抄録
While considerable research has been conducted on the difficulty levels of words and numerous resources have been developed, comparatively less research has focused on the difficulty levels of collocations. This study investigates the relationship between the CEFR levels of English collocations listed in the English Vocabulary Profile and the levels of their component words. The results indicate that many collocations have higher CEFR levels than their component words, and several potential reasons are suggested. This study also examines the use of collocations in essay writing by EFL learners and native English speakers, revealing varied usage patterns of collocations with different level gap sizes and different frequency tendencies across proficiency levels. The findings suggest that (1) an alternative framework to existing ones for single words is needed to identify the levels of collocations, (2) more detailed research is called for to clarify the relationship between the levels of collocations and their component words, and (3) EFL learners require a list of collocations specifically tailored to their needs, given their limited understanding of natural English usage.
https://ror.org/022zbr960 
