應用字義相似度之測量方法於分析母語一致性對第二語言搭配詞的影響

Abstract

應用搭配詞的能力是第二語言學習者發展近似外國人母語能力的重要顯著特徵。近年來，有關第二語言學習者所犯的搭配詞錯誤，和其受母語影響的問題均已受到關注。然而，母語與第二語言搭配詞之間錯綜複雜的關係仍是模糊不清，學習者對第二語言搭配詞的認知過程也欠缺充分的研究調查。因此，本研究目標為探討學習者在受母語一致性的影響之下，其第二語言搭配詞的表現為何， 並分析學習者在組成搭配詞時有關詞彙選擇的思考過程。研究問題包括如何應用字義相似度計算方法來量測搭配詞與母語的一致性、搭配詞與母語一致性和學習者表現之間的關係、以及搭配詞促發歷程的跨語言型態。 研究設計涵蓋質性與量化的四個分項實驗。研究工具包括字義相似度量測方法、搭配詞測驗、問卷、及有聲思考方法。受測者為345位台灣的醫學大學與護理專校學生，依其英語程度分為高、中、低能力區分的三組。第一個分項實驗是驗證字義相似度測量方法的使用性。第二個分項實驗為以字義相似度計算方法，對搭配詞測驗題組的母語一致性進行客觀評量和分類。第三個實驗為找出兩個獨立變數，(即搭配詞與母語一致性和學習者語言能力程度)，以及一個應變數，(即學習者的搭配詞表現)，這兩者之間的相互關係。第四個分項實驗則使用問卷調查及有聲思考方法，檢視受測者對搭配詞促發歷程的看法和思考過程。 本研究的主要結果包括提出應用字義相似度計算方法對搭配詞與母語一致性的評估、對搭配詞與母語一致性和學習者語言程度兩項因素的分析結果、描述搭配詞學習型態的與母語一致性的表現模式、第二語言搭配詞促發歷程的影響因素及跨語言轉換型態。第一，本研究驗證了兩個字義相似度量測方法，能夠計算兩個字詞之間字義相似度的數值，作為可靠有效的指標，進而能作為搭配詞與母語一致性的客觀系統化的評估方法。第二，學習者的語言能力程度對其整體搭配詞表現有顯著影響，搭配詞與母語一致性於三組學習者的測驗中，呈現不同的結果，顯示其對學習過程的影響要大於對學習結果的影響。第三，本研究提出一個四區塊與母語一致性的學習表現模組，以描述搭配詞與母語一致性及學習者表現之間的互動型態。這個模組對第二語言搭配詞的階段性學習與搭配詞的認知錯誤，提供了一個整體的樣貌說明。第四，在搭配詞組成過程中,其主要影響因素包括中介搭配詞促發歷程中的字義配合、跨語言的字彙關聯性、以及母語和第二外語字彙的類比等因素。 本研究結果可應用於搭配詞教學與自主學習方面。首先，搭配詞中母語一致性對學習者表現的模組，以及搭配詞使用與母語一致性之間更明確的關係，都有助於發展成可操作的知識。這些知識可延伸作為搭配詞有效學習策略，進而提升學習者的語言能力表現。再者，若能以引導式的學習過程，針對每一個搭配詞與母語一致性的影響，提供清楚的說明，這將能增進搭配詞的學習。要達成這個目標，接續發展出搭配詞診斷與諮詢服務的線上系統，將能幫助學習者找出搭配詞錯誤的原因、辨認所需的跨語言的字義關係、並建立適切的字義轉換或轉變。此系統可幫助教師了解受母語一致性影響的搭配詞學習方式。第三，編撰的常用搭配詞表，再附加情境文字與說明，可作為學習搭配詞之參考，且幫助學習者辨識適切的搭配字和從母語轉換後的錯誤用字之間的差異。 瞭解搭配詞與母語一致的特性，可降低學習者的學習困難，並可幫助教師找出容易犯錯的搭配詞。此外，搭配詞在語言使用上的重要性，以及搭配詞字義關係的知識，均已受到重視。本研究主要成果為深入瞭解搭配詞與母語一致性對學習者表現的影響，並對第二語言搭配詞學習與教學提供明確指引。Collocation use has been a significant and recommendable attribute to possess in developing native-like linguistic competence. Over decades, research attention has been attracted to the identification of second language (L2) learners’ miscollocation and the influence of first language (L1). However, the intricate yet influential interaction between L1 and L2 collocations remains ambiguous. Learners’ cognitive processing on L2 collocations also lacks adequate investigation. The current study aims to examine congruency effects on L2 learner’s collocation production and investigate their cognitive processing of collocate choice in collocation composition. Research questions concerning the applicability of lexical semantic similarity measures to congruency evaluation, the interaction of congruency effects and collocation performance, as well as cross-linguistic patterns of collocational priming, are formulated and addressed. The overall research design consisted of four sub-studies involving both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The research instruments included two semantic similarity measures, a set of collocation test, a set of questionnaire, and the think-aloud protocol. Three participant groups, formed by a total of 345 college students from a medical university and a nursing junior college in Taiwan, were recruited and classified into high, mid, and low proficiency levels. The first sub-study involved verifying the applicability of semantic similarity measures and using two semantic similarity measures to the experimental set of collocation so as to objectively evaluate the properties of congruency. In the second sub-study, the correlation between two independent variables, collocation congruency and proficiency level, and one dependent variable, L2 collocation performance, was investigated. In the third sub-study, a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect learners’ conceptions about collocational congruency processing. After the questionnaire survey, the think-aloud protocol was compiled to get insights into the learners’ dynamic thinking process within certain context of engagement. The major findings of the study included application of similarity measures for congruency evaluation, analysis of performance variation with congruency and learners’ proficiency level, a congruency-performance model for characterizing collocation learning, influential factors of L2 collocation processing gauged by questionnaire survey, and the cross-linguistic processing patterns extracted from think-aloud data. First, two selected semantic similarity measures were able to provide reliable and effective indication of semantic similarity between word pairs, and thus, can be considered as objective and systematic procedures for congruency evaluation. Second, learners’ language proficiency level had a considerable effect on their overall collocation performance. Learners’ performance on L2 collocations was somewhat divergent on congruency categories, which seemed to suggest that congruency affected more on L2 learners’ collocation learning process than on the learning outcome. Third, the congruency-performance four-quadrant model was derived to characterize the interaction patterns of collocation congruency and learners’ performance. This model provided an overall picture of how L2 collocations were learnt in progressive stages and why errors were made at the cognitive level. Fourth, the primary factors that influenced congruency processing included inter-lingual priming to make semantic matching, cross-linguistic word relations, and analogy drawing between L1 and L2. The implications of the research findings are discussed in both contexts of pedagogical and autonomy learning applications. First, the conceptualization of the congruency-performance model advances the field of L2 collocation learning by providing an operative view for clarifying the confusing relation between congruency and collocation use. The knowledge can facilitate the development of effective learning strategies for learners’ L2 proficiency. Second, L2 learners may benefit greatly from a guided learning process in which both congruency effect and L1 influence are elucidated for individual collocation items. To this end, an online system can be developed to provide both diagnostic and consulting services so that learners can identify causes of collocation errors, recognize the required cross-linguistic semantic relations, and establish the felicitous lexical-semantic transfer or conversion. Teachers can also use this system to understand the learning trajectories with respect to congruency effects. Third, another application is to compile a useful listing of frequent collocations with a high probability of misled transfer and false conversion. The complied list can be further extended to a collocation learning reference by adding contexts. L2 users can thus identify the discrepancy between felicitous L2 collocates and erroneous L1 transferred words. The congruency characterization is facilitative for L2 learners to reduce their difficulty in collocation learning and for L2 teachers to identify error-prone collocations. In addition, the important role of collocations in language use and the compelling need to gain the knowledge about the semantic relations of collocation between lexical components have been widely recognized. The present study mainly contributes to gaining a deeper understanding of congruency effects on learners’ collocation production and providing a useful guidance for L2 collocational learning and teaching.