the use and usefulness of collocations

Transcription

THE USE AND USEFULNESS OF COLLOCATIONS DICTIONARIES
by
Rebekah R. Gordon
B.S., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2008
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of
St. Cloud State University
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree
Master of Arts
St. Cloud, Minnesota
May, 2013
This thesis submitted by Rebekah R. Gordon in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Degree of Master of Arts at St. Cloud State University is hereby approved by the final
evaluation committee.
______________________________
Chairperson
______________________________
______________________________
________________________
Dean
School of Graduate Studies
3
THE USE AND USEFULNESS OF COLLOCATIONS DICTIONARIES
Rebekah R. Gordon
Most second language learners express a desire to sound more native-like. While this
may be difficult to achieve phonetically, it is possible to help language learners make more
appropriate lexical choices. One such way to do this is through the use of collocations.
Collocations can be defined as two or more words that frequently occur together.
Collocations are natural choices for native speakers of a language, but must be explicitly
taught to second language learners. Recently, a variety of publishers have made specific
collocations dictionaries available to language learners. Language programs are quickly
adopting these materials, but what do students and teachers think about using them? This
study is aimed at finding out more about the attitudes and behaviors surrounding
collocations dictionaries and their use. Over ninety university ESL students and ten university
ESL teachers were surveyed regarding these issues. One-on-one follow-up interviews were
conducted with seven students and three teachers to gain further insight. The findings of this
study reveal some interesting trends: even though the collocations dictionary was a required
course material, many students and teachers reported never using it, both students’ and
teachers’ level of perceived usefulness of collocations dictionaries did not match their
reported use, students reported that they would be more likely to use collocations
dictionaries if their teachers required them to do so more frequently, teachers would be
more likely to use collocations dictionaries in their teaching if they received more training
and ideas about how to incorporate them into their curriculum, and most students and
teachers would prefer an electronic collocations dictionary. Overall, these results indicate
that a collocations dictionary should not be implemented into a program without first taking
into consideration the needs and preferences of both students and teachers.
___________________
Month
Year
Approved by Research Committee:
______________________________
John P. Madden
Chairperson
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to several people who helped make this thesis a
reality. First, and foremost, I would like to thank my committee chairperson, Dr. John
Madden. Not only did he make time in his busy schedule to meet with me, but he also gave
me productive feedback and had high expectations that I strived to reach. Next, I would like
to thank Kristin Brietzke for all of her help with my statistical analyses. Many thanks to all of
my colleagues who supported me emotionally and spent long hours in the office with me,
especially Kristen Lorincz, Claire Brakel-Packer, and Edward Hart. Finally, thanks to my
parents and sister for their support and encouragement. Without all of these people’s
contributions, this project would not have come to fruition.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................
vii
LIST OF FIGURES ...............................................................................................................
viii
Chapter
I.
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................
1
Research Questions ......................................................................................
2
II.
LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................
3
III.
METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................
19
Participants ....................................................................................................
19
Description of Data Collection Instruments and Procedures ........................
20
IV.
ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................
23
V.
RESULTS ...............................................................................................................
26
Demographics ...............................................................................................
26
Student Survey Results .................................................................................
27
Teacher Survey Results .................................................................................
39
Student Interview Findings ...........................................................................
43
Teacher Interview Findings ...........................................................................
46
DISCUSSION .........................................................................................................
50
Pedagogical Implications ..............................................................................
54
VI.
v
Chapter
Page
Limitations ....................................................................................................
55
Conclusion .....................................................................................................
57
REFERENCES
.................................................................................................................
58
A.
Student Survey ....................................................................................................
63
B.
Teacher Survey ....................................................................................................
67
C.
Student Interview Questions ...............................................................................
71
D.
Teacher Interview Questions ..............................................................................
73
E.
Student Informed Consent Letter .......................................................................
75
F.
Teacher Informed Consent Letter .......................................................................
77
G.
Student Interview Transcripts .............................................................................
79
H.
Teacher Interview Transcripts .............................................................................
103
APPENDICES
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
1. Student Responses to Items 6, 7, 9, and 10: Frequency of Use of Collocations
Dictionaries ....................................................................................................
29
2. Student Responses to Items 13, 14, 17 and 19: Level of Comfort Using
Collocations Dictionaries ..............................................................................
33
3. Student Responses to Items 15, 16, 20, and 21: Perceived Usefulness of
Collocations Dictionaries ..............................................................................
35
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Page
1.
Language Background of Student Survey Respondents ......................................
27
2.
Students’ Reported Frequency of Use of Various Kinds of Dictionaries .............
31
3.
Students’ Reported Use of Collocations Dictionary in the Past Seven Days .......
34
4.
What Students Plan to Do with Collocations Dictionary at End of Semester .....
37
5.
What Students Report Would Make Them More Likely to Use Collocations
Dictionaries ...................................................................................................
38
6.
Teachers’ Reported Use of Various Kinds of Dictionaries ...................................
40
7.
What Teachers Report Would Make Them More Likely to Use Collocation
Dictionaries ...................................................................................................
42
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Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
Almost every learner of a foreign language desires to sound more “native-like”. The
phonological difficulties associated with learning a language after puberty, however, often
prevent learners from literally sounding native-like. Their choice of words, or syntactical
decisions, however, can be one way of sounding more natural or native-like. With this
concept in mind, lexicographers have created dictionaries geared toward foreign learners.
One of the first of this genre was “dictionaries of idioms” (Béjoint, 2010, p. 194). Collocations
dictionaries are an adaptation and more recent version of idiomatic dictionaries. The terms
‘collocates’ and ‘collocations’ refer to words that frequently occur together (p. 195). By
compiling written and spoken language into corpora, or databases, lexicographers have been
able to objectively discover how often particular words occur next to other words. The first
edition of The Oxford Collocations Dictionary, for example, used the British National Corpus
(BNC) of over 100 million words to base its dictionary entries (p. 195).
Language learners can use collocations dictionaries to look up various words and find
out which words are often associated with them. In this manner, learners can choose to use
words together that native-speakers would also be likely to use together. Thus, the learner
should sound more native-like in their lexical choices. According to McIntosh (2009), the
editor of The Oxford Collocations Dictionary, “For the student, choosing the right collocation
will make his or her speech and writing sound much more natural, more native-speaker-like,”
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and “a student who chooses the best collocation will express himself or herself much more
clearly and be able to convey not just a general meaning, but something more precise” (p. v).
Some language courses, like the College ESL classes at St. Cloud State University are
now requiring their students to purchase collocations dictionaries. Such dictionaries may be
adopted to simply expose students to a completely new type of dictionary. Other intentions
include increasing the sophistication of students’ vocabulary or improving students’ writing.
However, due to their recent creation and lack of empirical research, it is difficult to find
information about how to incorporate collocations dictionaries into the curriculum and to
know whether or not students and teachers are actually using them. Liou (2000) states that,
“Pedagogically, teachers should know whether students use a dictionary to help their
learning, because dictionary use is always implied and practiced at home” (p. 468).
Research Questions
1.
What do university ESL students and teachers do with collocations dictionaries?
2.
What do university ESL students and teachers think about using collocations
dictionaries?
3.
What would make university ESL students and teachers more likely to use
collocations dictionaries?
Chapter II
LITERATURE REVIEW
Collocations
Linguist J.R. Firth is often credited with coining the term “collocation”; he said that,
“you shall judge a word by the company it keeps” (Firth, 1957). Two other notable names in
the area of collocations are John Sinclair and Franz Josef Hausmann. Histories of
lexicography, such as Béjoint’s (2010), frequently mention both of these men as having two
of the most pervasive definitions of collocations. Sinclair’s (1991) definition of collocations is
more inclusive referring to “the occurrence of two or more words within a short space of
each other in a text” (p. 170). Hausmann, on the other hand, focuses his definition of
collocations so that it refers to a semantic relationship between the two words, implying
more than a random co-occurrence (Béjoint, 2010). This latter definition includes both a
semantic and syntactic component not present in Sinclair’s definition.
Another pioneer in the area of collocations is Michael Lewis. He is accredited with
creating the “lexical approach” which takes the focus off of single words and the grammar of
language and places it instead on multi-word units, like collocations. This focus on formulaic
language marks a shift from more traditional word boundary theories. Lewis’ (1997)
definition of collocations is, “the readily observable phenomenon whereby certain words cooccur in natural text with greater than random frequency” (p. 8). In 1997, Michael Lewis’ The
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4
LTP Dictionary of Selected Collocations was published containing more than 50,000
collocations (Béjoint, 2010).
Similarly, Ellis (2002) stresses the importance of frequency which he claims has been
ignored by the field of linguistics for the past forty years. The entries in collocations
dictionaries are based on frequency; words that commonly occur with other words according
to a language corpus, like the British National Corpus, are chosen for each entry (McIntosh,
2009). According to Ellis (2002), “in the course of conversation we naturally acquire
knowledge of the frequencies of the elements of language and their mappings” (p. 146). For
ESL learners, however, this “natural” acquisition does not happen so easily. Hence, the
importance of explicitly exposing these learners to collocational knowledge.
Current definitions of collocations tend to be a conglomerate of the three
aforementioned definitions. There are other words that are often used synonymously with
collocations, including “phrases”, “multi-word units”, “pre-fabs”, “composites”, “phrasemes”,
“formulaic language”, and “idioms”. None of these words, however, share an exact definition
with collocations. Collocations are unique from other multi-word units in that they are not
“frozen” or “petrified” (Béjoint, 2010, p. 309). Many collocations can be separated by other
words. For example, the collocation “booming economy” can be used discontinuously in the
sentence, “The economy last year was really booming.”
When referring to collocations, which are inherently multi-word units, various terms
have been used to distinguish between the different words. Shin and Nation (2008), for
example, use the term “pivot word” to describe the word which is dominant or receiving the
central focus. Benson (1989) and Béjoint (2010) instead use the term “base” for the
dominant word and “collocator” for any word that associates with the “base”. For example,
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in an adjective + noun collocation, such as “black coffee,” “coffee” is the base and “black” is a
collocator. Sinclair (1991) uses “node” instead of “base” and “collocate” instead of
“collocator” (p. 115). Another distinction is between “free collocates” and “fixed
expressions”. The latter is a collocation that does not change whereas the former is a
collocate that can pair with various stems. McAlpine and Myles (2003) give the example of
“abandon ship” as a fixed expression; this collocation is used even if one is abandoning a
yacht (p. 81).
Collocations are present in both written and spoken language. According to Ellis
(2002), collocations are more prevalent in oral speech. Analyses of spoken and written
language corpora have shown that certain collocations are used more often in one mode
than the other. For example, an analysis of the spoken section of the British National Corpus
by Shin and Nation (2008) revealed that the most commonly used spoken collocation is “you
know” (p. 344). In contrast, the most commonly used written collocation is “of course”.
Collocations have become more prevalent in language teaching because of their
ability to make learners sound more fluent and native-like. According to Shin and Nation
(2008), collocations can help learners develop fluency because “chunked expressions enable
learners to reduce cognitive effort, to save processing time, and to have language available
for immediate use” (p. 340). In addition, the lexical choices learners make can help them
sound more native-like when they accurately use collocations. Similarly, McAlpine and Myles
(2003) state that, “The learning of automatic and conventional phrases, of collocations and
of idiomaticity is complex and problems of selection are particularly pronounced in written
language. What happens is learners often revert back to their first language and produce
interference errors. Thus, it is important for a dictionary to lexically and syntactically
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contextualize word use” (p. 73). Likewise, Chen (2011) notes the lack of collocational
knowledge among many language learners. Due to this lack of knowledge, learners often
resort to their L1 and use collocations that are not congruent in the L2 (p. 60).
Collocations Dictionaries
Collocations dictionaries are a relatively new phenomenon in the field of language
teaching. The first edition of the Oxford Collocations Dictionary was published in 2002
(Béjoint, 2010, p. 195). Before collocations dictionaries, learner’s dictionaries and
dictionaries of idioms were available for foreign language learners. According to Landau
(1984), one of the most acclaimed dictionaries of idioms was The Kenkyusha Dictionary of
Current English Idioms by Sanki Ichikawa and several other Japanese editors (p. 28). Albert
Sidney Hornby is credited with creating one of the first learner dictionaries for foreign
learners. As early as the 1930s, he began focusing on multi-word units rather than single
words. His work laid the foundation for the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (McAlpine
& Myles, 2003).
Learner’s dictionaries, like the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and the
Cambridge Dictionary of American English, were a sort of stepping stone between bilingual
dictionaries and collocations dictionaries. Bilingual dictionaries were not able to provide
learners with enough information to understand particular nuances of words. Hamel (2012)
noted that, “collocations remain under-exploited in wide audience dictionaries when it
should occupy a central place in learner dictionaries” (p. 345). According to McAlpine and
Myles (2003), “In response to the productive needs of learners, recent editions of ESL
dictionaries have begun to incorporate more linking words, collocations, idioms, polite
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expressions and usage notes” (p. 75). As dictionary entries begin to lengthen though, it
became necessary to create a separate dictionary for just collocations.
Students do not like to carry collocations dictionaries around and often complain
about how heavy there are. “The more types of information added to ESL dictionaries, the
bulkier they become and the more difficult it becomes for target users to locate what they
are looking for” (McAlpine & Myles, 2003, p. 75). Atkins (1996) also notes that current
dictionaries are lacking in collocations due to space constraints. Even dictionaries that
specialize in only collocations can run into problems with not having enough space.
According to McAlpine and Myles (2003), “Sinclair…asked, where is the best place to put a
phrase like by and large?” (p. 78). With multi-word entries, there are several options of
where they should be placed. One solution to this may be electronic versions and online
concordances. Sinclair et al.’s creation of COBUILD Dictionary is an attempt at digitizing such
massive information. Electronic databases are not without their caveats though; problems
remain in how to best organize these extensive systems and make them user-friendly
(McAlpine & Myles, 2003, p. 80).
When creating collocations dictionaries, lexicographers must decide how to organize
the entries. It is commonplace for collocations dictionaries to be alphabetized by “base”
words since they are usually used by students for encoding meaning. Hausmann, however,
was adamant that dictionaries meant for learners to decode meaning need to place entries
according to the “collocators”. He also emphasized that doing so would make it nearly
impossible for learners to find collocations through the collocator (Benson, 1989, p. 6). With
most collocations dictionaries being organized by “base” words, they more readily lend
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themselves to being used productively (i.e. writing and speaking) rather than receptively (i.e.
reading and listening).
Language learning programs are beginning to incorporate collocations dictionaries
into their curriculum. According to Hamel (2012), “Language learners must have access to
lexical resources that provide an explicit focus on word associations: paradigmatic and
syntagmatic” (p. 339). Collocations dictionaries can be one such resource for learners
depending on how they are used in and out of the classroom.
Alternative Forms of Collocations Dictionaries
In addition to paper-based dictionaries, collocational information is available to
language learners and teachers in several other formats. As previously mentioned, digital
technology and the Internet have led to an extensive collection of language corpora and
concordancing tools. Some of the most popular corpora include the British National Corpus
(BNC), the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), and the Google Books Corpus:
American English. According to Huang (2011), language corpora are a relatively new tool, but
show great potential for use in the classroom to provide learners with authentic and
contextual examples of language. Sinclair et al.’s COBUILD (an acronym for Collins
Birmingham University International Language Database) is another example of an online
language tool based on a language corpus, namely the Bank of English.
Language corpora and concordances are generally more inclusive than paper-based
dictionaries. Due to the virtually limitless capacity of the Internet, corpora often contain
billions of words and their concordances provide users with output based on all of the
possible data. Paper-based collocations dictionaries, on the other hand, are limited in space;
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these constraints force lexicographers to choose the best, prototypical information for each
entry. Arguments can be made to support the use of both full and limited entries. While full
entries provide learners with more information, they may be overwhelming. Limited entries,
however, may not provide all learners with enough information. So, even though language
corpora and concordances are available for free online, other electronic resources have
become available to more closely resemble paper-based collocations dictionaries.
One such resource is the electronic-book, or e-Book, version of collocations
dictionaries. With the increased use of electronic reading devices, like the Kindle and NOOK,
more and more books have become available in electronic versions. A quick search on
eBooks.com and amazon.com shows that several collocations dictionaries are available,
including The Russian-English Dictionary of Verbal Collocations by Morton and Evelyn Benson,
The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English, and A Dictionary of Active Fluency Combinations
by Kev Nair. Other learner’s dictionaries which include some collocational information, like
“Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary”, are also available in e-Book format.
Another resource available to learners is a phone application. Modern smartphones
and iPhones are capable of handling a variety of programs, including educational tools, like
dictionaries. A search in the iTunes store associated with Apple, reveals that the Korean
Collocation Dictionary is available. In addition, other learner’s dictionaries are available,
including Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,
and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Once downloaded, these applications can
be transferred to various Apple products, including the iPhone, iTouch, and iPad. Similarly,
the Google Play store, associated with android products, has several dictionaries in
10
application format: FlexiDict: Oxford Collocations Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English, and Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
Dictionary Use
Dictionary use is a ubiquitous strategy among language learners. There are a variety
of dictionaries available for use, including paper-based, handheld electronic devices, and
online resources. A study by Poole (2011) which investigated the online reading strategies of
Taiwanese ESL learners found that the second most common strategy utilized was dictionary
use. In this particular study, the learners used both online dictionaries and handheld
electronic dictionaries. Corrius & Pujol (2009) make a distinction between three types of
English Language Teaching (ELT) dictionaries: monolingual, bilingual, and bilingualized.
Although the term “bilingualized” is not frequently used, Corrius & Pujol (2009) argue that
these kinds of dictionaries are the most beneficial to language learners due to their design
and incorporation of linguistic and cultural strategies. One specific example of a bilingualized
dictionary is the Easy English Dictionary with a Catalan-English Vocabulary (EED). Liou (2000)
also mentions that bilingualized dictionaries “are very common reference tools” among EFL
learners.
Frequent dictionary use has been a strategy tied to both high-level and low-level
learners. A study by Liou (2000) showed that less proficient Taiwanese university readers
used dictionaries more than their high-level counterparts. Other studies, however, have
shown that dictionary use is a strategy used by successful learners (Poole, 2011). According
to McAlpine & Miles (2003), “it has been shown that the use of the dictionary positively
affects incidental vocabulary learning, that is, the retention of words that have been ‘picked
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up’ during listening and reading activities” (p. 72). Monolingual dictionaries are more often
associated with higher level learners whereas bilingual dictionaries are more likely to be used
by learners with a lower proficiency level (Poole, 2011, p. 79).
A study of dictionary use by Christianson (1997) focused on the strategies used by
various levels of Japanese students learning English. The results showed that although there
were common strategies, each individual had a unique way of using and combining those
strategies. Christianson (1997) argued that strategies which work well for one student should
not be forced upon another student; there is not a single formula for successful dictionary
use. One trend that the author noted, however, was that students made fewer errors when
they read the example sentences provided within the entries. This shows the importance of
other information included in dictionary entries, such as plural/tense formation, illustrative
phrases, and collocations.
Unfortunately, using dictionaries properly is not always an easy task, even for more
advanced learners. Monolingual dictionaries require learners to not only have enough
vocabulary, but also enough background knowledge about language use, cultural subtleties,
and dictionary conventions (McAlpine & Myles, 2003, p. 74). Bilingual dictionaries can be
difficult to make and to use due to differences in each language and the lack of exact
translations from one language to another (p. 73). An informal study by Gonzalez (1999)
investigated the dictionary use of university ESL students. The students looked up the
definitions of unknown words they encountered while reading news articles. Gonzalez (1999)
found that 19% of the definitions her learners looked up in the dictionary were
misinterpreted.
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Another problem is that dictionary use is sometimes viewed as a hindrance by
language teachers and students. Teachers may not know how to effectively incorporate
dictionaries into their classroom activities or may simply choose not to. According to
Gonzalez (1999), “dictionary consultation has taken on a secondary role in the ESL classroom
and is viewed by many teachers as an ineffective tool for language learning” (p. 265). This
challenging mindset is an obstacle to the successful integration of dictionaries in language
learning classrooms. Students, on the other hand, may not want to carry their dictionary
around and may not feel comfortable referring to it during a conversation or during certain
activities (Chan, 2005, p. 4).
With the rise of technology, more students are using dictionaries in alternative
formats. While electronic versions may increase the speed and efficiency of use, they may
not be any different than paper-based formats if used improperly. Weschler (2000) carried
out a study comparing the use of paper dictionaries and electronic handheld devices among
university Japanese students studying English. He found that students using the electronic
device were able to look up words about 23% faster than students using paper dictionaries.
However, he also found that more than half of the 82 participants never used the electronic
dictionary “on the move”. Even though it was a more convenient, lighter size, students
reported using the electronic dictionary mainly in the classroom and at home. Leffa (1992)
also compared paper-based dictionaries to an electronic glossary format. Although the
electronic glossary had 35,000 fewer entries than the paper-based, he found that students
were more efficient, in regards to both time and accuracy, with the electronic version.
Other studies have found little difference in the use of paper versus electronic
dictionaries. Johnson (2012), for example, looked at short-term and long-term recall of new
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terminologies learned through either a paper-based dictionary packet or an online dictionary
web site. The results showed no significant difference in the number of words recalled for
each type of dictionary, indicating that the cognitive load was similar for each type.
Collocations Dictionary Use
Although there are numerous studies about how learners use online concordances,
there are few studies about the use of paper-based collocations dictionaries. One notable
exception is from Benson (1989) which analyzed the use of The BBI Combinatory Dictionary
of English (BBI). The BBI was tested in the summer of 1997, before the term “collocations
dictionary” was widely used. According to Benson (1989), “The BBI was designed to help
advanced learners of English by providing both lexical collocations and grammatical
collocations” (p. 1). The dictionary was organized in such a way that collocations could be
easily found by their “base” or “pivot” word (pp. 6-8). It was tested on a group of seventeen
Soviet EFL teachers who were visiting the University of Pennsylvania. The participants were
first given a pre-test of fill-in-the-blank statements which required knowledge of collocations.
The teachers were allowed to use whatever resources they wanted, but were encouraged
not to ask native speakers of English for help. The same teachers took a post-test after
receiving a copy of the BBI and fifteen minutes of instruction in its use. The results showed
that only 32% of the blanks were correctly filled out on the pre-test versus 93% on the posttest (p. 9). It is important to note that these participants were advanced learners of English.
This study shows the potential power of collocations dictionaries when used to meet a
specific need.
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In his study of a web-based collocational tool, Chen (2011) concludes that language
learners should be exposed to corpus-based materials. He believes that such materials can
supplement classroom teaching. Specifically, the WebCollocate tool, which was the focus of
this study, was found to be fairly easy for teachers and students to learn to use. Even though
this was not a paper-based dictionary, it shows the potential for similar tools, like
collocations dictionaries, to be explicitly taught to language learners.
Students’ Textbook and Dictionary Use
Although dictionaries are generally viewed as being neutral resources, they can
muster up various emotions. Varantola (2002) states that, “Dictionaries provoke a continuum
of reactions in their users” and continues to describe dictionary users’ attitudes as being one
of “an emotional love-hate relationship” (p. 30). She goes on to describe three kinds of
dictionary users: language learners, non-professional users, and professional users. Due to
the different kinds of users, dictionaries can serve various functions.
To be useful, a dictionary should take the user’s needs into consideration. Sue Atkins
(1996) predicts that future dictionaries will be completely customizable and tailored to
individuals’ needs. Varantola (2002) believes that lexicographers are responsible for making
dictionaries more user-friendly, but also contends that the users need to develop their
dictionary skills. Nesi and Haill (2002) also found in their study that many of the subjects did
not have adequate dictionary-use skills. They analyzed assignments in which 77 students
looked up the definitions of unknown words; 16.4% of all of the words were defined
incorrectly. Chan (2005) makes a distinction between dictionaries being useful and helpful;
she argues that most dictionaries are inherently useful, but may not be helpful if a learner
15
does not know how to use it properly. One specific mistake she identified learners making
was ignoring or not properly understanding the abbreviations used in various dictionaries (p.
13).
Another study by Chan (2012) also looked at students’ perceptions of the usefulness
of monolingual dictionaries. To focus the students on certain entries, she gave them a packet
of dictionary pages rather than the whole book. She found that all of the students surveyed
found the dictionary packet used in the task either “useful”, “very useful”, or “extremely
useful,” with 63.6% choosing one of the latter two options. Once again, however, even
though all the students found the packet useful, not all of them used it correctly; therefore, it
may not have been helpful.
One aspect of usability investigated by Varantola (2002) was the confidence levels of
users. When users find information in a dictionary, how confident are they that they found
what they were looking for? Her study found that even advanced learners are uncertain
about the information they find. One possible cause of this problem is space constraint; a
paper-based dictionary entry is limited in the amount of detail that can be included.
According to Varantola (2002), bilingual dictionaries have a poor reputation in
comparison to monolingual dictionaries and learner’s dictionaries; teachers often dissuade
their students from using them. She believes that bilingual dictionaries are somewhat of a
paradox since exact translations do not exist between most languages. Even so, surveys have
found bilingual dictionaries to be the favorite type of dictionary among language learners (p.
35).
A study carried out by Berry, Cook, Hill, and Stevens (2011) looked at students’
perceptions and use of textbooks. An online survey was responded to by 267 students from
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three different universities. The students were enrolled in ten various finance courses. The
survey results were complemented by a follow-up focus group that took place with eight
students. The results showed that almost 18% of students reported that they do not use the
textbook at all. The results also revealed that there was a discrepancy between what the
students thought the professors expected them to do with the textbook and what they were
actually doing. This shows that even though students know that their teachers expect them
to use the textbook, they may not do so. There were a variety of reasons reported for not
using the textbook, including not knowing what to focus on and being too busy.
Teachers’ Expectations of Textbook Use
When courses or instructors require a textbook, it is easily assumed that every
student will buy the textbook and actually use it; “often instructors will assume, or at least
hope, that students use the textbook to facilitate and enhance their learning process” (Berry,
Cook, Hill, & Stevens, 2011, p. 31). However, this is not a safe assumption to make. Berry et
al.’s (2011) survey revealed that almost a fifth of the students reported not reading their
textbook at all. Many of these students reported that they would use the textbook more if
given further guidance. This highlights the importance of the role of the teacher in
encouraging and holding students accountable for actually using the textbook. One
technique to increase textbook usage is to tell the students exactly what is important from
the text; 74% of the survey respondents said this would motivate them to read the textbook
more often. Another survey given to university physics students found similar results.
According to Podolefsky and Finkelstein (2012), while most physics instructors “perceive a
17
high value in textbooks,” 25% of the students surveyed reported that they rarely read the
textbook (pp. 339-341).
Similarly, teachers themselves must be trained and encouraged to use textbooks in
their teaching. In regards to dictionaries, Chan (2005) said that, “Organizers of teacher
training programmes should also consider including the training of dictionary skills as one of
the chief components in their programmes, so as to equip student teachers with the required
knowledge of dictionary training and to alert them to the importance of using dictionaries in
promoting learner autonomy” (p. 19).
In sum, the use of collocations dictionaries in language teaching is a relatively new
and uncharted territory. Although words have been occurring together since the beginning of
language, it has only been in the past few decades that linguists have closely analyzed these
relationships. Various terms and definitions have been created to talk about the same
phenomenon: words that frequently occur together. Whether called phrasemes or
collocations, these word combinations have the potential to enrich the vocabulary of
language learners. Collocations dictionaries are one of the tools available to teach language
learners about frequent word occurrences. As with most tools, they require a certain amount
of training and are not adequate for all situations. Learners cannot be expected to use
collocations dictionaries accurately and efficiently without practice. Likewise, teachers
cannot be expected to use collocations dictionaries accurately and efficiently in their
teaching without some sort of training and practice. As collocations dictionaries, in various
formats, become more common in the language learning classroom, there is a need for more
information about their use. It is important to know whether or not such tools are being used,
in what manner they are being used, and how both students and teachers feel about using
18
them. This information can lead to more sound decision-making regarding the programmatic
and pedagogical use of collocations dictionaries in language learning environments.
Chapter III
METHODOLOGY
In order to answer the research questions, information from both university ESL
students and teachers was gathered. Teachers and students from four sections of ESL classes
at an upper-Midwestern university participated in the study. Four data collection tools were
used: a student survey, a teacher survey, student follow-up interviews, and teacher followup interviews. The surveys were given in a paper-and-pencil format. The student survey
contained 24 items and the teacher survey contained 26 items; there also was a
demographic information section at the end of both surveys. All of the follow-up interviews
were conducted with students and teachers who elected to participate by leaving contact
information at the end of the survey. The interviews took place individually and were audiorecorded. Both the student and teacher interviews were semi-structured with approximately
14 questions to elicit further detail about the survey responses.
Participants
Student and teacher participants were chosen from an ESL program at a mid-sized,
upper-Midwestern university. Students in this ESL program are fully-admitted to the
university, but showed a need for further ESL instruction based on placement test scores.
The ESL placement tests included a computerized reading and listening component as well as
a university-specific timed written essay.
19
20
The student survey was administered to 91 students enrolled in one of four ESL
courses: 100-level reading and writing, 200-level reading and writing, 100-level listening and
speaking, and 200-level listening and speaking. These specific courses were chosen because
the textbook requirement includes a collocations dictionary (namely, The Oxford Collocations
Dictionary). The students were mainly undergraduate, international students, but there were
a few graduate students and students who are U.S. citizens whose first language is not
English. The students were from a variety of language backgrounds including Arabic, Chinese
(Mandarin and Cantonese), French, Korean, Portuguese, Sinhalese, Turkish, and Somali. The
students ranged in age from 18 to 46. The follow-up interviews took place with seven of the
same participants approximately one month after the survey had been administered.
The teacher survey was administered to ten ESL teachers from the same university
who were currently teaching or had taught any of the four aforementioned sections of ESL
within the past year. The teachers for these courses are graduate students in the university’s
master’s TESL program. The teachers ranged in age from 23 to 48 and their past teaching
experience was varied. Three of these teachers participated in a follow-up interview.
Description of data collection instruments
and Procedures
According to Nesi and Haill (2002), the majority of research in the area of dictionary
use has used questionnaires or interviews to elicit data; observation is more difficult since
dictionary use tends to be “a very private matter” (p. 277). In accordance with this trend, a
survey was administered followed by one-one-one interviews with some of the participants.
This same methodology was used for the student group and the teacher group.
21
The student survey was administered to students in all sections of the four
aforementioned ESL courses offered during the fall semester of 2012. The length of the
survey, approximately 25 items, was based on Dörnyei’s (2010) recommendation to keep a
survey under 30 minutes in length (p. 13). Several of the survey items, including numbers 1,
2, and 14, were based off of items from Chan’s (2005) questionnaire of dictionary use among
university English majors in Hong Kong. Demographic information, including age, gender,
native language, and home country, was collected at the end of the survey. Dörnyei (2010)
recommends including this section at the end of a survey so that participants do not feel
immediately overwhelmed by answering personal questions (pp. 47-48).
A follow-up interview took place with seven students. Dörnyei (2010) recommends
that surveys be paired with other methodologies to utilize the benefits of both quantitative
and qualitative data. One of the most common “mixed methods research” is a survey with an
interview (p. 109). Hanson, Creswell, Plano Clark, Petska and Creswell (2005) refer to this as a
“sequential explanatory design” in which more quantitative data is collected first followed by
a collection of more qualitative data. Approximately 13 questions were asked in a semistructured interview. Each student was asked the same set of questions. The questions asked
were open-ended and related directly to the research questions. For example, one of the
interview questions was, “What do you use the collocations dictionary for? Please give
specific examples.” This item relates directly to the first research question, “What do
university ESL students and teachers do with collocations dictionaries?” This specific area is
more difficult to address with a closed-ended survey question and was best addressed in the
follow-up interview. The interviews, in general, were intended to elicit further details
surrounding how often students use the collocations dictionaries, what they specifically do
22
with them, and how comfortable they are using them. Some time was spent discussing
factors that would make the students more or less likely to use collocations dictionaries,
including alternative dictionary formats and further training. Each interview was recorded
with an Olympus VN-8100PC audio recorder and lasted between 10 to 15 minutes.
Similarly, the teacher survey was given on a voluntary basis to ESL teachers who
were currently teaching or who had taught the aforementioned ESL courses within the past
year. Follow-up interviews took place with three teachers. They were also audio-recorded
and lasted between 15 to 20 minutes. These interviews were intended to elicit further
information about the teachers’ feelings and beliefs about using collocations dictionaries in
their teaching as well as their expectations of how their students use the dictionaries. Some
time was also spent discussing strategies that would make the teachers and students more
or less likely to use collocations dictionaries in their classes.
Before the actual administration, both the teacher and student survey were
reviewed by five native English speaking university teachers who teach in the university’s
intensive English program. Minor changes were made to the surveys based on their feedback.
Chapter IV
ANALYSIS
Before the surveys were administered, they were coded as part of a packet for each
student and teacher participant. The packet contained two informed letters of consent (one
for the participant to keep and one to be returned to the researcher) and one copy of the
survey. All three of these documents were coded with a unique number for each participant.
This system allowed participants to withdraw at any time by simply providing the unique
number from their informed consent letter. This numbering system was also used to code
the participants’ surveys in SPSS version 19.0.0.2. The student and teacher surveys were
coded separately. The students and teachers who participated in the follow-up interviews
also had their interview answers coded with the same number as their survey.
The closed-ended items from the survey were coded numerically as follows:
“Strongly Agree/Always” = 1, “Agree/Usually” = 2, “Neither Agree nor Disagree/Sometimes”
= 3, “Disagree/Rarely” = 4, and “Strongly Disagree/Never” = 5.
The original five-point Likert scale was used for both the student and teacher survey.
This scale allowed students and teachers to choose a neutral option. While Dörnyei (2010)
suggests that forcing participants to make a choice in an even-numbered scale can be
beneficial, he also recognizes that “there is no absolute standard” (p. 28). This way,
participants without strong feelings one way or the other were able to choose a category
that accurately represented them.
23
24
Check list items were also coded nominally to allow for multiple answers. The items
that were checked received the number “1” whereas items that were not checked received
the number “0”. Similarly, “Yes/No” items were coded with “1” and “0”, respectively.
The numerical data was then entered into a computer data file. Basic calculations
were performed to determine statistical information regarding averages, overall frequencies
and percentages. This type of descriptive analysis is consistent with that of other large survey
research, including Ferris and Tagg’s (1996) study of instructors’ expectations and
requirements of ESL students. Internal consistency of multi-item scales was measured using
Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients (Dörnyei, 2010, pp. 94-96). Several Pearson’s Chi-Square Tests
and stepwise regressions were also run on various parts of the data to look for interesting or
unexpected patterns.
Finally, to triangulate the survey data and more fully understand the targets of the
research questions, the data collected from the follow-up interviews was also analyzed. One
of the caveats of surveys is that participants do not provide in-depth responses. The followup interviews were meant to overcome this by collecting further details from a select group
of participants. Since the interview questions were more open-ended and qualitative in
nature, they were coded and analyzed through a “content analysis” process (Dörnyei, 2010,
p. 99). In this process, each participant’s responses were transcribed and common elements
or themes among all of the participants were noted. Siedman (2006) recommends going
through the text after transcribing and marking interesting passages with brackets. With
these passages, the large amount of interview data can be reduced and used to create
individual profiles as well as categories or themes common among several interviewees.
Siedman calls this process “classifying” while others may use the term “coding” (p. 125).
25
Similarly, Spradley (1979) recommends that when conducting ethnographic interviews to
look for domains, cultural themes, and universal themes. Even though these are not
ethnographic interviews, themes in the “culture” of collocations dictionary use were
investigated.
Chapter V
RESULTS
Demographics
Of the 91 completed student surveys, 69% of the respondents were male and 31%
were female. Freshman, or first year students, accounted for 84% of the respondents. The
mean age of the student survey respondent was 22.4 years (SD = 4.46). The number of years
studying English reported by the students ranged from 1 to 16 years with a mean of 4.9 years
(SD = 3.79). The students came from a variety of countries with many first, or native,
languages represented: Arabic accounted for 43% of respondents, Chinese (Mandarin) for
18%, French for 7%, Korean for 6%, Portuguese for 4.5%, Sinhalese for 4.5%, and 14 other
languages for the remaining 17%, including Swedish, Japanese, Oshiwambo, Nepalese,
Amharic, Somali, Russian, Urdu, Finnish, Spanish, Thai, Akan, Bangla, and Burmese. Figure 1
illustrates the breakdown of the student respondents’ reported native language. The
students came from a variety of academic backgrounds; more than 20 different majors were
represented. Some of the most commonly reported majors included engineering, finance,
accounting, business, education, and international relations. Students who took this survey
reported that they were enrolled in either one, two, or three ESL courses.
26
27
Arabic
Chinese (Mandarin)
French
Korean
Portuguese
Sinhalese
Other
Figure 1
Language Background of Student Survey Respondents
Of the ten completed teacher surveys, 40% of the respondents were male and 60%
were female. Nine of the respondents were native English speakers and one was a nonnative English speaker. The respondents’ teaching experience ranged from 1.5 to 16 years
with a mean of 5.9 years (SD = 4.13).
Student Survey Results
Although several of the 91 student surveys were missing one or more responses,
they were still used in this analysis; each of the 24 items on the survey had responses from at
least 89 students. Items 1, 4, and 11 were answered by 91 respondents. Items 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, and 24 were answered by 90 respondents. Items 5, 12,
13, and 22 were answered by 89 respondents.
28
After all of the student surveys were coded, the data was entered into SPSS version
19.0.0.2. To find out about the reliability of this survey, Cronbach’s Alpha tests were used.
Items 5-10 were considered a set since they were all addressing frequency of use of the
collocations dictionary. This set of items had a Cronbach’s alpha of .799 which is in the
“acceptable” range. If item 8 had not been included, the reliability would have increased to a
Cronbach’s alpha of .822 which is in the “good” range. Item 8 was about the students’ use of
the CD that came with The Oxford Collocations Dictionary; 73% of respondents reported that
they “never” use the CD. This finding was drastically different from the students’ reports of
other behaviors regarding collocations dictionary use. For this reason, item 8 lowered the
internal consistency of this set of items.
Items 12-21 were also considered a set since they were all addressing issues related
to attitudes about collocations dictionaries. This set of items had a Cronbach’s alpha of .773
which is also in the “acceptable” range. If item 12 had not been included, the reliability
would have increased to a Cronbach’s alpha of .822 which is in the “good” range. Item 12
was about whether or not students knew what the word “collocation” meant. Over 84% of
the students reported that they knew what “collocation” meant; however, knowing what a
collocation is does not necessarily transfer over into knowing how to use or feeling
comfortable using a collocations dictionary. Although many students claim to know what a
collocation is, not as many claim to be comfortable using a collocations dictionary. For
example, just over 55% of students reported being comfortable using a collocations
dictionary (item 14) versus 84% that reported knowing what “collocation” meant (item 12).
For this reason, item 12 lowered the internal consistency of this set of items.
29
In addition to testing for reliability, the responses to some sets of items were
averaged to draw some overall conclusions about the frequency of collocations dictionary
use, level of comfort using collocations dictionaries, and the perceived usefulness of
collocations dictionaries as highlighted in Tables 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Dörnyei (2010)
recommends using multi-item scales to address target issues; he suggests creating at least
four items that focus on the same target, but utilize different wording. These multi-items can
then be summed and averaged to try and weed out inconsistencies. The first set examined
included items 6, 7, 9, and 10 which all address how often students use collocations
dictionaries in various contexts. Table 1 summarizes the results.
Table 1
Student Responses to Items 6, 7, 9, and 10:
Frequency of Use of Collocations Dictionaries
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
Item 6
I use a collocations dictionary in class.
3.3
10.0
41.1
24.4
21.1
Item 7
I use a collocations dictionary at home.
11.1
18.9
35.6
15.6
18.9
13.3
22.2
24.4
18.9
21.1
5.6
12.2
24.4
21.1
36.7
8.3%
15.8%
31.4%
20.0%
24.5%
Item 9
Item 10
I use a collocations dictionary for ESL
class assignments.
I use a collocations dictionary for nonESL class assignments.
Average
All numbers are reported in percentages rounded to the nearest tenth.
As Table 1 highlights, the most commonly reported frequency regarding collocations
dictionaries was “sometimes” with 31.4% of the respondents. Nearly half, or 44.5%, of
30
students reported “rarely” or “never” using a collocations dictionary while 24.1% reported
using one “always” or “usually”. When interpreting these results, one must take into
consideration that more than one-quarter, or 26%, of students reported that they do not
own or rent a collocations dictionary. The reasons reported for not owning or renting the
collocations dictionary were equally distributed between “it is too expensive”, “it is not
important”, “I do not like it”, and “other”. It should come as no surprise that this group of
students would be unlikely to use a collocations dictionary in most contexts since their
accessibility would be limited.
The frequency of collocations dictionary use can be compared to the students’ use of
other tools, namely monolingual dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries; items 1 and 2
addressed these other resources. As Figure 2 reveals, bilingual dictionaries are the most
commonly used resource among this group of students with only 18.9% of students reporting
that they “rarely” or “never” use them. Similarly, only 23.1% of students reported that they
“rarely” or “never” use a monolingual dictionary. In contrast, using the average frequency of
use from items 6, 7, 9, and 10, nearly half, or 44.5% of students reported “rarely” or “never”
using a collocations dictionary.
31
50%
45%
40%
35%
Always
30%
Usually
25%
Sometimes
20%
Rarely
15%
Never
10%
5%
0%
Monolingual
Bilingual
Collocations
Figure 2
Students’ Reported Frequency of Use of Various Kinds of Dictionaries
Once again, one must consider the access the students have to these various
resources; 26% of students reported that they do not own or rent a collocations dictionary,
but they may have access to other resources. Several Pearson’s Chi-Square Tests were
performed to compare expected results with actual results. When looking at the variables of
collocations dictionary ownership (item 3) and collocations dictionary use (items 5 and 7),
there were some unexpected findings. To perform these chi-square tests, each cell needed to
have a minimum count of 5, so the responses were re-categorized into “frequently”,
“sometimes”, and “infrequently”. The “frequently” category included both “always” and
“usually” and the “infrequently” category included “rarely” and “never”. When comparing
items 3 and 5, the p-value was .001, indicating that the null hypothesis, H0, of these two
variables having a hypothetical distribution of frequencies was rejected. In other words, it
32
was expected that students who reported not owning a collocations dictionary would not
report that they brought the book to class, yet four students did. Similarly, the p-value was
.000 when comparing items 3 and 7, which also indicates that the frequencies reported were
significantly different from what was expected. In this case, it was expected that students
who reported not owning a collocations dictionary would not report that they use the
collocations dictionary at home, but once again, six students reported that they did.
To determine why these reported frequencies were different from the expected
distribution, one must first look at the variables themselves. Item 3 was worded as, “I own
(or rent) a collocations dictionary,” with the responses being “yes” or “no”. Item 5 was
worded as, “I bring a collocations dictionary to class,” with the responses being “always”,
“usually”, “sometimes”, “rarely”, or “never”. For students responding “no,” it would be
expected that they “never” bring a collocations dictionary to class, yet four students
reported that they “sometimes” or “frequently” bring one to class. There are several
plausible explanations for this discrepancy. Faulty wording or ambiguity is possible and is
most likely attributed to item 3 rather than item 5. Although students may not “own (or
rent)” a collocations dictionary, they might share one with a friend or roommate, which
would allow them to accurately report that they do indeed bring one to class. Likewise, item
7 was worded as, “I use a collocations dictionary at home.” A student who reports not
owning a dictionary might still use someone else’s, use online collocations dictionaries, or
check out a copy from the library.
Next, items 13, 14, 17, and 19 were examined to determine students’ average
reported comfort level using collocations dictionaries. Table 2 summarizes the results. It is
interesting to note that, on average, the majority of students report a high level of comfort
33
using collocations dictionaries. 69% of students “strongly agree” or “agree” that they are
comfortable using a collocations dictionaries. This finding is a bit surprising considering the
difficulty associated with ESL learners using other dictionaries (Gonzalez, 1999; McAlpine &
Myles, 2003). However, the students may or may not be accurately representing their
comfort level. As with most surveys, people are likely to choose the socially acceptable
answer or the response that they wish represented them rather than the truth (Brenner,
2011).
Table 2
Level of Comfort Using Collocations Dictionaries
Item 13
Item 14
Item 17
Item 19
I know how to use a collocations
dictionary.
I am comfortable using a collocations
dictionary.
My teacher taught me how to use a
collocations dictionary.
I think enough class time was spent
on learning how to use a collocations
dictionary.
Average
Agree
Neither
Agree
nor
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
29.2
59.6
10.1
1.1
0.0
12.4
42.7
36.0
5.6
3.4
15.7
41.6
22.5
11.2
9.0
38.9
35.6
11.1
7.8
6.7
24.1%
44.9%
19.9%
6.4%
4.8%
Strongly
Agree
To deal with the issue of misrepresentation in surveys, Brenner (2011) has advocated
the use of time diaries. This methodology takes away the directiveness of traditional survey
34
methods by focusing on explicit chronological responses; respondents tend to answer more
honestly since they are not analyzing the social acceptability of their answers as consciously.
Brenner’s (2011) time diary methodology was adapted to fit this survey; item 11 asked
students to report how many times they used the collocations dictionary in the past seven
days. Figure 3 summarizes the results.
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
0 Times
1 Time
2 Times
3 Times
4 Times
5 Times
6 Times
7 Times
Figure 3
Students’ Reported Use of Collocations Dictionary in the Past Seven Days
As Figure 3 shows, over 35% of students reported that they had not used the
collocations dictionary at all in the past seven days. Over 20% of students reported using it
once and about 15% reported using it two times in the past seven days. It should be noted
35
that the ESL classes the students were enrolled in met twice a week. The students’ reported
use may represent times the collocations dictionary was used in class or at home.
The students’ perceived usefulness of collocations dictionaries was examined by
looking at the responses from items 15, 16, 20, and 21. Item 20 was a reverse item which
was included to help test the reliability of the survey. Dörnyei (2010) recommends including
a reverse item not only for reliability, but also to prevent students from acquiescence bias, or
getting into a patterned behavior of answering similarly for similar items (p. 106). Table 3
summarizes the results.
Table 3
Perceived Usefulness of Collocations Dictionaries
Item 15
Item 16
Item 20
a
Item 21
I think collocations dictionaries are
useful.
The collocations dictionary is an
important part of my ESL course.
The collocations dictionary was a
waste of money.
I would recommend other ESL
students to buy the collocations
dictionary.
Average
a
Agree
Neither
Agree
nor
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
35.6
36.7
18.9
6.7
2.2
20.0
36.7
23.3
14.4
5.6
14.4
37.8
28.9
15.6
3.3
15.7
28.1
32.6
18.0
5.6
21.4%
34.8%
25.9%
13.7%
4.2%
Strongly
Agree
The results for item 20 have been reversed.
36
Overall, Table 3 reveals that a majority of students perceive collocations dictionaries
to be useful. More than half, or 56.2%, of students “agree” or “strongly agree” that
collocations dictionaries are useful while 25.9% are unsure and chose “neither agree nor
disagree”. Only 17.9% of students reported that collocations dictionaries are not useful. This
finding agrees with Chan’s (2012) study in which students reported a dictionary packet to be
useful. However, as Chan points out, usefulness does not always equate with helpfulness if
students do not know how to properly use such tools.
If students found the collocations dictionary to be useful or helpful, one might
assume that they would want to keep the book as a future reference material in their
language learning. To address this issue, item 23 was included to find out what students
intended to do with their collocations dictionary when the course was finished. Figure 4
37
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Keep it
Sell it
Give it to
Someone
Don't know
Other
Figure 4
What Students Plan to Do with Collocations Dictionary at End of Semester
The majority of students, 52.8%, reported that they plan on keeping the collocations
dictionary. Interestingly, this number matches very closely with the perceived usefulness
average calculated in Table 3; 56.2% of students “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that the
collocations dictionary was useful.
The last item on the survey asked students to report what would make them more
likely to use a collocations dictionary. Eight options were given to students in a checklist
format, including “if it were easier to use”, “if there were more online resources”, “if there
was an application (App) for my iPhone/smartphone”, “if it was available as an eBook (for my
Kindle, NOOK, iPad, or laptop)”, “if my class had more assignments about collocations”, “if
my class had more activities about collocations”, “if I received more knowledge about how to
38
use it”, and “if I received more encouragement from my teacher”. There was also an “other”
category at the bottom where students could write in any additional factors. Figure 5
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Figure 5
What Students Report Would Make Them More Likely
to Use Collocations Dictionaries
The most popular answer was, “if my class had more assignments about
collocations,” chosen by 46.7% of respondents. The availability of a phone application or an
eBook version would reportedly make 42.2% and 30% of respondents, respectively, more
likely to use a collocations dictionary. Other suggestions written in by respondents included,
“if it was useful”, “if it had definitions and others”, “if I don’t know what word goes with a
word that I don’t know about”, and “if I have a writing essay or assignment”.
39
Finally, a stepwise regression revealed some significant findings in regards to
collocations dictionary ownership. Item 3, or collocations dictionary ownership, was used as
the dependent variable. Items 1, 2, 12, 24 (A-I), 25, and 27 were included in the regression as
independent variables. The results showed that there were three significant independent
variables that affected collocations dictionary ownership: items 1, 24D, and 24H, namely
frequency of monolingual dictionary use, availability of collocations dictionaries in eBook
format, and receiving encouragement from the teacher to use the collocations dictionary.
The coefficient of determination, or adjusted R2, equals 0.253 which means that 25.3% of the
variation in dictionary ownership can be predicted based on students’ responses to items 1,
24D, and 24H. The more often a student reports using a monolingual dictionary, the more
likely he or she is to own (or rent) a collocations dictionary. Likewise, if a student reports that
encouragement from the teacher would increase his or her collocations dictionary use, he or
she is more likely to own a collocations dictionary. The relationship between dictionary
ownership and eBook preference was inversed, meaning that students who owned a
collocations dictionary were less likely to report that an eBook format would make him or
her more likely to use a collocations dictionary.
Teacher Survey Results
A survey that paralleled the items on the student survey was given to teachers in the
same program. Since only ten completed surveys were received, fewer statistical tests were
run on the data. Dörnyei (2010) suggests a minimum of 50 survey participants in order to
have enough results to reach statistical significance (p. 74). Having only ten respondents
could skew the data and lead to few generalizable results. Also, the teachers for this survey
40
were recruited on a voluntary basis; it is possible that teachers who are more likely to choose
to participate may be more likely to try new tools in their teaching, like collocations
dictionaries. The following results should be interpreted while keeping these caveats in mind.
Teachers were asked to report the frequency of use of monolingual, bilingual, and
collocations dictionaries to support their teaching. Figure 6 summarizes the results.
70%
60%
50%
Always
40%
Usually
Sometimes
30%
Rarely
Never
20%
10%
0%
Monolingual
Bilingual
Collocations
Figure 6
Teachers’ Reported Use of Various Kinds of Dictionaries
Figure 6 was compiled using data from items 1, 2, and 8 on the teacher survey. The
figure reveals that monolingual dictionaries are most frequently used by ESL teachers. This
finding correlates with the student survey which also found that students report using
monolingual dictionaries more often than bilingual or collocations dictionaries. The teacher’s
41
use of each kind of dictionary in class and the types of assignments required may influence
the students’ use.
Item 3 on the teacher survey asked whether or not the collocations dictionary had
been used in the ESL course. Six, or 60%, of the teachers reported that they had used it while
four, or 40%, reported that they had not used it in their class. The reasons reported for not
using the dictionary varied, but included, “I do not have one”, “I do not know how to
incorporate it into my curriculum”, “I do not like it”, “I am not comfortable using it”, “I’m
really unsure how to make it meaningful for a listening and speaking course”, and “the tutor
for my class takes care of using it with the student”. All of these reasons highlight the
challenges that teachers may face when teaching in a program with pre-established course
materials.
Although The Oxford Collocations Dictionary is a required course material, only 60%
of teachers believed that all of their students had access to one. Similar to the students, the
teachers reported not using the CD that accompanies the dictionary. Brenner’s (2010) time
diary methodology was incorporated in item 13 to find out more about how often teachers
are using the collocations dictionary in class. The majority of respondents, 80%, reported that
they had not used the dictionary in the past two weeks (or four class sessions); the other two
teachers responded that they had used it once. However, despite not using it often, most
teachers, 90%, expressed interest in receiving further training. Even though teachers want
more training, 90% reported that they feel capable of teaching others how to use a
collocations dictionary. A majority, 70%, also reported that they wish they had spent more
class time teaching the students how to use a collocations dictionary.
42
Figure 7 shows what teachers reported would make them more likely to use a
collocations dictionary in their teaching. The “other” category included the written-in
responses of “giving teachers a list of dictionaries to choose from”, “if we all had computers,
such as in a lab”, “if I had more ‘ready to go’ assignments”, and “if I knew farther in advance
what I would teach or if I could teach the same class again”.
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Better
trained
Able to
Students
collaborate brought to
class
eBook
version
Phone app
More
student
interest
Other
Figure 7
What Teachers Report Would Make Them More Likely
to Use Collocations Dictionaries
Finally, eight out of the ten teachers would recommend other ESL teachers to use
collocations dictionaries in their teaching. While it is obvious that this group of teachers sees
some benefits in using collocations dictionaries in ESL courses, only 50% of them recommend
requiring the dictionary as a course material for future ESL students. This discrepancy may be
43
related to Chan’s (2012) idea of usefulness versus helpfulness, as well as other issues, like
practicality, which will be discussed further in the teacher interview findings section and the
discussion section.
Student Interview Findings
The seven student interviewees were asked thirteen questions in a semi-structured
one-on-one interview format about their opinions and their use of The Oxford Collocations
Dictionary. Although the seven students had differing opinions of the dictionary, all agreed
on one thing: an electronic format would be better than the current paper format required
for their ESL course.
The first question addressed the students’ use of other kinds of dictionaries. All
students reported using either a monolingual or bilingual dictionary to aid their language
learning. Additionally, all seven of the students reported using electronic dictionaries for this
purpose. Five of the students mentioned using web site dictionaries; four students
specifically mentioned Dictionary.com. When talking about the dictionary web site Lingoes,
Student 35, a first-year student from China, said that, “it’s like my friend! Like my teacher!”
Similarly, Student 54, a first-year student from Sri Lanka said that after she sold her
collocations dictionary and that, “the Internet has been my friend ever since then!” The
students agreed that plenty of resources are available to them online, including monolingual,
bilingual, and collocations dictionaries.
In addition to web sites, students reported using other electronic formats of
dictionaries, such as handheld devices and computer software. Student 13, a third-year
student from China, described several resources that he uses, including The Longman
44
Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE) application, Youdao (a Chinese-English bilingual
dictionary application he has installed on his phone and computer), Oulu (another ChineseEnglish application on his computer), and built-in software on his iPad. Student 59, a firstyear student from China, reported that he uses his handheld electronic bilingual dictionary
almost every day.
Although monolingual and bilingual dictionaries appear to be an important part of
these students’ language learning, collocations dictionaries take the back burner. One of the
students interviewed did not own the collocations dictionary even though it was a required
class material. When asked about this, Student 24, a first-year student from Korea, said that,
“my friend bought it and I looked at it and then, like, ‘do we really need this’? And yeah, I
didn’t buy one.” She said that she was glad that she did not buy it because it was not used at
all in her class. Student 14, a first-year student from Saudi Arabia, reported that he only used
his collocations dictionary for class. These students’ behaviors indicate that they have not
discovered the potential usefulness of collocations dictionaries.
Other negative comments regarding The Oxford Collocations Dictionary reflected its
bulkiness and lack of user-friendliness. Several students commented on the size and weight
of the dictionary. Student 54 reported that, “I knew I wasn’t carrying it around because it’s
kind of heavy. And so, I found the easy way out, obviously, getting on the Internet and
looking it up online.” A few students also commented on the cumbersome nature of flipping
through many pages to find a word. Student 59 pointed out that he sometimes could not find
the words he was looking for, so he preferred to look online where the number of entries
was essentially unlimited. Not only was it difficult for students to find the word they were
looking for, but also to interpret the entry once it was located. Student 43, a first-year
45
student from Saudi Arabia said that, “I need to translate the whole book.” On a similar note,
Student 59 did not recommend The Oxford Collocations Dictionary for beginners; he believed
that it was not practical for lower level students because they would need to look up so
many words. Almost all of the students used the word “confusing” to describe their first
encounter with a collocations dictionary. Student 54 recalled her first impression as being,
“Confused! I had been through it and was like, ‘hmm...weird!...What do I do with this?’”
Several of the other interviewees, however, felt that collocations dictionaries were
indeed a useful tool. Student 59 reported that he was “really interested” in learning about
collocations when he first purchased the dictionary; he did not sell the dictionary when the
course was over because he hoped to use it in the future. Likewise, Student 13 continues to
use his LDOCE application to find collocations. Student 54 recommended the program to
continue using the collocations dictionary because she felt that it was a helpful resource for
most international students who most likely have never been exposed to one before.
The students unanimously agreed that some sort of electronic version of the
collocations dictionary would be preferable to the paper format. Their reasons for this
preference reflect the aforementioned negative traits of paper-based Oxford Collocations
Dictionary. A web site, eBook version, or software application would most likely be lighter
than the paper version, faster and easier to search, more complete in its entries, and more
up-to-date. It is logical that students already using electronic versions of monolingual and
bilingual dictionaries would be interested in utilizing the same sort of technologies for other
language tools, including collocations dictionaries; the knowledge and skills they already
possess could be transferred, making the learning curve less steep. For today’s students,
46
paper-based texts are becoming old-fashioned; when talking about bilingual dictionaries,
Student 54 stated, “I can’t remember the last time I used a paper format.”
Teacher Interview Findings
The three teacher interviewees were asked fifteen questions in a semi-structured
one-on-one interview format about their opinions and their use of The Oxford Collocations
Dictionary. All of the teachers agreed that the collocations dictionary could be a useful tool
for their students, but did not feel adequately prepared to teach them. They also all reported
that they do not think their students are using the collocations dictionary outside of class,
but would be more likely to use them, in general, if an electronic version was available.
The first interview question asked the teachers to talk about the kinds of dictionaries
they use in their teaching. Two out of the three teachers reported that they regularly bring
and use a monolingual dictionary in their class. The third teacher reported not using any
dictionaries regularly in his teaching. The teachers expressed desire to use bilingual
dictionaries, but found it difficult to do so because of the multilingual nature of an EFL class.
Teacher 8 mentioned that he allows his students to use their phones in class to individually
access bilingual resources.
When first exposed to The Oxford Collocations Dictionary, all three of the teachers
reported not even knowing what a collocation was. Teacher 1 said she was “intimidated” and
Teacher 5 said it was, “daunting to have to try to think of ways that I’m going to integrate
this into class when I don’t really know how to use it myself.” Teacher 8 thought that it would
be easy to teach himself how to use the collocations dictionary, but found that it was much
more complex than he had originally thought.
47
Due to the complexity of the dictionary, all three of the teachers agreed that further
training is needed for both students and teachers. Teacher 5 argues that this is not a
dictionary that can just be picked up and used effectively; students must first learn the
purpose of a collocations dictionary and know what all of the abbreviations and acronyms
stand for. Similarly, Teacher 1 reports that she thinks she should have spent more time
teaching her students how to use the collocations dictionary, even though she regularly used
it at least twenty minutes per week. She stated that, “I think it is the kind of tool that for
some people takes longer to understand.” Likewise, teachers wanted more training and
guidance on how to use a collocations dictionary in their teaching. Teacher 5 felt as though
she spent enough time teaching the students how to use the collocations dictionary, yet was
not satisfied with the progress they made during that time; “I would end up feeling like a lot
of students weren’t really getting it, but I didn’t want to spend more time on it when there
are so many other things to do. Maybe if there’s a more efficient, easier way to teach
them...I don’t know.” Teacher 8 believes that the collocations dictionary should not be
incorporated into the curriculum until teachers have been explicitly taught what to do with
it: “I need some more explicit instruction on what's expected of me and what's expected of
this book and how it should be integrated into our program and our classes because that's
not clear for me and I felt uncomfortable with that.”
When asked what they think their students are doing with the collocations
dictionary, all of the teachers assume that their students are not using it, save for a few
exceptions. The teachers knew that the majority of students had difficulty using the
collocations dictionary in class and doubted their students’ abilities to use it outside of class
independently. Their assumptions closely match the student interviewees’ reports and the
48
students’ survey responses; few students use the collocations dictionary outside of class,
even if they think that it is a useful tool.
Teachers, too, believe that collocations dictionaries are a useful tool. Teacher 8 said
that a collocations dictionary is “an incredible tool” and that there is “definitely a place for it”
in ESL courses. Teacher 1 was also adamant that collocations dictionaries are appropriate for
the level of students that she teaches. She stated that, “it’s kind of one of the only ways they
can improve, sort of that instinct that they don’t have...of what words sound good together
and that...separates them from the level they’re at to the level that most of them want to be
at in order to be studying abroad at a university for four years.” Teacher 5 added that, “I
think that it’s something that is definitely useful for ESL students because I think most
everyone struggles with ‘How can I have, you know, natural language?’, ‘How can I use
language that sounds like a native speaker?’, and the collocations dictionary really is good for
that.”
Like students, teachers report that The Oxford Collocations Dictionary can be
burdensome and would prefer an electronic format. Teacher 1 admitted that she does not
always bring her copy of the collocations dictionary to class because it is heavy and takes up
a lot of space in her bag. Teacher 8 did not require his students to bring the collocations
dictionary to class, so students often had to share whatever copies were available. He and
Teacher 1 both agree that the paper-format of The Oxford Collocations Dictionary is not a
tool that can easily be shared. All of the teachers mentioned that their students are already
bringing their phones to class, so a compatible application would be ideal. Teacher 1 said
that, “I feel like almost all of my students, no matter where they’re from, seem like they have
phones that really could be capable of having an app or something like that. So, I think they’d
49
be much more likely to use it, I think if it was more convenient.” Teacher 5 agrees that an
electronic version of the dictionary would be easier, “I think a lot of students would feel
much more comfortable with it as well because it seems like even with regular dictionaries a
lot of students seem to be moving toward electronic use, so it seems like it would be easier.”
Chapter VI
DISCUSSION
This section will address the overall findings in regards to the three research
questions, “What do university ESL students and teachers do with collocations dictionaries?”,
“What do university ESL students and teachers think about using collocations dictionaries?”
and “What would make university ESL students and teachers more likely to use collocations
dictionaries?” Pedagogical implications will be discussed as well as limitations of this study.
Analysis of the student and teacher survey responses and interview transcripts point
to a few common trends and general conclusions: a large number of students and teachers
report not using the collocations dictionary, both students’ and teachers’ level of perceived
usefulness of collocations dictionaries does not match their reported use, students report
that they would be more likely to use collocations dictionaries if their teachers required them
to do so more frequently, teachers would be more likely to use collocations dictionaries in
their teaching if they received more training and ideas about how to incorporate them into
their curriculum, and most students and teachers would prefer an electronic collocations
dictionary.
The practice of not using or owning a required course material is nothing new. As
Berry et al. (2011) and Podolefsky and Finkelsetin (2006) report, textbooks for any course are
under the scrutiny of students who ultimately decide which ones will be necessary or useful
for them. Teachers and curriculum developers must keep this in mind when determining
50
51
course materials. It is also important to monitor the use of and attitudes about such
materials. In this study, 26% of students reported not owning the required collocations
dictionary and 44.5% reported “rarely” or “never” using it. While this may or may not be
enough evidence to determine the final fate of a textbook, it is enough to at least reconsider
its role in a given course or program. Course materials should not be blindly adopted; the
opinions and behaviors of both students and teachers should be part of an ongoing needsbased analysis.
This study also revealed the discrepancy between students’ and teachers’ perceived
usefulness of course materials and their actual use of them. While the majority of both
students and teachers report that they think collocations dictionaries are useful, 56.2% and
90%, respectively, a much smaller number report using them regularly, only 24.1% and 10%,
respectively. This mismatch was described by Chan (2012) as a difference in “usefulness” and
“helpfulness”; she found that students reported that monolingual dictionaries were useful,
yet they were not always helpful if the students did not use them properly. Similarly, Nesi
(2002), Chan (2005), and Christianson (1997) found that ESL students tend to have poor
dictionary use strategies which lead to incorrect usage.
In order to make collocations dictionaries and other reference materials helpful,
students need to be explicitly taught how to use them. For unfamiliar tools, like collocations
dictionaries, students cannot be expected to master the basics in just one session; repeated
exposure and practice is necessary for students to become comfortable and successful in
using collocations dictionaries. While Benson (1989) had immediate success in training and
teaching Soviet teachers of English how to use The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English,
Gonzalez (1999) insists that the average student needs more time and explicit instruction. Of
52
the teachers surveyed in this study, 70% reported that they wish they had spent more class
time teaching students how to use a collocations dictionary; if these teachers are encouraged
to do so and actually carry out their ambition of spending more class time teaching students
about collocations dictionaries, the dictionaries will become a more helpful tool for students.
On a similar note, students reported that they would be more likely to use a
collocations dictionary if their teacher gave them more assignments directly related to the
dictionary as well as more activities in class using the dictionary. Berry et al. (2010) found
that students reported they would be more likely to use the required textbook if the teacher
told them exactly what was important and helped them focus their efforts. Gonzalez (1999)
also stresses the importance of teaching students how to use dictionaries and “assigning
tasks that will foster better dictionary habits” (p. 269). In order to do this, however, teachers
need to be adequately prepared and feel confident in their ability to teach others how to use
this tool. In this study, 90% of teachers reported that they felt capable of teaching someone
else how to use the collocations dictionary, yet 90% also responded that they would like to
receive more training on how to use a collocations dictionary in their teaching. The teacher
interviews revealed the strong desire for further guidance from supervisors and colleagues in
how to best use and incorporate collocations dictionaries.
Finally, a recurring theme in both student and teacher responses was the desire for a
more convenient version of the collocations dictionary, namely an electronic version.
Reasons for this preference included speed of use, ease of use, and availability of access. The
teachers interviewed in this study made it clear that the majority of their students have
access to multiple forms of technology, including cell phones and laptops, and are already
using them in their language learning. Teacher 8, for example, mentioned that he encourages
53
his students to use their cell phones in class to access monolingual and bilingual dictionary
web sites and applications. All seven of the students interviewed indicated that they would
prefer an electronic version of the collocations dictionary, either a web site, an e-Book, a
phone application, or a software program.
Although students say that they would prefer using an electronic version of a
collocations dictionary, will they actually do so? Weschler (2000) found that Japanese
students rarely use electronic dictionaries “on the move”; almost all use of the electronic
dictionaries happened either in the classroom or at home. In this case, the convenience of
being able to easily carry around a dictionary did not lead to increased usage in other
contexts. In this study, 46.1% of students reported “rarely” or “never” bringing a collocations
dictionary to class, so for them, an electronic version may lead to increased usage in at least
the classroom setting.
Using an electronic version may or may not lead to more success in finding
appropriate collocations. Leffa (1992), for example, found that Portuguese speakers learning
English performed better and faster with a bilingual electronic dictionary than the control
group who used a paper-based format. On the other hand, Johnson (2012) found that there
was no significant cognitive difference in the performance of students using paper-based
monolingual dictionaries and an online dictionary web site. Even though students may be
more inclined to use an electronic version of a collocations dictionary, they will still need to
be trained how to read and interpret the entries. As Teacher 5 mentioned, students need to
know the parts of speech, dictionary abbreviations, and other conventions before they can
successfully utilize any kind of collocations dictionary.
54
Pedagogical Implications
The results from this study have some implications for ESL programs that are
currently using or interested in adopting a collocations dictionary into their curriculum. Most
importantly, a needs-based analysis should be carried out to determine whether or not a
collocations dictionary is an appropriate tool for the teachers and students in a particular
program. If deemed appropriate, both teachers and students need to be explicitly trained on
how to use collocations dictionaries. Teachers should be exposed to the dictionary long
before their course begins so that they can become familiar with it. Administrators and
program supervisors should encourage their staff to not only familiarize themselves with the
dictionary, but also to collaborate with others. Specific time should be allotted to cover the
pedagogy behind teaching collocations and ideas should be generated and shared as to how
to use collocations dictionaries in various contexts.
Once teachers are adequately trained, they need to spend more class time teaching
their students how to use collocations dictionaries and they need to encourage their
students to use them. Time should be spent reviewing the parts of speech and introducing
the students to abbreviations that they may encounter. Each dictionary has its own
conventions and these need to be mastered before delving further into other activities. Once
the basics are mastered, more activities should be carried out in class to allow students to
practice using the dictionary and to increase their comfort level. Finally, assignments should
be given to encourage students to use the collocations dictionaries on their own outside of
class. Ideally, this series of activities will lead to autonomy in the use of collocations
dictionaries among ESL students. During this entire process, it is crucial that the students see
the teacher modeling these activities and displaying confidence in the usefulness and
55
helpfulness of collocations dictionaries. If collocations dictionaries become an integral part of
the course, students will be more likely to purchase them, use them, and discover their
potential benefits.
Finally, teachers need to be creative and flexible in their approach to using new or
unfamiliar materials in their teaching. In the case of collocations dictionaries, teachers should
not require their students to use a particular format; rather they should allow the students to
choose what is best for their individual learning style, whether it be paper-based or
electronic. As a model, the teacher should be comfortable and knowledgeable demonstrating
the use of various formats of collocations dictionaries and other language tools. Although
some extra steps may need to be taken in lesson planning, this flexibility should lead to
greater use of available language learning resources.
Limitations
While examining these conclusions, it is important to keep in mind a few limitations
of this study. First, the size and scope of this study was limited to 91 students and 10
teachers at only one university; the results found may reflect patterns of behavior unique to
this particular context. Also, this study only looked at the use of and attitudes regarding one
particular collocations dictionary, The Oxford Collocations Dictionary. Other collocations
dictionaries may be more or less user-friendly and may have garnered different results.
Overall, the survey was determined to be reliable according to the Cronbach’s alpha
coefficients. However, a few of the questions were ambiguous and may have been
misinterpreted by some of the respondents. Item 3 on the student survey, for example, was
worded as, “I own (or rent) a collocations dictionary,” with the possible answers of “yes” or
56
“no”. A third option of “other” should have been included to allow for students who may
share the dictionary with someone else, check out a dictionary from the library, or have
access to a dictionary in some other format. In the student demographic section, one of the
items was worded as, “ESL courses enrolled in this semester:” with a blank line for the
response. This was intended to elicit the ESL course numbers assigned by the university.
Many students, however, simple wrote the number of ESL courses that they were enrolled
in. Due to this misinterpretation, it was impossible to identify which students were enrolled
in a reading and writing course and/or a listening and speaking course. Had this information
been accurately reported, correlations between course type and dictionary use could have
been examined.
Lastly, this study did not look at the respondents’ behavior over time. The survey was
given in one sitting, and therefore, only provides a snapshot of the students’ and teachers’
behavior. This particular survey was given within the last month of a semester-long course
and the interviews took place at the beginning of the next semester. Adaptations could be
made to allow for a more in-depth analysis of how students’ and teachers’ behaviors and
attitudes regarding collocations dictionaries may change during the course of a semester.
The time diary method advocated by Brenner (2011) could be utilized to record each use of
the dictionary. Students and teachers could be asked to keep a simple diary of when they use
the dictionary. If using an electronic format, this information could be collected by analyzing
browser history data for web sites or smartphones.
57
Conclusion
In conclusion, course materials or reference tools, such as collocations dictionaries,
are only as useful as teachers and students make them. If a teacher does not advocate the
use of a particular tool, students will be unlikely to seek out the potential benefits of it on
their own. Likewise, teachers will be unlikely to incorporate materials that they are not
familiar or comfortable with. Therefore, administrators, curriculum planners, and program
supervisors need to ensure that teachers are trained how to use and integrate a variety of
tools into their teaching. Teachers will then be able to confidently incorporate all required
course materials into their curriculum, and subsequently, students should find more value in
them. Finally, time should also be taken to periodically analyze the role of course materials;
new technologies and pedagogies should be reflected in the selection of future materials.
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58
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APPENDICES
62
APPENDIX A
Student Survey
63
64
65
66
APPENDIX B
Teacher Survey
67
68
69
70
APPENDIX C
Student Interview Questions
71
72
APPENDIX D
Teacher Interview Questions
73
74
APPENDIX E
Student Informed Consent Letter
75
76
APPENDIX F
Teacher Informed Consent Letter
77
78
APPENDIX G
Student Interview Transcripts
79
80
Student 13: A 20-year-old Chinese male who has been studying English for about nine years.
His first language is Mandarin and he is a third-year university student.
Interviewer (I): What kinds of dictionaries do you use in your language learning?
Student (S): Uh, almost I use all my dictionaries in electric...electronic edition ‘cause it’s
convenient and easy to find what you want.
I: Do you know the name of the application or electronic version that you use?
S: For English, it’s Longman. Do you know LDOCE? I think that’s a good dictionary because it
explains the words in very simple definitions. It’s very easy to read. Somebody introduced
this dictionary for me and said that the definitions used are in the less than 3,000 words. So
it’s easy to read even for somebody who don’t learn much English, they can be easy to read
that.
I: Have you had a lot of other dictionaries before this one?
S: Yeah. Actually I use many dictionaries, all kinds of [pause] in China there’s a dictionary
called Youdao. So that dictionary is easy to find the sentences. It’s like a simple way of
writing when you don’t know words, how to use them, you can use a dictionary to check the
simple sentences
I: So it’s kind of like a collocations dictionary...that you can find how words are used, not the
definition of a word?
S: Yep. But this is...I think this is not one dictionary because it’s like many dictionaries in it.
It’s a software. I can show you.
I: So this one, you also use the electronic version?
S: Yes, it don’t have a book.
I: Oh, no paper version? It’s only electronic?
S: Mmmhmm. It’s just like this [student shows interviewer Youdao on his phone]. If you enter
some words, it will give you first a translation...English to English...and this is some other
dictionary...and this is where is the word found...the origin...the collocations [student is
scrolling down through the entry]...this is some expressions, phrases, and then
sentences...and here...here is some sentences choose from many English dictionaries?
I: Ah, we say that is a language corpora or database.
S: Yeah, yeah. And here you can find some sentences from lectures, movies, soap operas...
I: Oh cool, more contemporary stuff?
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S: Yeah. You can also listen and watch it.
I: Is this a free application or do you have to pay for it?
S: It’s free. But the LDOCE is paid. You need to pay maybe $30. Yeah, but it’s good. And, uh,
here is another library dictionary, an electric dictionary, on my iPad [student shows
interviewer iPad]. While I use ‘cause I don’t use books with paper...all my textbooks is
electric.
I: All of them? Wow! So it doesn’t bother you to use it electronically? You’ve gotten used to
that?
S: Actually, if you use them for a term, you will feel it’s easy to use...like, this is my major
course [student shows interviewer the e-book for one of his computer science courses]. I can
find if I don’t have any idea what the words are, I just tap that, wait. So here, it will give you a
definition [a definition in Chinese appears on the screen].
I: And so what application is giving you this definition? You have something loaded on there
to do that?
S: It’s a dictionary called...this dictionary...I don’t know, literally it doesn’t have an English
name, but in Chinese it’s called Oulu.
I: Is that one a free one also?
S: It’s paid. Yeah, $6.
I: And so that allows you to just click on words...and then...any kind of text that you have
open...?
S: Yeah, this is very convenient because if you check any words [and] you want to make some
notes, you just write down.
I: And is that part of the same application...that you’re making notes or is that a different
one?
S: Actually, I think this is a system [application].
I: Oh okay, so it comes with the iPad preloaded?
S: Yeah. Actually, I think many...like this pad can do that...whatever...Apple, Sony, or any
brands of that kind of thing.
I: Okay. So how often do you use the different dictionaries?
S: Longman I use maybe a couple times a week, especially if I’m focused on the words or I
want to learn some new words or it’s good for my GRE test, I use the Longman ‘cause it’s
only English...and when I read a book I use it and when I’m writing in class I use my cell
phone to check the words because it’s more easy to take. There is also some dictionary...the
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same dictionary as Youdao in my computer and in my netbook. When I write some papers
and essays in the library, I use that to check the sentences...the format of the sentences and
how to use that and to organize my paper.
I: How often do you think you use Youdao?
S: Every day.
I: And Oulu, do you think you use that one every day, too?
S: Mmmhmm. Yeah, yeah, when I read book. Here is a cool function [student showing
interviewer Youdao on his cell phone]...let me show you. You can use a camera to...
I: ...ah, take a picture of a word?
S: Just...if something is printed...like...just like this. The definition here [showing Youdao
application on phone]. So, sometimes you are not convenient to enter something, you just
use it.
I: Alright. So, did you use the Oxford Collocations Dictionary at all? The big blue one required
for the class? Did you ever look at anyone else’s?
S: I used it before, but recently I don’t use it. I think some Oxford dictionaries is quite
complex.
I: Yeah, so what was your first impression of it? When you first used it...
S: I used a small one, not a big one because there are many versions of the Oxford dictionary.
Maybe I used it in my high school, my middle high school...because our teacher for the class.
I: In the past seven days, how many times did you use your Longman collocations...or just the
general dictionary application?
S: Maybe three times. But I use this device to check every day, every time, any time [student
points to phone and iPad].
I: How did you learn to use the Longman Dictionary application?
S: Uh, do you know there is an English learning school in Chinese named...called New
Orientation? That’s a famous English school in China. When I was taking some online course
at New Orientation, the teacher says Longman dictionary is a good dictionary for English
learners.
I: And then when you downloaded it, did you just teach yourself how to use the actual
application? Or did you have someone show you how to use it?
S: It’s very easy to use. You just...you just enter the words. It’s like any dictionary...just enter
words and it shows you the definition, it shows you the sentences, it shows you how to use
it. It’s quite easy, you don’t need to learn how to use it.
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I: Do you think it’s easier than the paper version?
S: Yep, ‘cause when you use the paper version, you need to turn the page and to find it takes
a long time. But the teacher also says if you learn the paper edition, it’s good for memorize;
it’s help to memorize a word because people are lazy...they...they force themselves to
remember the words...umm because they don’t want to check that again. That’s a benefit of
the paper dictionary. But if your time is limited, you use electric and it is good.
I: How comfortable are you using the Longman Dictionary application?
S: Very comfortable.
I: Is there anything that would make you more likely to use it?
S: If the definitions are very good...because I always copy the definitions down...and I have a
notebook...I write definitions which I want to remember and I will review them when I have
some free time.
I: In your class last semester, do you think enough time was spent learning how to use
collocations dictionaries?
S: Umm...maybe when I start, I confused what is collocations dictionary. But when, uh, a
couple weeks of class, I know that, I know that. It’s easy to use and easy to find what you
want.
I: If you had to recommend our program to keep using The Oxford Collocations Dictionary,
would you recommend it or not?
S: You mean the blue book?
I: Yeah, the blue paper version.
S: You know, I almost never use it ‘cause I use electric dictionary ‘cause I try to find
something from the book, the dictionary, the book...the paper dictionary and that I feel is not
easy to find...there are many confused things...so...maybe the dictionary is not a good
dictionary. I prefer to use other, whatever the paper one or electric.
I: So you prefer the Longman, even as a paper version, over the Oxford?
S: Yeah.
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Student 14: A 19-year-old Saudi Arabian male who has been studying English for two years.
He is a first-year university student.
I: What kinds of dictionaries do you use in your language learning?
S: Collocations dictionary.
I: Do you use any other kinds?
S: Yeah...Longman online and dictionary online.
I: Like Dictionary.com?
S: Yeah.
I: Okay. The Longman online is that just their web site or do you have an application?
S: No, a web site.
I: How often do you use each of these?
S: A lot.
I: So...once a week? Once a day? First, the collocations dictionary. How often do you use that
one?
S: Collocation...it’s only for my class.
I: Okay. So, once a week? Twice a week?
S: Twice a week.
I: The Longman web site?
S: Every day maybe ‘cause I...’cause every day I have a new word.
I: And Dictionary.com?
S: It’s the same. Sometimes Longman is not helpful ...like I use Dictionary[.com].
I: So, you use those two usually...almost every day?
S: Yeah.
I: Which one do you like the most out of the collocations, Longman, and Dictionary.com?
S: Longman and Dictionary.com.
I: Why do you like those the best?
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S: Because they are more clear than the collocations. Collocations is good, but, for me, for
many words, like, is not in the collocations...and Longman I can just type...it’s easier for me
to find the word. But collocations is only for my classes I use.
I: What was your first impression of The Oxford Collocations Dictionary last semester?
S: Uh...could you explain to me the question?
I: Yeah, your thoughts when you first got it...did you like it? Was it confusing?
S: It was confusing me. But I learned something new in the words...its means collocation
[what a collocation means] and that collocations, I have to look it up to the word, then I have
to go to [for example] the adjective and see what means the word, then I have to go to a
word and look in the collocation dictionary.
I: At the end of the semester, how did you feel about using it? Did your ideas change?
S: Okay, yeah. I felt okay.
I: It wasn’t so confusing?
S: [Not as confusing] as the first time. But, right now no [it’s not confusing].
I: What do you use the collocations dictionary for?
S: For academic words...AWL...academic word list.
I: Do you ever use it for any of your other classes or just for ESL?
S: Just for the ESL.
I: How many times did you use it in the past seven days?
S: A day.
I: Once?
S: Yeah.
I: What did you use it for?
S: For academic words.
I: Do you like the collocations dictionary?
S: Not really?
I: Why?
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S: ‘Cause it’s...it’s for me...I hate...I hate, you know, it’s not only for collocations, but any
books, like dictionary books, is not easier, like, in web sites . Web sites make everything clear
for me, just write the word and I can see many of the meaning for the word. Like
collocations, I have to look it up, to the...first...the first alphabet [letter]. I have to see...still
keep looking it does not make it easy to find everything.
I: How did you learn to use the collocations dictionary?
S: Last semester used in class with my teacher.
I: Was it easy to learn how to use?
S: Yep.
I: How comfortable are you using the dictionary now?
S: [silence]
I: A little bit comfortable? A lot?
S: A lot...’cause I used for like three months.
I: Is there anything that would make you want to use it more?
S: Maybe in the future, I’m not sure.
I: Would you prefer to use this dictionary if there was an online version, e-Book version, or
application for your phone?
S: Yep, sure.
I: Why?
S: Because the collocations dictionary has many academic word. And...we...we use in many
classes in this university [both 100- and 200-level read & writing and listening & speaking
courses] and I’m gonna take freshman English and I have to look at every collocation
dictionary.
I: And you rather have the electronic version?
S: Yeah.
I: Do you think enough class time was spent learning how to use the collocations dictionary?
S: Yeah.
I: And the last question! Would you recommend our program to keep using this collocations
dictionary?
S: Yep.
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I: Why?
S: Because...umm...the ESL classes have to learn many academic word and the collocation
can...can prepare the student to learn the new words. And students have to focus in
collocation dictionary, not just buy it and just forget it after the semester is done.
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Student 24: A 20-year-old female student from South Korea who has been studying English
for about four years. She is a first-year student.
S: I usually use an English definition dictionary...a Korean-English bilingual dictionary. Yeah, I
usually use that one.
I: And how often do you use a bilingual dictionary?
S: Most time.
I: Every day?
S: If I have homework, every day, yeah.
I: Any other kind of dictionary that you use?
S: Umm, no.
I: For your bilingual dictionary, do you usually use a paper version or an electronic version?
S: Electronic.
I: How do you use it? On your phone? Computer?
S: Ah, both.
I: Do you use an application or do you just go to a web site?
S: I just go to a web site.
I: Do you know which web site you use?
S: It’s a Korean web site. It is like Google...Naver.com. That’s my favorite.
I: When you first bought the Oxford Collocations Dictionary, what was your impression?
S: I don’t need it.
I: “I don’t need it,” why?
S: ‘Cause I can use...I can search it online. I feel it’s kind of a waste of time to look around
everywhere when I could just type it and easily find it and so that is best.
I: Throughout the semester, did your ideas change about it?
S: No, not at all.
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I: You felt the same way at the end of the semester, like, “Why did I buy this?”
S: No, I didn’t buy it.
I: Oh, you didn’t buy it. Oh, okay.
S: Also, my friend bought it and I looked at it and then, like, do we really need this? And yeah,
I didn’t buy one.
I: And was it okay for your class, not having it?
S: Yeah, we didn’t use it. We didn’t use it at all, so...
I: Did you ever use your friend’s collocations dictionary?
S: I didn’t use it, I just looked at it.
I: So you never used it?
S: No, I never used it for, like, to do the homework.
I: Do you know what collocations are?
S: Yeah.
I: Yeah? And do you use or is there any way on Naver.com you can find collocations?
S: There are like a few short words, you can find words, they say, like, similar words or
definitions.
I: And they might show you words that go with it?
S: Yeah, yeah. They show a few words.
S: No.
I: Why not?
S: ‘Cause I’m...sometimes I feel I need it, but I don’t have to purchase the dictionary. I know I
can need it for doing homework, but I don’t think I need to purchase. That’s all.
S: I never learned how to use it.
I: If I gave you a collocations dictionary right now, how comfortable would you be using it?
S: I don’t think I’m gonna use it.
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I: But if I gave it to you, would you know how to use it?
S: Yeah. I know how to use it, but...
I: Is there anything that would make you more likely to use it?
S: I think it’s too big to carry to class.
I: I agree. So if it was smaller...anything else that would make you change your mind about it?
S: Umm...if we used it in class a lot and then in class with the teacher, the teachers have to
use it and then use the dictionary, we have to do some, like, kind of activity or, like...
I: ...so, if you had required work, then you’d be forced to use it?
S: Yeah. Yeah, otherwise I don’t think I’m gonna use it.
I: Would you prefer to use the collocations dictionary in an online version, e-book version, or
application for your iPhone/smartphone rather than the paper-based format?
S: Yeah.
I: Why would you like that?
S: Because I can carry it...I could just type the word and then I could easily find it. I don’t have
to, like, go back and forth.
S: No, we didn’t learn anything.
I: Would you recommend the program to continue using the collocations dictionary?
S: Umm...I think...I don’t think it doesn’t have to be required.
I: Why?
S: ‘Cause...umm...when we were, like, writing essay, there’s, like, for example, “say,” “talk,”
“speak,” it’s almost same meaning, but kinda different...something like that. So, if we had
dictionary, we could even know a lot of words...but...so, I think we need one, but, if you
don’t use it in class, like, if nobody teaches us or something like that, I don’t think we have to
buy the dictionary.
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Student 35: A 34-year-old Chinese male who has been studying English for ten years. He is a
first-year university student.
S: Usually, I use Chinese-English.
I: So, usually a bilingual [dictionary]?
S: Uh huh.
I: Any other kinds that you use?
S: Sometimes I use English-English.
I: And the collocations dictionary...do you use that one?
S: I..I...haven’t. For a long time I didn’t use it because I use my computer dictionary.
I: For your bilingual dictionary, what kind of dictionary do you use...is it a paper dictionary or
electronic?
S: Electronic.
I: Is it a handheld electronic dictionary or an application on your phone or computer?
S: Just like, uh, a software on my computer.
I: Do you know the name of the one you use?
S: Lingoes.
I: How often do you use it?
S: Every day...many times! Sometimes I use a web site dictionary...just, uh, dic...dictionary
com...
I: Oh, Dictionary.com? So, that’s the one you use for English to English?
S: Yeah.
I: How often do you use that one?
S: It’s not often.
I: Which one do you prefer the most?
S: Lingoes.
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I: And why do you like that one?
S: Maybe...I...used to it already and I...it’s, like, it’s like my friend! Like my teacher! When I
first got dictionary [Lingoes], I want to use it.
I: Is that one free or do you pay for it?
S: Free.
I: Do you have it just on your computer or is it also on your phone?
S: On my computer.
I: Last semester, what was your first impression of The Oxford Collocations Dictionary?
S: Uh...I’m sorry...
I: Your first impressions...so last semester, in August or September, what did you think about
this dictionary?
S: I...I thinking...if I can’t use my computer, I will use it...because many times...I can’t...I
always use my computer or laptop. I do my homework, I contact my family, and my things I
need my computer.
I: What about at the end of the semester, in December, what did you think about it...the
same thing or did your ideas change about it?
S: Last year, at the end of the semester, I use it more than this semester because I studying
ESL and I need to use it.
I: In the past seven days, have you used this dictionary?
S: No.
I: In the past thirty days?
S: No.
I: But you used it last semester, because here I see you checked [on the survey] six days out
of seven. So you used to use it a lot?
S: Yeah, last semester.
I: What did you use it for?
S: I...I used it to find some words...how to say...for my, uh, compositions...essays. Last
semester, I had many essays
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S: [hesitates] Yeah...but ...yeah...
I: How did you learn to use this dictionary?
S: Do my homework and last year, last semester because our teacher asks us to find many
things from this dictionary...in class and after class.
I: Did you think this dictionary was easy to learn how to use?
S: Yeah...yeah, easy.
I: What would make you more likely to use this dictionary? Is there anything that would
make you want to use it more?
S: Well, I changed my major. Maybe my new major [computer science] don’t need. I use
Lingoes. It is enough. I don’t need to do my essays...there’s no essay.
I: So you kept this dictionary [pointing to The Oxford Collocations Dictionary], you still have
it?
S: Yeah, I have it.
I: Would you prefer to use this dictionary in an online version, e-Book version, or application
on your phone instead of the paper version?
S: Uh...you...what you mean?
I: Would you prefer to use an electronic version of this book instead of the paper copy?
Which would you think is better: an electronic collocations dictionary or this paper
collocations dictionary?
S: Electronic.
I: Why would you like that better?
S: Because laptop with me always.
I: Last semester, do you think you spent enough class time learning how to use this
dictionary?
S: Yeah.
I: Would you recommend this program to keep using this dictionary?
S: Uh, please say it again.
I: Would you recommend this program to keep using this dictionary? Just your opinion... if
you think we should make students buy this book.
S: [hesitates] I don’t know.
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Student 43: A 21-year-old Saudi Arabian male who has been studying English for two years.
He is a first-year university student.
I: The first question I have is what kinds of dictionaries do you use in your language learning?
S: English-Arabic dictionaries.
I: So, a bilingual dictionary. Do you use any other kinds?
S: No.
I: How often do you use it [bilingual dictionary]?
S: When I need to look up a new word.
I: Once a week? Once a month?
S: Maybe twice a week. It depends.
I: Did you own this book [interviewer pointing to The Oxford Collocations Dictionary]?
S: Yes.
I: Last semester, when you first got it, what did you think about this dictionary?
S: Confusing.
I: By the end of the semester, did your ideas change or was it still confusing?
S: Still confusing.
I: What kinds of things did you use the collocations dictionary for?
S: Like how to put words together.
I: So, did you use it for assignments...for your ESL class?
S: Yeah, for my ESL class, yeah. Like sentences and putting words together...which one
should I put where.
I: Have you used this dictionary in the past seven days?
S: No, I haven’t.
I: Have you used it in the past 30 days?
S: Uh, no.
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S: No, not really.
I: Why not?
S: I don’t know why...too much words. I need to translate the whole book.
I: Because it’s all in English?
S: Mmmhmm.
S: From this school...my teacher.
S: No, not easy.
I: Why not?
S: I don’t know. It’s confusing.
I: How comfortable are you using it now?
S: I really don’t use it. I use my phone.
I: What would make you more likely to use it?
S: Easy words. That’s it.
I: Would you prefer to use a collocations dictionary if it was an online version or something
on your phone?
S: Yep.
I: Why?
S: Because I don’t have to change pages and look through the whole page to find the word.
I: Do you think enough of your ESL class time was spent learning how to use it?
S: Not really.
I: So, you would’ve liked to have someone teach you how to use it more?
S: Uh huh.
I: And the last question, would you recommend our program to continue using this
dictionary?
S: I think no.
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I: You think no...because...?
S: Because it’s wasting for time. We need more time to find the words in this book, so using
collocations dictionary online is better.
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Student 54: A 30-year-old female student from Sri Lanka who has been studying English for
over twelve years. She is a first-year university.
S: Mono[lingual] is English to English right?
I: Yeah.
S: I use that. I don’t use bilingual at all.
I: Do you use a paper format or electronic?
S: Electronic. I can’t remember the last time I used a paper format.
I: Do you use that on your phone? Laptop?
S: Uh, everywhere. Basically.
I: Do you have a free application or something you paid for?
S: Uh, I actually just go to dictionary.com.
I: How often would you say you do that? Daily? Weekly?
S: I would say...once in two days, kinda.
I: Okay. And you don’t ever use a bilingual or collocations dictionary?
S: Nope.
I: So you prefer monolingual the most. Why is that the kind of dictionary you use?
S: Because I would rather than...umm...trying to get the explanation from my language to
English, I would try to express it from English, and then find the proper word for it. So, it’ll
actually improve my language as well as skills.
I: Alright. Last semester, did you own this book [interviewer showing The Oxford Collocations
Dictionary]?
S: Yep.
I: What was your first impression when you got it?
S: Confused! I had been through it and was like, “hmm...weird!...What do I do with this?”
I: And what about at the end of the semester? How did you feel about it?
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S: Uh, I was pretty comfortable using it and all that. I didn’t have any complaints about
the...the...it was quite...umm helpful, but I wouldn’t say I used it all the time, but there were
times I used it.
I: In the class, last semester when you had this book, what did you use it for...either in-class
or outside of class?
S: I used it in-class for a couple of assignments. I did, umm, use it out of class for writing
assignments, basically essays. There were a couple of words that I wasn’t really sure about
what goes with them, so I did.
I: Do you have it anymore or did you sell it?
S: I sold it.
I: Okay, no problem. It just means I won’t ask you the next question about how many times
you’ve used it in the past seven days.
S: (student laughs) No.
I: So zero?
S: Yeah, the Internet has been my friend ever since then!
I: Yes, you can find free collocations stuff on the Internet. Do you like the collocations
dictionary?
S: Yeah. I mean, obviously, paper, looking at, like, a book...touching and feeling it gives you a
better...I don’t know what it is. Call me old-fashioned! I like to have it and hold it and you
know, do all that...and then going to electronic because it’s more easy and less heavier to
carry around.
S: In class.
S: Yeah, pretty much.
I: How comfortable are you using it now?
S: Pretty comfortable...just like any other dictionary.
I: What would make you more likely to use it...if you still had it?
S: I, practically, don’t have the answer for that. Umm, because I feel, why I got...sold it is, one
thing I knew I wasn’t carrying it around because it’s kind of heavy. And so, I found the easy
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way out, obviously, getting on the Internet and looking it up online. So...I wouldn’t have used
it even if I kept it. It would have slide on some old floor somewhere.
I: You’ve kind of answered this question, but would you prefer to use a collocations
dictionary in an online version, e-book version, or application for your iPhone rather than the
paper-based format?
S: Completely, yes.
I: Why?
S: Because it’s easy, less heavy, I mean, it’s just a matter of typing a word online and you just
get everything in a couple of seconds. You don’t even have to go through the pages.
S: Yeah, pretty much, yeah.
I: And the last question, would you recommend the program to continue using collocations
dictionaries?
S: Yes.
I: Yes. Why?
S: Uh, because that’s something that, for me, was completely new. I mean, I didn’t even
know there was something called a collocation...and where you gonna find out what goes
with, you know, which words and all that. So that’s something totally new to me and I’m
pretty sure that especially international students who are not really used to it because we’ve
never used it. So it’s good for you guys to have it in class because it’s a totally new thing to
some students, most of us, actually.
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Student 59: A 32-year-old Chinese male who has been studying English for three years. He is
a first-year university student.
I: What kinds of dictionaries do you use in your language learning...monolingual, bilingual,
collocations...?
S: Oh...most of all, I use bilingual.
I: Do you use any other kinds?
S: Sometimes I use the...I’ll go online and use www..uh...dictionary...
I: Dictionary.com?
S: Yeah.
I: How often do you use them? So, the bilingual dictionary, how often do you use that one?
S: Mmm...almost every day because if I like to explain myself, I like to translate my native
language into English.
I: And what about Dictionary.com, how often do you use that one?
S: Yeah, if I’m not sure how to use a word, I’ll go online and Dictionary.com and check the
word exactly means.
I: Do you do that usually once a week? Every day?
S: Not every day, but I think, uh, three or four times a week.
I: For the bilingual dictionary, English-Chinese, do you use a paper dictionary or do you have
something else that you use?
S: Sometimes I use my electronic dictionary.
I: So, it’s a little handheld electronic dictionary?
S: Yes, an electronic dictionary.
I: Do you use any other sources for your bilingual dictionary?
S: Mmm...no.
I: Which one do you like the most, bilingual dictionary or Dictionary.com?
S: That...bilingual dictionary, yeah.
I: And why do you like that one the most?
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S: Because, I, uh, maybe for the beginner, like me, I first think to how to explains my feel , so I
always translate my mind into English...uh, not a word. Yeah, so I have to go to online and
check the bilingual language...input the whole sentence and check the how to use the
English.
I: Last semester, what was your first impression of this dictionary?
S: When I first came to the dictionary, I was really interested in that book. Um, but for now, I
think, uh, maybe in a few years, I will...this book is very helpful for me because at that time,
uh, I may be skilled using English, so at that time I will found out how to use the word
accurately.
I: At the end of the semester, what did you think about the dictionary?
S: I think, I will often go online to check some words, yeah.
I: Do you still have your dictionary or did you sell it to the bookstore?
S: No, I have the dictionary.
I: Have you used it recently in the past week or month?
S: No, not recently.
I: What kinds of things did you use the collocations dictionary for last semester?
S: I remember, uh, there was a time I liked to check out words I like to use, but I cannot, I
could not find the words. Just two or three, I cannot remember clearly, so it was a little
disappointing, so I hardly take that book. I just used the dictionary two times last semester.
S: Yes, I like it.
I: Why do you like it?
S: Uh, I think it is good to explain a word, the word, to plan what kinds of situations, how to
match other words, that’s a good idea. But for now, I just focus on the, the, the whole essay,
organization, and the sentence. So, I, uh, if every time I use the book, I cannot work
effectively.
S: What does it mean?
I: Did you learn from your teacher in class or did you read how to use it?
S: Oh, from the class!
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S: Yeah, it’s easy.
I: How comfortable are you using the collocations dictionary?
S: How comfortable? Uh...I don’t know how to say comfortable. Uh, let me see. What is
comfortable?
I: Is it easy for you to use now? When you use it do you feel okay or when you use it do you
feel confused?
S: Not confused, yeah. Just, uh, sometimes I cannot find a word what I like.
I: Yeah, sometimes you can’t find the word you’re looking for.
S: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I: So, is there anything that would make you more likely to use the dictionary?
S: Umm, no I cannot think of anything.
I: Would you prefer to use this dictionary if it was an online version, e-Book version, or on
your phone instead of a paper copy?
S: Oh, yeah. Maybe, uh, if the book...I can check it online, that’s a good idea.
I: Why?
S: Because now for most of essay or writing, I always go online to do something, so I have no
need to take this book again because I can check everything online.
I: Last semester, do you think there was enough class time spent learning how to use the
collocations dictionary?
S: Oh, yes, it’s enough time, yeah.
I: And the last question, would you recommend our program to keep using this dictionary?
S: Uh, I don’t think so.
I: Okay, why not?
S: Uh, I think, uh, for the beginner, it is not practical. I think in a few years, I’m skilled with
using English, I can use it again and check how to use a word accurately. That’s my idea.
I: Alright, great! Anything else you want to say about this dictionary?
S: I like to say, uh, if the dictionary is online, that is a very good idea. Because the book is so
heavy, so if I’m at home, maybe I can take it out and looking for the word, but most of the
time I spend in the library, so I did not take the book. That’s my idea, yeah.
APPENDIX H
Teacher Interview Transcripts
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Teacher 1: A graduate assistant teacher who has been teaching ESL for a year and a half and
taught EFL for two years.
I: What kinds of dictionaries do you use in your ESL course?
T: I use a monolingual dictionary and a collocations dictionary.
I: And what kind of monolingual...is it a certain brand?
T: Um, no, I think it’s a Webster dictionary, but it was just a very small, like one dollar
dictionary that I got at Target...and so I bring those to class.
I: How often do you them in class?
T: I don’t specifically ask the students to use them. I just make it available when we’re doing
stuff, so we don’t have, like, specific activities where they’re asked to use the dictionary, but
it’s just a reference, I guess.
I: Out of those two, which one do you prefer most?
T: Um, I think for specific teaching, I actually do prefer using the collocations dictionary. Like I
said, the other one is more just a resource, so if students don’t have their own dictionary
that they bring to class or if their own dictionary doesn’t have something, then they can kind
of use the dictionary, but for specific teaching at the level we’re teaching at, I think
collocations dictionaries are more helpful.
I: This one goes back to your first semester here. When you first got The Oxford Collocations
Dictionary, what did you think? What was your first impression?
T: That I didn’t know what collocations meant [laughs]. So I was kind of intimidated to use it
and not sure, especially when I found out I was gonna be teaching.
I: Throughout that semester and the past year, have your thoughts about The Oxford
Collocations Dictionary changed?
T: Well, yes. I did learn what a collocation was! And, um, my first semester, I think I used the
dictionary in class maybe once or twice in the whole semester. Then the second semester, I
was a tutor and at that same time I was taking a vocabulary acquisition class, so we talked
more about using collocations and how they can be used in class. And so, as a tutor, I led,
like, a weekly activity that the students did with collocations.
I: How do you use the collocations dictionary in your class?
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T: Well, for reading and writing class, I use it two ways. So, when they do a weekly vocabulary
assignment, they’re asked to fill out collocations of that vocabulary, that target vocabulary
word. And then, for each unit, we use it to brainstorm ideas for making sentences based on
their essay assignments. So, for example, they have, like, a study abroad where they’re
comparing studying abroad to studying at home and so I asked them for key vocabulary that
they knew related to that topic so they had things like “study”, “foreign country”, and that
kind of thing. And we looked up those words in the dictionary and just, basically, I told them
now you know words to use, words that are, um, common and that will help you so your
sentences sound fluid and that kind of thing. And for listening and speaking, what I’m having
the students do is they’ll either listen or read for collocations...so, the collocations that
actually just happen naturally, so the words before and after and then they look it up in the
dictionary and see if those collocations are listed in the dictionary or not and then they also
supplement that with some of the words that the dictionary includes. So, just kind of being
aware and listening to words surrounding each other.
I: In the past 7 days, how many times did you use the collocations dictionary in your class?
T: One time.
I: And what about in the past thirty days?
T: Um, in the past thirty days? So...probably, like, four or five times. I use the dictionary
about once a week in class.
I: What do you think your students are doing with the collocations dictionaries?
T: Um, I think it really varies student to student. So, I got some feedback from students
saying that they didn’t like it and they didn’t know how to use it, even though, like, we had
gone over it in class, how to use it, and so I just feel that, like, for some students it just didn’t
really connect, they just didn’t really like it and then I had other students who used it...would
bring it to class every day to look up vocabulary words as we were working in class. So, I
think, in general, the students used it for the assignments at the minimum and then probably
a smaller portion used it to help with their writing and help with assignments in class.
I: Do you know whether or not your students are actually using the collocations dictionary
outside of class?
T: I don’t. And, I think, for at least a number of students, I know that they were not using the
collocations dictionary to write their collocations, for, um, ‘cause there were a number of
students who every vocabulary test, the collocations portion of the test, they would get
wrong. They would just, they would simply not be writing down collocations. Sometimes
they’d be writing down synonyms of the word or sometimes they’d be making up
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collocations. So they’d just be writing down what, like, adjectives for a noun, that kind of
thing [laughs]! Um, so, no, I don’t have any for sure way to know if they’re using it out of
class and, like I said, I know at least a number of students didn’t.
T: Um, I don’t actually like the collocations dictionary very much. I think that it’s difficult...the
layout I don’t think is very good. I think there are a lot of other learner dictionaries that are
much more clear. Um, so that might just be a simple thing of using multiple colors or that
kind of thing that will just help make it more obvious. And I also think that it is just so big and
bulky for the students.
T: I learned to use the collocations dictionary, like I said, by taking that vocabulary acquisition
course where we talked about it a little bit more. And when I was a tutor, the teacher asked
if I’d be interested in leading, like, you know, kind of co-teaching. And I said, “Yeah.” So, then
we decided that I would be doing the collocations and then I looked it up kind of online how
to use it, and looked in the book, and that kind of thing, to see what was best. And then
when I was first thinking about introducing the students to how to use it, I had to look it up
myself, like, from their perspective, I guess.
T: No, it was not.
I: Why not?
T: I think it took me a little bit to understand how to look words up and what the entries
would be and how the entries would be used. So, like I said, what I did, was I developed this
assignment for the students about how to use the dictionary and I actually looked at the
supplement, um, in the dictionary is has, like, an exercise, and when I looked at that, and we
did that in class a lot of the students asked how are they supposed to know that the words
would be. For example, the thing was, like, find a word that means an idea that is not very
good or something like that. And then I said, “Well, you have to look those words up in
another dictionary,” and I think, by that comment, I think, there was a vast majority of
students who felt like the collocations dictionary was just too much work if they would have
to be using that and then also cross-referencing the words that they didn’t know in the
collocations dictionary.
I: How comfortable are you using the collocations dictionary now?
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T: I think now I’m more comfortable using it since I did do those weekly activities when I was
a tutor and I just kind of looked up things online and kind of looked at some suggestions for
using it. So, I think now I’m a little bit more comfortable using it and I’m more confident in
suggesting ways that students can use it.
I: What would make you more likely to use the collocations dictionary?
T: Um, I think I would use it more often in class if there was...probably if there could be some
kind of e-component. So, like, they have a CD to it, um, but it’s more, like, activities and that
kind of thing and I think I’d be more likely to use it if it was more, a more manageable size,
especially just the way the classes are organized this semester most students have both of
their ESL classes on the same day and so I know that they’re taking lots of books around with
them and, so, it just kind of feels like a burden and it’s kind of a burden for me, as a teacher,
because it makes my bag really heavy and I don’t have an office in the building, so...[laughs].
I: This is really closely related to what you were saying: would you prefer to use the
collocations dictionary in an online version, e-Book version, or application for your phone
rather than the paper-based format?
T: Yeah, yeah. I would prefer that because I do think the resource is very helpful, both as a
teacher and a student. I think, especially, in encouraging our students to sort of rise above
their current level of English understanding. And, I think it really interests students whenever
I address the fact that this is a tool that can help their sentences sound more fluent. And we
always talk about, you know, have you ever gotten a comment that says, “This is
unnatural,”? And I said, “Do you know how to fix that?” And most of them said they don’t
know how to fix that, they don’t know how to respond to a comment like that, but I feel like
because it’s kind of inconvenient for students, especially for students. So, for me, I don’t
really have a phone that does apps or I don’t have an e-reader, that kind of thing, but, like,
for students, I feel like almost all of my students, no matter where they’re from, seem like
they have phones that really could be capable of having an app or something like that. So, I
think they’d be much more likely to use it, I think if it was more convenient.
I: Do you think you spent enough class time teaching students how to use the collocations
dictionary?
T: I don’t think so...I don’t think I ever did actually. I always spent class time, but I think, there
was a number of students who connected right away to using it and so that was fine, and
that was good for them, but I think it is the kind of tool that for some people takes longer to
understand and sometimes for the simple fact that students would forget to bring it to class
and so then they wouldn’t be looking in the dictionary, somebody else would be looking in
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their group in the dictionary. And so, I think that was a big problem as well, so they’d be
working in groups, but not everybody would be working with the dictionary, so...
I: Would you recommend the program to continue using collocations dictionaries?
T: Not for listening and speaking classes. There are a number of students in my class
who...they are only buying the dictionary for my class [a listening and speaking course];
they’re not in a reading and writing class and that’s not as common for our students. I know
a lot of students who have to be in one class are probably in reading and writing and I think it
is very applicable, but I think our textbooks that we use don’t, um, relate to that resource.
So, I think it’s just another sort of step that teachers have to do to integrate using the
collocations dictionary in their teaching and it’s very easy to kind of forget that and put that
aside and every semester, I’ve had students who have commented and said that they didn’t
like that they had to buy that book and that we didn’t use it...even though we used it a
couple of times, I still think that a lot of students don’t feel like it’s utilized fully...perhaps
because we don’t know, as teachers, how to use it as well or, you know, maybe it’s
inconvenient for whatever reason. Every semester, I’ve had students give me direct feedback
about how that resource wasn’t very helpful to them.
I: So you think for our reading and writing courses, we should still have the collocations
dictionary?
T: I think so. I think it would be ideal if it could be in a different format, um, or if there is a
different collocations dictionary that is more user-friendly, maybe we could switch to that,
but I don’t know. But I still think that it is a very useful resource for students at our level, that
we’re working with. It’s kind of one of the only ways they can improve, sort of that instinct
that they don’t have, so it’s their second language so they don’t have, sort of, a natural
instinct of what words sound good together and that, sort of, separates them from the level
they’re at to the level that most of them want to be at in order to be studying abroad at a
university for four years.
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Teacher 5: A graduate assistant teacher who has been teaching ESL for a year and a half and
does not have other previous teaching experience.
Interviewer (I): What kinds of dictionaries do you use in your language learning?
Teacher (T): Okay, so, I usually have a monolingual dictionary. Um, so I have an extra
monolingual dictionary that I usually have for students to use, um, and then I might use if I
need it. Otherwise, last semester, I didn’t really use the collocations dictionary because I was
new to listening and speaking and I really didn’t have ideas for what to do with it in that
context, but this semester, now that I’m teaching listening and speaking again, um, I’m
making more of an attempt to think of ways to integrate it into speaking activities and
listening activities.
I: How often do you use each of them, the monolingual and the collocations dictionaries?
T: So, I mean, the monolingual dictionary, I usually just have with me. So, it’s kind of like on a
need-basis. Um, you know, if the need arises to use it, to explain a word, to have a student
use it...that kind of thing. Otherwise, I don’t use it regularly. Um, and then the collocations
dictionary, um, this semester I’m just starting to kinda try to do activities now since it’s still
fairly early in the semester, so I’ve done some training with it. I’d ideally like to do
something...maybe once...once a week. Maybe a short activity where they’re kind of thinking
about collocations, where they’re using the dictionary as support for that activity, but last
semester, I didn’t really use it at all.
I: Which do you prefer the most? Do you like one of those dictionaries better than the other?
T: Um, I mean I guess they do serve very different purposes, but I am most comfortable with
a monolingual dictionary, obviously.
I: What was your first impression of The Oxford Collocations Dictionary?
T: “What is this?” [laughs]. I didn’t know what a collocations dictionary was, so...
I: And then throughout the two years that you’ve been here, have your thoughts about the
collocations dictionary changed?
T: Yeah, I mean, they’ve definitely changed. I guess, you know, initially, I just didn’t know
what it was...I didn’t know how to use it. And so it was a little bit daunting to have to try to
think of ways that I’m going to integrate this into class when I don’t really know how to use it
myself. But, I think now that I’ve become more familiar with it, I’ve seen the ways the other
teachers use it, and I’ve also tried to integrate it in my own classroom in different ways. I feel
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a lot more comfortable with it and I see it as a useful tool, certainly as a means of
encouraging, like, native-like speaking or native-like use of words, and natural use of words.
I: This is really closely related: how do you use the collocations dictionary in your class?
T: Um, so, I’d like to do some kind of listening activities. So kind of just raising awareness and
listening for what words occur together in speech, um, and then kind of listening for those
things, and then also taking what we listen for and then maybe looking in the dictionary to
look for more examples, more ideas that they can hopefully use in their own speech.
I: Have you used the collocations dictionary at all in the past seven days?
T: Yes, I used it once.
I: And what about the past thirty days?
T: We just used it the one time in class to kind of train and do practice.
I: What do you think your students are doing with the collocations dictionaries?
T: Um, the majority of my students, I think, most of them aren’t really using it outside of
class. I feel like there is a lot of confusion regarding the collocations dictionary. I’ll see
students using it, even when we’re doing tasks like paraphrasing, I see students using it. Not
that you wouldn’t ever think of using it for paraphrasing, you could use it in that situation,
but I feel like, it seems like students are trying to use it for the purposes of a regular
dictionary, a monolingual dictionary. Or, like, to find synonyms...but it’s not stuff that’s in
there. But I do have one of two students who have been in ESL before who actually seem to
use it for different things, but it might be just because they have more familiarity with it and
that kind of thing.
I: This is closely related, you kind of answered it, but do you know whether or not your
students are actually using the collocations dictionary and how do you know or not know?
T: Inside of class? Outside of class?
I: Outside of class.
T: Yeah, I mean, for the most part, I guess, I’m assuming they probably don’t use it because
they seem to be, the majority of them seem to be confused about how to use it in class, so
I’m not really envisioning that they’re trying to do anything with it outside of class with the
exception of a couple students, like I said.
I: Alright. Do you like the collocations dictionary?
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T: Um, I like the idea of a collocations dictionary, but I wish that there was maybe a way to
teach collocations that was a little bit more user-friendly or just a little bit easier for students
because I feel like we have to spend so much time training students how to use it that by the
time the end of the semester comes, like, it doesn’t seem like they get to learn that much
about collocations themselves. It’s mostly about, like, how can you use this dictionary,
which...not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t know...it just doesn’t seem as
helpful.
T: Uh, just by looking myself, using the dictionary, just looking at it, seeing how it worked,
reading some of the different kinds of directions in the book.
T: I don’t think it was that difficult for me, but I could see how it would be hard for students,
um, just with all the different labels, abbreviations, parts of speech, all those kinds of things.
But, as a native-speaker, I didn’t find it overly difficult.
T: I’m pretty comfortable using it, yeah, I feel confident using it.
I: What would make you more likely to use the collocations dictionary in your teaching?
T: So, I think, I would use it more if I just had, like maybe, if our program, the different GAs
[graduate assistants], like our directors, that kind of thing, if we came up with more...not
necessarily, like, standardized ideas of what to do, but just some, like, general, like, “here’s
some things we’ve done, here’s some things that are successful with collocations
dictionaries”...just more, um, ideas and collaboration on how to use it in class. I feel like now
everyone knows that it’s a requirement and everyone “gets” it, but nobody really seems to
have, like, a really great sense of what we should do with it.
I: Would you prefer to use the collocations dictionary in an online version, e-Book version, or
application on your phone rather than the paper-based format?
T: Um, I think that an electronic version would probably be easier and I think a lot of students
would feel much more comfortable with it as well, because it seems like even with regular
dictionaries a lot of students seem to be moving toward electronic use, so it seems like it
would be easier.
I: Do you think you spent enough class time teaching students how to use the collocations
dictionary?
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T: Well, I mean, this semester I just started. In previous semesters, uh, I mean, even when
I’ve spent substantial time, when I’ve done something weekly to help students, I would, like,
informally ask students throughout the semester how comfortable they felt about it and they
would still consistently be very “up in the air” about how comfortable they were. Some
people would say “yes,” but a lot people would be kinda like, “we still don’t really know what
we’re doing,” and so...I don’t know...I would end up feeling like a lot of students weren’t
really getting it, but I didn’t want to spend more time on it when there are so many other
things to do. Maybe if there’s a more efficient, easier way to teach them...I don’t know.
I: And the final question: would you recommend the program to continue using collocations
dictionaries?
T: Um, I would say yes, but on the condition that there would be some sort of training for
GAs on how to use it and also some sort of discussion on how it can be used. So, I think that
it’s something that is definitely useful for ESL students because I think most everyone
struggles with “How can I have, you know, natural language?”, “How can I use language that
sounds like a native speaker?”, and the collocations dictionary really is good for that, but it’s
just that everybody struggles with, “What do I do with this dictionary?”, you know, ‘cause
nobody really seems to have good ideas, so just a little more training, discussion, ideas
[about] how to incorporate it...then I would recommend it!
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Teacher 8: A graduate assistant teacher who has been teaching ESL for half a year and taught
EFL for four years.
I: What kinds of dictionaries do you use in your ESL course?
T: Yeah, in my class, at the moment, we're not using any dictionary which I don't entirely
agree with. In my past experience, I've taught in EFL, and so, it's easy to have a bilingual
dictionary and I really, really support that, but here in ESL, in the United States here, the
courses I'm teaching now, we're not able to do that because they're from different
languages. And some of their languages, I've asked them about that, and they tell me that
there really aren't any dictionaries for them, like my, like a student from Ethiopia or Somalia,
he tells me that he can't find a dictionary. I think maybe he could, but, um, he's just not going
online and buying it or something.
I: So, would you say you prefer bilingual dictionaries the most in your teaching?
T: Um, for beginning level, I think that would be the most beneficial, yes. Um, I have to
comment quickly too that my students actually do use dictionaries; they all use their
phones...to, you know, different levels. Some students use it a lot, some don't and in both
the classes I've taught here, I've told them that to feel free to use their phones and I want
them to. So, they know they can.
I: What was your first impression of the Oxford Collocations Dictionary?
T: Um, my first impression was that it was going to be easy, that it was going to be like a
regular dictionary, but at that point, I did not have...I was not to familiar with collocations, in
general, or corpus linguistics and so I didn't realize how complex it really is.
I: Throughout the semester, have your thoughts about the Oxford Collocations Dictionary
changed? If so, how have they changed?
T: Yes! Oh, yes!
I: How so?
T: This is nothing like any other dictionary or any other reference they have ever used.
They...in order to be successful using this dictionary, they will have to be taught how to use
the book, how to use collocations in general, and they are going to have to practice it
repetitively and systematically.
I: How do you use the collocations dictionary in your class?
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T: My current class, I am not using it.
I: And you currently are teaching listening and speaking?
T: I am [teaching] listening and speaking, yes.
I: Did you use it in your reading and writing class at all [last semester]?
T: I did.
I: How did you use it in that class?
T: Um, I was really contradicted, especially in this ESL program, about how to use it. And
there weren't any clear definitions about how to use it, if it's actually necessary or not, and I
was really surprised that it was left to my discretion, as a teacher, about what book they
needed to buy for my class. And that was left unclear. So, I told them it was optional. Then,
um, then in talking about it with groups and talking about how to use it, I did want to try to
use it. And, maybe this is skipping ahead, but, um, we, I would ask them to bring it and some
students had bought it and they would bring it or some of them forgot, but some of them
had it. I'd say about half the class actually owned the collocations dictionary.
I: And so they would share it?
T: Yes, they did share it which was difficult. It was very difficult to actually share the
collocations dictionary. Maybe it was a good group activity for them, but I also found it was
difficult because a group of, you know, two people per collocations dictionary...it was
difficult. They couldn't do two things at the same time, which you could really, if you had two
books...one could be on the page with the instructions, the other could be looking up the
definition or collocation. So, it didn't work very well.
I: So, in your reading and writing class, how many times would you use the dictionary, on
average, in a week? One of the classes? Both of the classes?
T: Oh, no. Once every two weeks or once every three weeks.
I: What do you think your students are doing with the collocations dictionaries outside of
class?
T: Nothing.
I: Do you know whether or not your students are actually using the collocations dictionary?
T: Uh, no I don't, but I imagine that they're not. We, so let's see, in one semester, I probably
had five or six activities with the collocations dictionary. And these activities could've ranged
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between 30 and 40 minutes...I don't think we spent 50 minutes on them. And I don't think
that was enough. And I also think I didn't approach it correctly; I think it should've been
approached, um, in smaller chunks. I think it should've been approached from a very basic
level to begin with. And I wasn't so familiar with it to know how to do that. And so, by the...it
probably took at least four times, and granted, we only did six, it took at least four times for
them to even know how to use it...how to begin to use it, for that matter. So, by the time we
were finished, you know, they could possibly get to a level when they could use it on their
own...possibly.
T: I do like it.
I: Why?
T: I think it's an incredible tool. I think the idea of collocations, in general, is, uh, an incredible
tool for learning a language, in linguistics, in general, I think it should continue to be studied
and, um, it's a way to make your language more accurate, it's definitely about accuracy and
it's about structure...and like anything with regards to accuracy and structure, it's difficult to
combine that directly with communication, so I think it has to be treated a little bit
separately, but there's definitely a place for it.
T: Um, I learned by studying it myself and I also learned by studying corpus linguistics.
I: Was it easy to learn how to use for you?
T: Yes.
T: Fairly comfortable. Um, I don't use it often. I haven't studied it extensively, if I did I think
i'd be really comfortable, um, but, I think that comes from my familiarity with other
dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries and just other references books, in general. And then it
was made much easier by actually studying the theory behind it and that was the problem
for most of my students. I think that many of them are not even familiar with a regular
dictionary, so a collocations dictionary was very difficult for them.
I: What would make you more likely to use the collocations dictionary?
T: I think that all the things written here were good to start [referring to item 26 on the
teacher survey].
116
I: Okay, any of them that stood out?
T: Yeah, um, so if I was better trained, that would be the best start, I think...because my
students aren't going to be better trained until they see me. So, I need the training before I
can teach them about it. And I don't think I need to be, um, I don't think I need a class on
how to use this book, you know. I said that it was fairly easy for me to learn, I think I just
need an opportunity and I need some more explicit instruction on what's expected of me and
what's expected of this book and how it should be integrated into our program and our
classes because that's not clear for me and I felt uncomfortable with that.
I: Would you prefer to use the collocations dictionary in an online version, e-Book version, or
application for your phone rather than the paper-based format?
T: Um, maybe. Yes, I think there's a lot of future with them, the corpus linguistics on the
computers. Unfortunately, I think it's very complicated. I've worked with, um, concordancers
and I think they're incredible, but I think, I think it's a hard tool to manage. I think that is
much more difficult than a book, then a concordance dictionary, paper-form. So, I do like it,
but I think it has to be developed more and I think it has to be more user-friendly 'cause I
haven't seen a single one that was user-friendly, in my opinion.
I: Would you recommend the program to continue using collocations dictionaries?
T: In its current format, no.
I: Why not?
T: Um, I feel like it hasn't been integrated into our program correctly. I think there has to be
clearer instruction for teachers and for students about its use. And I wonder if that's the best
idea because of all the other assessment we already have in our program. I think it is a
worthwhile subject, but I'm not sure if it fits, to tell you the truth.

the use and usefulness of collocations

Transcription

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