Enhancing EFL Academic Collocation Learning through Integrated Concept-Based and Task-Based Instructional Techniques

Enhancing EFL Academic Collocation Learning through Integrated Concept-Based and Task-Based Instructional Techniques

Vo Thi Diem My vtdmy@ctu.edu.vn Can Tho University (Vietnam)
Nguyen Van Loi* loinguyen@ctu.edu.vn Can Tho University (Vietnam)
Summary: 
This study investigated the effectiveness of four concept based instructional (CBI) techniques - concept mapping, verbalization games, contextual clues, and visual strategies - integrated with task based instruction for enhancing Vietnamese EFL learners’ academic collocation knowledge and controlled productive ability. Seventy-three third-year English majors participated in a within-subject repeated measures sequential intervention across ten weeks. An Academic Collocation Test, a Vocabulary Knowledge Scale-Academic Collocation Test, and post-intervention interviews (n = 10) measured productive knowledge, knowledge depth, and learner perceptions, respectively. Results revealed substantial improvements with large effect sizes for overall performance and phase-specific gains. While techniques demonstrated differential gain trajectories, Friedman analysis confirmed equivalent post-test achievement across phases, complemented by mixed-effects modelling that attributes these differences to baseline variation rather than technique-specific effectiveness, suggesting the integrated model functions as a self-compensating system rather than any single technique driving outcomes. Knowledge depth progressed from recognition-level to productive use. Qualitative findings revealed universal recognition of collocation significance, divergent technique preferences, and sophisticated pedagogical insights. These findings support a multi-technique integrated approach with implications for collocation-focused instruction that emphasizes visual strategies and verbalization games within academic writing curricula in EFL contexts.
Keywords: 
academic collocations
concept-based instruction
task-based instruction
Vietnamese EFL learners.
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