Pedagogical implications

The results presented by the current study also have important pedagogical implications, especially regarding consciousness-raising pedagogy, explicit teaching of certain V-N collocations, and design of foreign language curriculum.

There are different explanations to why collocations become a major challenge for language learners. For one reason, collocations are largely transparent and thus they do not usually constitute comprehension problems. As a result, collocations are often neglected in the process of foreign language teaching and learning. Another reason regarding the difficulty in collocation lies in the fact that collocations are so pervasive in

language input that identifying what to learn and learning them effectively seems such a daunting task (Yang & Hendricks, 2004).

The current study found that both CFL learners and CHL learners tend to have some difficulty differentiating the meanings of synonyms, especially verbs, in forming collocations and they also seem to rely heavily on a number of commonly-used and general meaning verbs in making V-N collocations. Thus a first step in effectively teaching collocations should be to make learners more aware of the existence of a large number of diverse collocations. A number of scholars have advocated awareness-raising pedagogy in teaching collocations (Howarth, 1996; Hill, 2000; Nesselhauf, 2005). Studies have shown that learners may benefit from guided learning approaches that emphasize encouraging learners to attend to syntagmatic structures in the input, try different learning strategies in acquiring and producing collocations, and reflect on their own learning process (Ying & O’Neill, 2009).

Findings of the current study also points to the necessity of teaching certain types and rules of collocations explicitly to advanced language learners. A number of recent studies have suggested that explicit vocabulary activities, in which learners are provided with repeated opportunities to encounter and practice target collocations, seem to be effective in making initial form-meaning links in learners' mental lexicon (Peters, 2014; Webb, Newton, & Chang, 2013). Firstly, language learners need to be taught the subtle differences among many synonyms, especially synonyms that share the same character, in forming appropriate collocations. For example, it is important to reinforce the use of synonyms such as “下降, to reduce” vs. “降低, to decrease” and “控制, to control” vs. “

限制, to limit”. Although learners may already have a good command of the meaning of these words, they need to practice using these words in various appropriate combinations. Secondly, language learners need to be taught explicitly the “rhythmic principle” of creating collocations in Chinese. As discussed in Chapter 2, the “rhythmic principle” stipulates that for a V-N collocation, if the verb is disyllabic, the noun object can only be disyllabic. Such principle could help learners in differentiate the use of some

synonymous Vms and Vds such as “学, to learn” vs. “学习, to learn” and “找, to look for” vs. “寻找, to look for”. In language classrooms, we tend to notice that learners often use these synonyms interchangeably, so it is important to remind learners that they should still follow certain rules in creating V-N collocations. Lastly, in addition to explicitly teaching certain non-salient V-N collocations, teachers should also focus on helping advanced learner build a large repertoire of more sophisticated and abstract vocabulary and expressions suitable for different language contexts. As shown by findings to research question 3, the V-N collocations produced by learners are considered mostly communicative by native speaker experts. Therefore, it does not seem urgent or essential to correct all the “unconventional” usage by learners. Rather, attention should be given to facilitate advanced learners’ efforts to express their more abstract and critical ideas in a clear and concise manner.

The third pedagogical implication concerns curriculum design for learners of Chinese and other foreign languages. The participants in the current study included a combination of traditional foreign learners of Chinese and learners who had early

in postsecondary Chinese programs in the United States. Therefore the findings in the current study also provide invaluable implications for Chinese language education, particularly in language curriculum development and classroom instruction.

With the presence of more CHL learners in post graduate level Chinese courses, their special characteristics and needs have been taken into consideration in designing language learning curriculum. More colleges and universities are now offering dual or separate track programs in which CHL learners have the chance to develop essential Chinese literacy skills while improving their overall language competency. Findings of the current study indicate that CHL learners have a good command of V-N collocations in daily topic conversation, but their production of V-N collocations in academic topic discussion could be further enhanced. A number of previous studies also found that HL learners tend to have highly developed language competence in informal and vernacular language varieties, acquired primarily through interpersonal interactions at home.

However, they still need to expand their linguistic competence in formal and professional language varieties and registers (e.g. Campbell, 2000; Fairclough, 2001; Valdés, 1995).

Regarding CFL learners, those who have achieved advanced Chinese proficiency are generally highly motivated learners who want to achieve the ability of functioning successfully in a Chinese-speaking professional context. Barfield (2009) pointed out that many advanced learners had the goal of being able to express individual identity and to attain more precision and sophistication in their language use. In other words, learning complex linguistic constructions such as collocations enable learners to gain more freedom in linguistic choices and to function more confidently as a second language user

(Wray, 2002; Barfield, 2009). Thus for this group of learners, language instruction should provide them more opportunities (through intensive reading, listening and other

interactive activities) to be exposed to many different varieties of collocations or other formulaic constructions in academic and professional contexts.

In curriculum design, advanced Chinese program for both CFL learners and CHL learners should incorporate the goal of assisting HL learners to acquire the appropriate use of sophisticated, academic and professional vocabulary (including collocations and other formulaic sequences), registers as wells as genres.

One last pedagogical implication is the incorporation of the National Standards for Foreign Language Education into curriculum design. The National Standards for Foreign Language Education were first published in 1996 as a collaborative product of 10 foreign language associations. And the different standards are grouped around five

themes: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. This document has been one of the most far-reaching and encompassing documents in the field of foreign language teaching and learning. The design and implementation of the current study is also based on the proficiency guidelines underlying the ACTFL OPI test which aims to evaluate how well students meet the National Standards. Although the national Standards are not a curriculum, but their specific organization can help language teachers and educators analyze our curriculum by looking closely at how we are

addressing and implementing the Standards in our classes. And the result of analysis provides a clear picture of the areas that may be under-represented in the curriculum and leads to the development of a better balance in the future.