Journal of
Languages and Culture

  • Abbreviation: J. Lang. Cult.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-6540
  • DOI: 10.5897/JLC
  • Start Year: 2010
  • Published Articles: 134

Full Length Research Paper

The nature of lexical collocational errors committed by advanced Iranian learners of English

Ali Shiravani Shiri*
  • Ali Shiravani Shiri*
  • Philosophy of Education, Farhangian University, Shiraz, Iran.
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Firooz Sadighi
  • Firooz Sadighi
  • Department of English, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran
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Maral Azizi
  • Maral Azizi
  • Department of English, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran.
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Marziyeh Nekoueizadeh
  • Marziyeh Nekoueizadeh
  • Department of English Language, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran.
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  •  Received: 26 July 2016
  •  Accepted: 27 October 2016
  •  Published: 31 January 2017

Abstract

Collocations are among the pervasive features of languages, and English seems to be particularly rich in such multi-word lexemes. Since they have not received due attention pedagogically, this research aimed at identifying problems facing advanced Iranian learners of English in producing collocations. Over 100 pages of materials written by 30 participants were carefully studied and a list of lexical collocations was extracted. The list was then analyzed and different types of correct and incorrect lexical collocations were determined. Results showed that Iranian advanced learners of English do have serious problems with English collocations. The problematic collocations were identified and assigned to six types of collocations. The most problematic type was Adjective + Noun combinations and the least problematic ones were those of Adverb + Adjective and Noun +of + Noun. The results of the study can have theoretical and pedagogical implications for syllabus designers, translators, material writers and, of course, teachers of the English language.

Key words: Lexical collocations, collocational errors, lexical combinations, Iranian EFL learners.