treatment-delayed posttest design. The participants learned 25 incongruent adjective-noun collocations incidentally during five reading sessions at either a 3.5-day ISI (Experiment 1) or a 7-day ISI (Experiment 2). Two control groups received no treatment. Learning rates were assessed at the form recall and meaning recall levels of sensitivity following an RI of 14 days in Experiment 1 and an RI of 28 days in Experiment 2. Results show that both spacing schedules were equally effective for the incidental acquisition of collocations

Lexical Coverage in L1 and L2 Viewing Comprehension

This study investigates the relationship between lexical coverage and TV viewing comprehension. Previous studies have indicated that 95%-98% lexical coverage may be needed for reading comprehension (Hu & Nation, 2000). To understand informal listening passages, lower coverage figures (95%-90%) may suffice (van Zeeland & Schmitt, 2013; Noreillie, et al., 2018). However, no study has researched the lexical coverage needed to understand audio-visual texts. We adopted a counter-balanced within-participants design, in which 5%, 10% or 20% of the words in four 2-minute documentaries were replaced with non-words. Native and non-native speakers of English participated in this study. Results showed that: 1) comprehension scores decreased as lexical coverage decreased; 2) comprehension at 100% coverage was significantly higher than 90% and 80% in the two groups; and 3) optimal adequate comprehension is achieved with an optimal lexical coverage of 95%, whereas minimal adequate comprehension is reached with a minimal lexical coverage of 80%

Transcripts of treatment tasks in Bosnia

These transcripts relate to the recordings from treatment tasks that have also been uploaded to OSF

Treatment recordings: Italy

Recordings from treatment tasks in Italy: two groups of high school students carried out four tasks (dictogloss two times, story retelling and Questions&Answers). Students received corrective feedback either in the form of recasts or in the form of prompts (consisting of clarification requests, elicitations, metalinguistic feedback, and/or repetitions). Students' use of simple past tense was tested in oral and written pretests (before treatment), immediate posttests (day after the last treatment task), and delayed posttests (two weeks after the immediate posttest)

Oral tests: Bosnia

Recordings of oral tests (pretest, posttest, delayed posttest) collected from students in Bosnia who participated in the Multisite replication of Yang and Lyster (2010) stud