A Corpus Study of Verb-Noun Lexical Collocations in Senior High School English Textbooks in Taiwan

Abstract

[[abstract]]多位學者認為，習得英語字詞搭配是外語學習者使自己在英語聽說讀寫上更加流暢的關鍵之一。對台灣學生而言，如何正確使用英語詞彙字詞搭配（lexical collocation）中之動詞-名詞詞彙字詞搭配（verb-noun lexical collocation）的能力較弱。以台灣學生而論，除了與教師有英語互動之外，其他大部分與英語接觸的機會則是透過教科書，因此課本內容則相對重要並值得研究。故本研究主要是討論最多學校使用之三系列高中英語教科書（分別為遠東、龍騰以及三民陳版）中的「動詞-名詞詞彙字詞搭配」之呈現狀況。 研究者依序以BBI英語搭配詞典、牛津英語搭配詞典以及二位英語母語人士作為依據，確認每單元課文中找到的可能「動詞-名詞詞彙字詞搭配」，確認後的字詞搭配則做為本研究三項探討議題之分析：（1）動詞-名詞字詞搭配於三系列教科書的數量；（2）動詞-名詞字詞搭配分別於三系列嬝直狺憭仇Q特殊標明的方式與其百分比；以及（3）動詞-名詞字詞搭配出現於各該系列教科書的次數。本研究的主要發現如下： 1 雖然動詞-名詞字詞搭配於三系列高中英語教科書（遠東、龍騰以及三民陳版）中的數量均不同（各系列共有：391、372、428個；每冊平均：65、62、71個；每課平均：5 4、5 5、5 9個），但是，多變量變異數分析（ANOVA）結果顯示，此等數量上之差異並未達顯著水準（p > 05）。 2 三系列高中英語教科書分別採用不同的方式，於閱讀課文中標明動詞- 名詞字詞搭配：遠東輪流使用五種不同顏色，龍騰使用粗體字，三民陳版則統一使用紫色。然而，在所有的動詞-名詞字詞搭配當中，只有極少部分（4 6%、7 2%、5 6%）是整個字詞搭配被特殊標明於課文中。 3 各系列高中英語教科書中，平均同一個動詞-名詞字詞搭配出現於某一個單元約二次（一次在課文中，另一次在非課文中），出現於某一冊約三次，而出現於全系列共六冊約五次，且依據個別字詞搭配出現於各系列之總次數排序發現，絕大多數（約79%）的動詞-名詞字詞搭配僅出現一至五次，少部分（21%）出現六次（含）以上。 本研究結果顯示，字詞搭配並非台灣高中英語教科書著墨之重點，因此，我們建議出版商應重新評估如何將字詞搭配呈現於教科書中。除了可以藉由於課文中標明更多字詞搭配以提升學生對字詞搭配的注意力，亦可增加每個字詞搭配的出現次數至適當數量，以便確保學生習得個別字詞搭配。再者，所有台灣高中教科書出版商皆須依據教育部公佈之高中課程標準編撰課本內容，我們亦建議教育部可詳細說明字詞搭配之呈現方式，以便編撰者遵循。最後，以現階段言之，為促進學生語言流暢度，教師應將字詞搭配納入課堂教學，以彌補教科書中少量字詞搭配被明顯標示於課文中以及多數字詞搭配出現次數不足之情形。[[abstract]]Many scholars consider collocation acquisition as one of the keys for EFL learners to achieve fluency in language comprehension and production Among lexical collocations verb-noun combinations have been found to be one of the most difficult kinds for EFL learners in Taiwan Owing to the great amount of time spent on interaction between learners and textbooks examining collocations in EFL textbooks is deemed a worthwhile research topic Therefore the present study investigated verb-noun collocations found in the three most popular series of English textbooks for senior high schools in Taiwan (Far East Lung Teng and San Min-Chen) The BBI Dictionary of English Word Combinations the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English and two English native speakers served as authorities to confirm the collocation status of verb-noun combinations found in the reading texts for each lesson These collocations were further analyzed to determine: First the total number of different collocations found in the readings Second the ways the collocations were highlighted as well as the amount of collocations highlighted in the reading texts Finally the collocations occurring in each series were first identified by searching the textbook corpora using a proprietary computer-based program Then the number of times each collocation was recycled throughout the whole series was calculated The major findings of the study are summarized as follows: 1 The three series of textbooks (Far East Lung Teng and San Min-Chen) had different quantities of verb-noun lexical collocations (391 372 and 428 respectively per series; 65 62 and 71 per volume; and 5 4 5 5 and 5 9 per lesson) appearing in their reading texts However a one-way ANOVA test showed that there was no significant difference (p > 05) in the number of collocations among the three publishers 2 The three publishers took different approaches to highlighting whole collocations in the readings: Far East used five different colors alternatively from lesson to lesson (i e one color in a lesson) Lung Teng boldfaced them and San Min-Chen colored them all purple As for the amount of verb-noun lexical collocations highlighted as a unit all three series had a low percentage (4 6% 7 2% and 5 6% respectively) 3 Each collocation in all three series on average occurred about twice per lesson including once each in the reading and the non-reading texts less than three times per volume and less than five times throughout the whole series Moreover the analysis of the frequency ranges showed that less than 21% of the collocations occur six or more times and around 79% of them appear from one to five times in a whole series Based on these findings of the present study we conclude that collocations appear to receive little explicit attention in the textbooks It is suggested that textbook writers may need to re-evaluate their treatment of collocations to highlight more collocations in the readings to promote students’ awareness of them and repeat collocations more often in each volume and throughout a series to have adequate exposures to ensure acquisition Because textbook writers are required to follow the Curriculum Guidelines for Senior High School provided by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan detailed criteria in these guidelines for treating collocations in textbooks may be necessary Finally it is recommended that EFL teachers provide explicit instruction to make up for the limited number of exposures to collocations and to assist learners in noticing collocations not highlighted in textbooks thus helping them improve their language fluenc