Factors affecting the Iraqi EFL learners' collocation application

Abstract EN

The primary goal of this research is to study Iraqi EFL learners'collocation performance at Al-Iraqya University/ College of Arts/ EnglishDepartment.

Those learners encounter barriers using collocations in theirEnglish texts (written and spoken contexts) on the two phases; recognitionphase and production phase.

Not being aware of the sufficient skill to usecollocations in a context when their existence is necessary to deliver the exactmeaning could cause misunderstanding of some or even whole material.

Thus, the study utilizes the Bandura's theory (1986) 'theory of planned behavior'.

Thesurvey is of the type of a self-administered questionnaire, which is the majormethod for the data collection.

The questionnaire has two parts; thedemographic part that supports a general background of the students, and theother part is subdivided into two parts: the first branch asks questions thatinvestigate the theoretical part of the study like their interest in observingEnglish contexts and the time they consume per week on such practice.

Theother branch contains 40 multiple-choice questions (MCQ) of Englishcollocations.

The participants of the study were 48 Iraqi students at the fourthstage at the English Department.

The findings exposed that the learners whoshow more efficiency English collocations appear to have longer experience insurfing the net and watching English texts whether visual, audio, written, or acombination of two or more of such aspects.

In addition to the importance ofthe current study to the literature, it grants a pedagogical contribution to theacademic fields.