Collocational development in L2 writing during study abroad

This study explored (1) the development of collocation use in L2 German and English writing during study abroad, (2) the extent to which this development differs according to the approach used to identify collocations (phraseological vs. frequency-based approach), and (3) the role of collocation awareness and L2 exposure and use in this development. It presents five case studies of L1 Dutch-speaking students who went abroad: three to a German-speaking country and two to an English-speaking country. A learner corpus consisting of 50 argumentative essays was used to investigate students’ use of adjective-noun and verb-noun collocations. Interview data were gathered to examine learners’ collocation awareness, L2 exposure and use. Findings revealed progress in collocation use in three out of five students, independent of the method applied. A non-linear development was observed across all participants, and collocation awareness and L2 exposure and use did not always seem related to L2 collocational development.