The use of a cooperative corpus consultation to promote the acquisition of adjective + preposition collocations among L1 Thai learners of English

Abstract

The study was aimed at promoting the acquisition of adjective + preposition collocations of L1 Thai learners of English through a cooperative corpus consultation. The three objectives were to investigate the effects of a cooperative corpus consultation, explore learners’ strategies in dealing with the corpus consultation and study learners’ attitudes towards the approach. The study was conducted for one semester with 74 first year university students at Srinakharinwirot University. One group was assigned to be the experimental group working on the paper-based concordance handouts and hands-on concordance based tasks with a group of 3 - 4 members while the other represented the comparison group working on the same tasks individually. The research instruments included a pre-test and a post-test, a pre-project questionnaire, reflective journals, classroom observation schemes, a post-project questionnaire, a “can-do statement questionnaire and stimulated recall interviews. The findings can be summarized into three areas. Firstly, the average scores of the two groups were significantly different. Secondly, the results revealed different use of strategies. The experimental group employed group discussion, technological tools and positive interdependence while the control group relied on seeking help from the instructors and their peers and the use of their L1. Lastly, although both groups showed their positive attitudes, the control group reported problems and confusion which might have effects on future use of corpus consultation.