The Effects of Collocation Noticing Instruction on Thai EFL learners’ Collocational Competence

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to investigate the effect of collocation noticing instruction (CNI) on Thai EFL learners’ collocational competence and to explore their opinions towards the CNI. The participants were 57 first year English major students in the 2nd semester of academic year 2013, who were selected through a purposive sampling method. They were divided into an experimental group (n=28) and a control group (n=29) by drawing lots. The quantitative data were collected using a pre-and post-test and a five-point scale questionnaire with 11 close-ended items. One open-ended item of the questionnaire was used to collect the qualitative data. The analysis of the quantitative data were done using descriptive statistics and the Independent Samples T-test was used to test the hypothesis. The qualitative data were analyzed by means of content analysis. The results were that the experimental group was significantly different from the control group as measured by their post-collocation test mean scores (p<.05). The participants had positive opinions toward the CNI, and it was revealed through the content analysis that teaching collocation noticing was deemed as interesting, and conducive to further English learning. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research were included.