An Exploration of Collocational Usage in English Majors' Self-Introductions and Course Expectations

Abstract

This study investigates the collocational usage in self-introductions and course expectations of English majors at Can Tho University, Vietnam, aiming to identify common patterns and types of collocations employed in these academic discourse contexts. Collocations, as key indicators of lexical proficiency and communicative competence, are essential for achieving fluency and natural expression in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 55 English-major students across undergraduate (cohorts 47-49) and graduate (cohort 31) programs via a questionnaire eliciting written self-introductions and course expectation texts. The analysis, supported by ChatGPT for initial collocation identification and validated through manual cross-referencing with the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), revealed 523 collocations across 4,244 words, averaging 12% collocational usage per text. Findings indicate that verb + preposition/infinitive/gerund/that-clause (e.g., "hope to," "come from") and adjective + noun (e.g., "full name," "translation skills") collocations dominate, reflecting students’ reliance on familiar, high-frequency lexical patterns tied to personal identity and academic goals. While demonstrating a developing collocational competence, the limited variety and absence of complex or idiomatic collocations suggest areas for pedagogical enhancement. This study contributes to the understanding of collocational acquisition among Vietnamese EFL learners and offers implications for curriculum design, emphasizing explicit collocation instruction to bolster lexical range and fluency. The findings underscore the need for increased exposure to authentic language input to bridge gaps in advanced collocational usage.