Previous studies have shown that intentional learning through explicit instruction is effective for the acquisition of collocations in a second language (L2) (e.g. Peters, 2014, 2015), but relatively little is known about the effectiveness of incidental approaches for the acquisition of L2 collocations. The present study examined the incidental…

This study examined the role of media on the learning of formulaic sequences (FSs) by advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners (n = 40) enrolled in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program at a government university in Turkey. The learners were divided into experimental and control groups. The instrument involved clips from two…

Intervention exercises have tended to be limited to restricted controlled output in studies related to second language (L2) learners' acquisition of written academic formulaic sequences (FSs), while measurement of use has been drawn from freer output (AlHassan & Wood, 2015; Jones & Haywood, 2004; Peters & Pauwels, 2015). The current…

Generic noun phrases, or generics, refer to abstract categories ("Dogs" bark) rather than particular individuals ("Those dogs" bark). Study 1 investigated how parents use gestures in association with generic versus particular reference during naturalistic interactions with their 2- and 3-year-old children. Parents provided…

We used eye tracking to investigate the downstream processing consequences of encountering noun/verb (NV) homographs (i.e., park) in semantically neutral but syntactically constraining contexts. Target words were followed by a prepositional phrase containing a noun that was plausible for only 1 meaning of the homograph. Replicating previous work,…

This current study sought to reveal the impacts of corpus-based activities on verb-noun collocation learning in EFL classes. This study was carried out on two groups--experimental and control groups- each of which consists of 15 students. The students were preparatory class students at School of Foreign Languages, Osmaniye Korkut Ata University.…

Research to date suggests that textual enhancement may positively affect the learning of multiword combinations known as collocations, but may impair recall of unenhanced text. However, the attentional mechanisms underlying such effects remain unclear. In this study, 38 undergraduate students were divided into two groups: one read a text…

The paper explores how various teaching methods, namely Phonology-Based Instruction (PBI) and Translation-Based Instruction (TBI), have an effect on students' acquisition of formulaic sequences. 20 multiword expressions were taught to 48 Vietnamese EFL students from three intact classes as 2 treatment groups (PBI and TBI) and 1 control group.…

An increasing number of studies have looked at the value of corpus-based data-driven learning (DDL) for second language (L2) written error correction, with generally positive results. However, a potential conundrum for language teachers involved in the process is how to provide feedback on students' written production for DDL. The study looks at…

This study aimed at investigating the problems that translators faced when subtitling cultural expressions from English into Arabic. To achieve this goal, the researchers selected a convenient sample comprising 40 graduate and 40 undergraduate students who were enrolled in the English language programs during the academic year 2012/2013 in…

The development of collocational knowledge is important for foreign language learners; unfortunately, learners often have difficulties producing proper collocations in the target language. Among the various ways of collocation learning, the DDL (data-driven learning) approach encourages the independent learning of collocations and allows learners…

This study investigates the relative effectiveness of different teaching approaches on the learning of formulaic sequences. Three comparisons were made in this study: the effects of explicit teaching of formulaic sequences versus teaching embedded in traditional coursebook instruction, the effects of the degree of salience of the sequences in the…

This article addresses key issues and considerations for teachers wanting to incorporate spoken grammar activities into their own teaching and also focuses on six common features of spoken grammar, with practical activities and suggestions for teaching them in the language classroom. The hope is that this discussion of spoken grammar and its place…

One of the aspects of knowing a word is the knowledge of which words it is usually used with. Since knowledge of collocations is essential for appropriate and fluent use of language, learning collocations should have a central place in the study of vocabulary. There are different opinions about the best ways of learning collocations. This study…

The effectiveness of different teaching methods of collocational expressions in ESL/EFL contexts of education has been a point of debate for more than two decades, with some believing in explicit and the others in implicit instruction of collocations. In this regard, the present study aimed at finding about which kind of instruction is more…