Relationship Between Depth of Collocation Knowledge and L2 Proficiency Using the Depth Test of Collocation Knowledge

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how L2 learners' collocation knowledge can reflect their proficiency of a target language. The experiment was conducted with 159 first-year university students, who took (a) an English proficiency test called the Computerized Assessment System for English Communication (CASEC) and (b) a collocation test named the Depth Test of Collocation Knowledge (DTCK), which was developed to measure the depth of participants' collocation knowledge. DTCK includes two types of test items: One asks test-takers to choose a word that collocates with the most frequent meaning of a target word, and the other asks them to choose a word that collocates with another less frequent meaning of the target word. We found the following: (a) There was a high positive correlation between CASEC and DTCK, which indicates that learners' collocation knowledge can be a strong indicator of their L2 proficiency; (b) the higher L2 proficiency was, the deeper L2 collocation knowledge he or she showed; and (c) the participants had more knowledge of the collocates combined with the frequent meaning of the target words than of the collocates combined with less frequent meaning of the target words, regardless of their proficiency.