Collocational Competence in ESL Writing: An Analysis of Common Errors among Matric Students in Lahore

Abstract

This study examines how proficient matric students in Lahore are in using lexical pairings in their writing, explores their causative factors, and suggests strategies that can help reduce them. Lexical collocations are natural word combinations where specific words frequently co-occur. They are vital for producing native-like language. The study follows a quantitative design using primary data. It adapts a questionnaire and adopts a collocation test from previous studies. These were distributed among 100 matric students who were chosen through simple random sampling. The collected data was analyzed though Spss. The findings of the study reveal that students performed well in verb-noun collocations, did fairly in adjective-noun collocations, but struggled most with noun-noun collocations. Errors are linked to L1 transfer, weak knowledge, and poor strategies and can be overcome through explicit teaching. The study recommends extensive reading of authentic texts, peer-assisted learning, and the use of collocation notebooks to address this problem.