Yu Mengchu, Xu Saisai, Yang Lianrui, Chen Shifa
School of Foreign Languages, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266005, China.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Jan 4;15(1):46. doi: 10.3390/bs15010046.
Collocations typically refer to habitual word combinations, which not only occur in texts but also constitute an essential component of the mental lexicon. This study focuses on the mental lexicon of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), investigating the representation of collocations and the influence of input frequency and L2 proficiency by employing a phrasal decision task. The findings reveal the following: (1) Collocations elicited faster response times and higher accuracy rates than non-collocations. (2) Higher input frequency improved the accuracy of judgments. High-proficiency Chinese EFL learners exhibit better accuracy and faster response times in collocation judgment tests. Additionally, input frequency and L2 proficiency interactively affected both response time and accuracy rate. These results indicate that L2 learners have a processing advantage for collocations, which function as independent entries in the mental lexicon. Both input frequency and L2 proficiency are crucial factors in collocational representation, with increased input frequency and proficiency shifting the representation from analytic retrieval toward holistic recognition in a continuum pattern.
搭配通常指习惯性的词语组合，它们不仅出现在文本中，而且构成心理词库的一个重要组成部分。本研究聚焦于将英语作为外语（EFL）的中国学习者的心理词库，通过采用短语判断任务来调查搭配的表征以及输入频率和二语水平的影响。研究结果如下：（1）与非搭配相比，搭配引发的反应时间更快，准确率更高。（2）更高的输入频率提高了判断的准确性。高水平的中国英语学习者在搭配判断测试中表现出更高的准确率和更快的反应时间。此外，输入频率和二语水平对反应时间和准确率都有交互影响。这些结果表明，二语学习者在处理搭配方面具有优势，搭配在心理词库中作为独立的词条起作用。输入频率和二语水平都是搭配表征的关键因素，随着输入频率和水平的提高，表征在连续统模式中从分析性检索向整体性识别转变。
