Collocations as erroneous patters in EFL learning : Case of third year LMD students at tlemcen univiersity

Abstract

To learn a foreign language, it is important to master the four fundamental linguistic skills embodied in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Thus, EFL learning /teaching process generally aims at expressing ideas in a more flexible and correct manner. Ability to speak a foreign language requires more than mere knowledge of its grammatical and semantic rules. Learners must acquire the knowledge of how native speakers use language naturally by capitalizing on a wealth of prefabricated forms such as idioms and collocations. A native speaker‟s experience of his own language enables him to know that a certain collocation is logical but another is not. Unfortunately, a foreign learner‟s limited experience with English may be not enough to construct the correct collocation. Therefore, the speech and writing of non native speakers are often hindered by errors in collocational production. Inspired by this thought, this study aims at exploring collocational use among third year students. Thus, two major points seem to be worth investigating through the following questions: 1) What are the most problematic types of co