Data-driven Learning and Teaching collocation of prepositions: The Case of Iranian EFL Adult Learners
Data-driven Learning and Teaching collocation of prepositions: The Case of Iranian EFL Adult Learners
Keywords: Data-driven Learning, concordancing, collocation, prepositions, concordancer, KWIC, Corpus Linguistics
Mansour Koosha
Shahrekord University, Iran
Ali Akbar Jafarpour
Isfahan University, Iran
Bio Data
Mansour Koosha has been an associate professor of English for more than three decades at Isfahan University, Iran where he teaches materials development, methodology and translation. He has published several ESP textbooks for EFL students in Iran. He has also been the author of several articles in Iran and abroad.
Ali Akbar Jafarpour is assistant professor of applied linguistics at Shahrekord University, Iran. His specialist interests are language teaching methodology, CALL and syllabus design. He currently teaches research, methodology and collocational studies in Iran. His latest book is “‘A Guide to the Essentials of Paragraph Writing” published in Iran.
The purpose of the present study was threefold. First, to see if concordancing materials presented through data-driven learning (DDL) have any effect in the teaching/learning collocation of prepositions. Second, to find out if knowledge of collocation of prepositions could differentiate among the different levels of EFL learners’ proficiency.
Third, to determine the extent to which Iranian EFL learners’ knowledge of collocation of prepositions is affected by their L1. To this end, 200 senior English majors studying at three universities in Shahrekord served as the participants of this study. A Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency was used to determine the participants’ level of proficiency. The subjects were then randomly divided into two groups. One group underwent the conventional treatment on prepositions and their collocational patterns. The second group received treatment through the DDL instruction that was based on concordancing lines. Two completion tests on collocation of prepositions were administered as the pre-test and post-test to check the effects of the treatments. The obtained data were then submitted to different statistical analyses such as analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA), and post hoc comparison using the Scheffe test. The results of the study yielded the following results. First, the DDL approach proved to be highly effective in the teaching and learning of collocation of prepositions. Second, learners’ performance on collocation of prepositions was shown to be positively related to their level of proficiency. Third, the analysis of errors of collocations indicated that Iranian EFL learners tended to carry over their L1 collocational patterns to their L2 production.
See pages 192-209
[/private]Category: Main Editions, Volume 8 Issue 4
