L1 INTERFERENCE RESULTING IN COLLOCATIONAL ERRORS IN EFL STUDENTS’ WRITING PROCESS

Back to Page Authors: Daniela Carolina Abreo Cordero, Fiona Valentina Moreno Martínez

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Keywords: L1 interference, collocations, EFL writing, errors

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Abstract: This study focuses on investigating how the first language (L1) interferes with the use of collocation in writing skills in students at Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) in Bucaramanga, Colombia. The participants selected were five advanced English students from the Foreign Language Teaching Program and two professors who teach Academic Writing and Foundations of Research from the same program and university. The data collection instruments were seven interviews with students and teachers. The information was obtained from students and professors’ background, knowledge and perceptions on L1 use, writing and collocations, and then organized and analyzed to determine the influence that students’ L1 (Spanish) has on their writing performance creating different types of errors in collocations. The results indicated that L1 is one of the major causes of collocational errors, students tend to make errors mostly with the use of verbs and adjectives plus noun collocations, and one of the causes can be that students’ lack of formal instruction on collocations.

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