The Effect of Integrating Concept-Based and Task-Based Instructional Activities on EFL Academic Collocation Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1603.30Keywords:
academic collocations, concept-based instruction, EFL, integrated instruction, task-based instructionAbstract
This study examined the effects of integrating Task-Based Instruction (TBI) with Concept-Based Instruction (CBI) on Vietnamese EFL students’ acquisition of academic collocations and their learning perceptions. Using a mixed-methods design, 73 English majors from two classes were divided into an Integrated Group (n = 42) that received integrated instruction and a TBI Group (n = 31) that received only task-based instruction. An Academic Collocation Test (ACT) was administered before and after the intervention, followed by semi-structured interviews with seven students. Findings showed that both groups improved significantly, but the Integrated Group achieved greater overall gains and more balanced progress in grammatical and lexical collocations. Interview data revealed that integrated instruction enhanced conceptual understanding, engagement, and application of collocations in writing. This study provides empirical evidence that integrating TBI and CBI is effective in supporting academic vocabulary learning and offering pedagogical implications for designing theory-informed instruction in tertiary EFL contexts.
References
Ackermann, K., & Chen, Y.-H. (2013). Developing the Academic Collocation List (ACL): A corpus-driven and expert-judged approach. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(4), 235–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.08.002
Benson, M., Benson, E., & Ilson, R. (1986). The BBI combinatory dictionary of English: A guide to word combinations. John Benjamins.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Boers, F., & Lindstromberg, S. (2009). Optimizing a lexical approach to instructed second language acquisition. Palgrave Macmillan.
Burns, C., & Myhill, D. (2004). Interactive or inactive? A consideration of the nature of interaction in whole class teaching. Cambridge Journal of Education, 34(1), 35–49.
Cazden, C., Cope, B., Fairclough, N., Gee, J., Kalantzis, M., Kress, G., ... & Nakata, M. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–92.
Chen, Y. (2022). The effect of learning conditions on collocation gains: a case study of task-based dictionary use instruction. Lexikos, 32(1), 1–30.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (8th ed.). Routledge.
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (Eds.). (2016). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Learning by design. Springer.
Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213–238.
Coxhead, A. (2018). Vocabulary and English for academic purposes. Routledge.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dao, H., & Newton, J. (2021). TBLT perspectives on teaching from an EFL textbook at a Vietnam university. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 24(1), 99–126. https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2021.31371
DeKeyser, R. (Ed.). (2007). Practice in a second language: Perspectives from applied linguistics and cognitive psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Dimitrov, D. M., & Rumrill, Jr, P. D. (2003). Pretest-posttest designs and measurement of change. Work, 20(2), 159-165.
Ellis, N. C. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 143–188. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263102002024
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (2005a). Measuring implicit and explicit knowledge of a second language: A psychometric study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(2), 141–172. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263105050096
Ellis, N. C. (2005b). At the interface: Dynamic interactions of explicit and implicit language knowledge. Studies in second language acquisition, 27(2), 305-352.
Ellis, R. (2006). The methodology of task-based teaching. Asian EFL Journal, 8(3), 19-45.
Field, A. P. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). Sage, Newbury Park.
González-Fernández, B., & Schmitt, N. (2020). Word knowledge: Exploring the relationships and order of acquisition of vocabulary knowledge components. Applied Linguistics, 41(4), 481–505.
Granger, S., & Bestgen, Y. (2014). The use of collocations by intermediate vs. advanced non-native writers: A bigram-based study. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 52(3), 229–252. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2014-0011
Hake, R. R. (1998). Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American journal of Physics, 66(1), 64-74.
Harris, A. D., McGregor, J. C., Perencevich, E. N., Furuno, J. P., Zhu, J., Peterson, D. E., & Finkelstein, J. (2006). The use and interpretation of quasi-experimental studies in medical informatics. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 13(1), 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1197/jamia.M1749
Hedges, L. V., & Rhoads, C. (2010). Statistical power analysis in education research. National Center for Special Education Research. Retrieved November 6, 2025, from https://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pubs/20103006/pdf/20103006.pdf
Hyland, K. (2004). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions. University of Michigan Press.
Hyland, K. (2008). Academic clusters: Text patterning in published and postgraduate writing. International journal of applied linguistics, 18(1), 41-62.
Kallio, H., Pietilä, A. M., Johnson, M., & Kangasniemi, M. (2016). Systematic methodological review: developing a framework for a qualitative semi‐structured interview guide. Journal of advanced nursing, 72(12), 2954-2965. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13031
Lambert, C., Aubrey, S., & Leeming, P. (2021). Task preparation and second language speech production. Tesol Quarterly, 55(2), 331-365.
Lantolf, J. P., Poehner, M. E., & Thorne, S. L. (2020). Sociocultural theory and L2 development. In Theories in second language acquisition (pp. 223-247). Routledge.
Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford University Press.
Li, X., & Lei, L. (2024). Effectiveness of second language collocation instruction: a meta-analysis. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 62(2), 377-404.
Long, M. (2014). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. John Wiley & Sons.
Morgan-Short, K., Steinhauer, K., Sanz, C., & Ullman, M. T. (2012). Explicit and implicit second language training differentially affect the achievement of native-like brain activation patterns. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24(4), 933–947.
My, V. T. D., & Loi, N. V. (2025). In Need of Academic Collocation Instruction: Vietnamese English Majors’ Knowledge and Perception. Educational Process: International Journal, 15, e2025132. https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2025.15.132
Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139858656
Negueruela, E. (2008). Revolutionary pedagogies: Learning that leads (to) second language development. In J. P. Lantolf & M. E. Poehner (Eds.), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 189–227). Equinox Publishing.
Negueruela, E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2006). Concept-based instruction and the acquisition of L2 Spanish. In R. Salaberry & B. Lafford (Eds.), The art of teaching Spanish: Second language acquisition from research to praxis (pp. 79–102). Georgetown University Press.
Nguyen, T. M. H., & Webb, S. (2017). Examining second language receptive and productive knowledge of collocation and factors that affect learning. Language Teaching Research, 21(3), 298–320.
Nizonkiza, D. (2017). Improving academic literacy by teaching collocations. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 47, 153-179.
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
Peters, E. (2016). The learning burden of collocations: The role of interlexical and intralexical factors. Language Teaching Research, 20(1), 113–138.
Sawilowsky, S. S. (2009). New effect size rules of thumb. Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, 8(2), 597-599.
Schoonenboom, J., & Johnson, R. B. (2017). How to Construct a Mixed Methods Research Design. Köln Z Soziol, 69(Suppl 2), 107–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11577-017-0454-1
Schmidt, R. (2001). "Attention". In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 3–32). Cambridge University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2010). Researching vocabulary: A vocabulary research manual. Springer.
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford University Press.
Siyanova-Chanturia, A., & Pellicer-Sanchez, A. (Eds.). (2018). Understanding formulaic language: A second language acquisition perspective. Routledge.
Stoller, F. L. (2004). Content-based instruction: Perspectives on curriculum planning. Annual review of applied linguistics, 24, 261–283.
Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (3rd ed.). University of Michigan Press.
Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Altering element interactivity and intrinsic cognitive load. In Cognitive Load Theory (pp. 203–218). Springer New York.
Tashakkori, A., Johnson, R. B., & Teddlie, C. (2020). Foundations of mixed methods research: Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches in the social and behavioral sciences. Sage Publications.
Van Compernolle, R. A. (2014). Sociocultural theory and L2 instructional pragmatics (Vol. 74). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783091409
Van Compernolle, R. A., & Henery, A. (2014). Instructed concept appropriation and L2 pragmatic development in the classroom. Language Learning, 64(3), 549–578.
Vo, H. T. T. (2024). A Corpus-Based Study on Vietnamese EFL Students' Use of English Lexical Collocations in Academic Writing. Journal of Asia TEFL, 21(2), 286-306.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (Vol. 86). Harvard University Press.
Webb, S. (2007). The effects of repetition on vocabulary knowledge. Applied linguistics, 28(1), 46-65.
Webb, S., & Nation, I. S. P. (2017). How vocabulary is learned. Oxford University Press.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford University Press.
Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic language and the lexicon. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511519772
Wu, J. & Tissari, H. (2021). Intensifier-Verb Collocations in Academic English by Chinese Learners Compared to Native-Speaker Students. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 44(4), 470-487. https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2021-0030