Abstract:

This study explored perceptions of Turkish EFL teachers and learners on teaching and learning of collocations. Participants were 32 high school teachers and 326 students from five different state schools. The participants completed a questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews with 6 teachers were conducted to further explore the issues related to their perceptions and practices of teaching collocations. Results indicated that teachers consider it crucial to develop learners’ collocational knowledge starting from beginner levels. According to them, the main sources of collocational errors are learners’ unawareness of collocation as a concept and first language interference. Teachers reported that they specifically allocate teaching time for most frequently used collocations. Regarding learners, their responses indicated that most of them believe collocations play an important role in language learning. However, they think that teachers do not always dedicate enough time for collocations during teaching. Learners also believed that their collocational errors mostly stem from Turkish interference, and that the most effective strategy to study collocations is through collocational grids. The results of the study are discussed with reference to previous research conducted in different EFL settings, and in terms of practical applications for foreign language teaching in Turkey.

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