"Minimum input, maximum output, indeed!" Teaching Collocations through Collocation Dictionary Skills Development

This study examined the teachability of collocations through cultivating EFL  learners' collocation dictionary skills. Fifty-nine EFL college students participated in the study, and they received two 75-minute instructions between pre- and  post-tests: one on the definition of colloca-tion and its importance, and the other on the skill of looking up collocational information in the Naver Dictionary — an  English–Korean online dictionary. During the second instruction, the stu-dents were trained to consult the dictionary for collocation production in the order of node word selection, word sense distinction, collocate type location, and feasible collocate  identification. A comparison of collocation production test scores through a paired-samples t-test indicated that teaching collocation dictionary skills substantially  improves learners' ability to produce natural collocations regardless of proficiency differences. In addition, the survey data collected at the end of the semester  suggested that the participants perceive the instruction as necessary and helpful in gaining collocational competence and that their dictionary consultation behaviors  have changed after receiving the instruction. Equipping EFL learners with collocation dictionary skills was also found to help them raise a sense of learner autonomy. Keywords: Collocation, Collocation Dictionary, Dictionary Skills, Efl Writing, L2 Writing, Collocation Errors, L1 Interference, Collocational Competence, Learner Autonomy

A lexicographic approach to teaching the English article system: help or hindrance?

This article reports on changes in EFL learners' article choice performance before and after receiving lessons on the main rules applicable to article usage combined with dictionary con-sultation guidance. A sample of 43 Korean college students undertook the same forced-choice elicitation task once as a diagnostic test and again as a post-intervention test at three-month inter-vals. Unlike the diagnostic test, in which the participants were only asked to choose the correct articles, the post-intervention test asked them to give written accounts of their decision-making procedures as well. The analyses of the diagnostic test results, specifically the items requiring the indefinite article or the zero article, demonstrated EFL learners' struggle with indeterminate nomi-nal numbers, underlining the importance of clear lexicographic treatment of such information. Further, the post-intervention test and the written think-aloud data analyses suggested that although using a bilingualised dictionary for nominal countability is useful in general, dictionary consultation can sometimes impede users from using articles correctly. Specific problem areas are discussed.Keywords: English article system, nominal countability, article use, bilingualised dictionary, Korean EFL learner

Percepciones de los escritores de L2 sobre revisión por pares de manera cara a cara y anónima: Datos de China

To validate a recent study conducted in the Japanese context that contradicted the previously held view that Asian students are culturally predisposed to be reluctant peer reviewers, this study examined Chinese EFL learners’ experiences with and perspectives on peer review in a writing classroom. Fifty-seven college students were asked to perform peer review in face-to-face and anonymous modes to examine whether anonymising the process encourages them to offer more constructive criticism. Data were collected from a Likert-based survey, interviews, and the instructor’s field notes. Statistical analysis of the survey data only partially supported the findings of the study replicated, indicating Chinese students’ preference for both face-to-face and anonymous review modes. Although most of the participants exhibited resistance to peer review during the initial stage, they began to appreciate the benefits of the activity, particularly the verbal discussion component of the face-to-face mode, while some of them refused to give negative feedback on their peers’ work. Regardless of the peer-review mode, the participants remained overly conscious of their feedback accuracy and continued to seek confirmation and oversight from an authority figure (the teacher) rather than taking initiative.Para verificar un reciente estudio realizado en el contexto japonés de EFL que contradice la opinión formulada de que los estudiantes asiáticos, por causas culturales, no están dispuestos a ser críticos por pares, este estudio se concentra en las percepciones de los estudiantes chinos sobre críticas en clases de redacción. Se pidió a 57 estudiantes universitarios que realizaran críticas anónimas y cara a cara para saber si el anonimato los alienta a ofrecer críticas más constructivas. Los datos se recopilaron a partir de una encuesta basada en una escala Likert, entrevistas y notas del instructor. El análisis de la encuesta solo respaldaba parcialmente los hallazgos del estudio rehecho, demostrando la preferencia de los estudiantes chinos hacia las modalidades de críticas cara a cara y anónimas. Si bien la mayoría de los participantes mostraron resistencia a las críticas por pares al comienzo, comenzaron a apreciar los beneficios de ellas, en especial la discusión verbal de la modalidad cara a cara, aunque algunos no quisieron hacer comentarios negativos sobre el trabajo de sus compañeros. Los participantes se mantuvieron muy conscientes de la precisión de su retroalimentación y buscaron la confirmación y supervisión de una autoridad (el profesor), en lugar de tomar iniciativa