Definition Plus Collocation in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

Joseph G. Stockdale III cheoahjoe [at] yahoo.com

Introduction
Definition and collocation are both important in vocabulary learning and teaching. Definition is concerned ith establishing a single ord!s meaning" hereas collocation takes definition for granted and is concerned ith the ords that typically appear ith any particular ord# the verbs that might occur ith a noun" for e$ample. Such collocational information often enables a ord to be used. In this paper" I e$amine definition and collocation as they relate to our presentations and dictionaries. It is my hope that" after reading this paper" teachers ill be better able to assess the relative eight they pay to definition and collocation in their vocabulary presentations and e$planations" and adjust their teaching accordingly" if necessary.

Presentations
%hen our focus is on definition" e might e$plain a verb like dream as follo s# &' dream is like a film in your head that you sometimes have hen you are asleep.& %hen learners hear a presentation based on definition" their main purpose is to decode the stream of ords ith the goal of matching an () translation e*uivalent to the ne ord in their minds. +hey are less likely to notice and retain a collocating verb" and after ards they are unlikely to come up ith collocating adjectives like bad or scary on their o n" much less an e$pression like" &S eet dreams,& %hen our focus is on collocation" e might say something like the follo ing# &'n important verb for dream is have. + o fre*uently appearing modifiers for dream are bad and recurrent" and t o prepositions that often occur ith dream are about and in# !I had a dream about.. and !In my dream" I as ..! In addition" dream can be used as a modifier in ords like dream catcher and dream diary. %hen e put a child to bed at night" e often say" !S eet dreams,!& -oth definition and collocation have their limitations. ' presentation based only on collocation might enable a student to say" &I had a bad dream"& but not kno hat they are saying. 'nd a presentation based solely on definition ould allo a student to match an () translation to dream" but perhaps not be able to use it. Definition plus collocation" on the other hand" makes for a complete presentation that allo s for meaning and use.

Dictionaries
+o find a ord!s definition" teachers and students can look in any number of definition.based dictionaries. In addition" there are bilingual dictionaries that provide translations" and picture dictionaries that supply pictures. -ilingual electronic dictionaries e$ist that ill not only provide a translation" but pronounce the ord and save it for do nload to a computer later. /sing such resources" students can look a ord up and find a definition" translation" or picture" and even hear the ord pronounced. +o find a ord!s collocates" teachers can look in dictionaries of collocations such as the (+0 Dictionary of Selected 1ollocations 23ill and (e is4" or the 5$ford 1ollocations Dictionary 267764. 'nd this is a very good thing" because e are simply not very good at coming up ith a ord!s collocates off the top of our heads 28o$4.

Explaining Words
%hen our focus is on definition of single ords" e commonly do things like provide a picture of a ord" or bring realia to class to sho students the object itself" or mention a synonym" opposite" superordinate 2Gairns and 9edman4. 5r e might e$plain by saying" &-est is the superlative of good.& %e might ask students to learn & ord families& like grow" growth" grower in the hope that this ill spur rapid ac*uisition. 2De1arrico4. %hen are emphasis is on collocation" e immediately encounter some problems ith the above practices. (1 !pposites" ' ord might have t o opposites# the opposite of short might be long or tall" depending on if e are referring to a person!s hair or a person!s height. +he opposite of a bad case of poison ivy is not a good one" but a mild one" and the opposite of rock-hard ould not be rock-soft" but might be e$pressed as baby-soft. 'lso" it is hard to say hat an opposite is. Is enemy the opposite of friend: Friend might be contrasted ith enemy in a proverb like" &' thousand friends are not enough" one enemy is too many.& -ut in naturally occurring language friend is more often connected ith ords like the follo ing# &family" friends and ac*uaintances"& &friends" neighbors" co. orkers"& &friends and ac*uaintances"& etc. 3opefully" the ne dictionary of collocations ill contain series like these. (# $ynony%s" In certain conte$ts earth and world might be roughly synonymous" but hen e use those ords for e$pression e say" &the largest airport in the orld"& or &the largest airport on earth"& not &the largest airport on orld"& or &the largest airport in the earth.& Gairns and 9edman 2);<=4 point out that hile break out may have the meaning of start in a sentence like" &' fire broke out"& it ould be *uite rong to say" &1lass breaks out at >#?7 every morning"& even if it seems like it. (& $uperordinates" -o$ing is often categori@ed as a sport" but it is a particular kind of sport" and might just as ell be categori@ed as entertainment" business" a skill" art or a science.

0roviding e$amples of ords as they naturally occur in the frame" &A" B and other C similar C related Ds& is a better ay to provide hyponyms and superordinates for ords. If e type & aterfalls and other& in a computer bro ser" e find things like" &beaches" lava flo s" aterfalls" and other scenic attractions 23a aii4& or &canyons" mountain ranges" aterfalls and other natural features"& and & aterfalls and other obstacles 2salmon4.& Eaturally occurring usages like these remind us that a aterfall can be many things" including a scenic attraction" a natural feature and an obstacle to fish. 3opefully" the dictionaries of collocations produced in the future ill include e$amples of ords being used in these frames. (' Word fa%ilies" ' ord like grower is regularly derived from the verb" but is almost al ays premodified" and students need e$amples like &peach gro ers& and &sugar gro ers"& and &chicken gro ers"& if they are to actually use the ord. +he idea that you can &gro & chickens might surprise many students, In general" the ays e mention opposites" synonyms" superordinates and ord families are useful for grouping ords" or establishing sense relations" but like all definition.based strategies don!t really teach ords for use. %hen our emphasis is on collocation" e might start out our e$planation of better by saying" &%ell" better is the comparative of good"& or &Better is the opposite of worse"& but e ould go on to mention such e$emplifications as &a better orld C future C job& or e$pressions ith verbs like &feel better& and &look better& and &get better& and &make something better"& or modification ith adverbs like" &a little C some hat C *uite C much C significantly better"& etc.

Definition Versus Exe%plification

%hen our focus is on definition" e commonly define a ord by using it in the subject position 2'n A is...4" often supply a superordinate" and supply a picture if possible. +he follo ing definition of donkey from the 1ollins 1obuild Ee Student!s Dictionary contains all these features# &' donkey is an animal like a small horse ith long ears FG see picture on page <)H.& %hen e focus on collocation" e are more interested in e$emplifications" both for analysis and production" as illustrated by the follo ing sentence# &Iy donkey helps me carry ater four times a day.& Definitions are rather formal affairs. 'n e$emplification" on the other hand" is an e$ample of the ord in use" may embody almost any thought" is conversational" and more revealing in terms of a ord!s collocates. In the e$emplification for donkey" the possessive adjective J noun collocation 2&Iy donkey...&4 reminds us that someone usually o ns a donkey" and the collocating verb 2&Iy donkey helps me...&4 reminds us of the important role that donkeys play in many societies.

K$emplifications like these can be thought provoking 28o$4" and affect the ay e think about things. In many societies" for e$ample" a oman ithout a donkey must be a donkey herself. Definition cannot provide such an insight" but e$emplification can.

Co%prehension (uestions
%hen our focus is on identification or definition of single ords" our comprehension *uestions mirror our focus. 'nd so" after presenting a ord like friend" e test comprehension ith *uestions like" &%hat!s a friend:& or &%hat!s the opposite of friend:& or &%hat!s friend in your language:& %hen our focus is on collocation" our comprehension *uestions also mirror our focus" but e ask different kinds of *uestions. %e might ask things like" &%hat are some verbs used ith friend used as an object:& or &%hat kinds of friends are there:& or &%hat ould I call I friend hom I met in the army or college:& or &Give me some modifiers for friend that relate to nationality"& or &Give me some modifiers for friend that relate to the length of the relationship"& or & hat ords often occur ith friend in a series:& or &I!m a friend of 'li!s ... no spell !'li!s.!&

)otes
In classrooms and courses that emphasi@e vocabulary as the definition of single ords" students typically annotate the alphabeti@ed list of ne vocabulary that begin each unit ith () translations" and do the same for the ord in conte$t. Students ill often rite do n a long list of unrelated ords ith their () translation on a piece of paper" and study it before a test. In classrooms and courses that emphasi@e collocation" students are far more likely to highlight a collocating verb" or circle a collocating preposition. 'nd their notes ill look *uite different. +hey might rite do n a noun along ith five or si$ verbs. 5r an adjective and five or si$ things it can modify. 5r a verb" follo ed by five or si$ collocating adverbs. Such notes generally include fe or no () translations.

*ecycling
In a curriculum that emphasi@es collocation" no opportunity is missed to recycle a vocabulary item from the start of the course to the end. +his level of recycling is *uite different to hat most of us are used to. 8or e$ample" heed and ignore ould not simply be mentioned in the conte$t of advice" but recycled hen e introduce warning" order" recommendation" suggestion" etc. 1onstant recycling is a hallmark of collocation" and an important reason hy students end up using and learning ords. +eachers ho teach the same curriculum over and over again" and stick to it" are most at risk for forgetting to recycle ords" and I offer myself as an e$ample. 8or years I taught &limb& in one unit" and &artificial& in another" ithout ever thinking to put them together to create artificial limb. 'nd that is in spite of the fact that I am an amputee" and ear one,

Conclusion
%hen e focus solely on definition" our students are less likely to be able to use vocabulary for e$pression" and they miss countless opportunities to recycle ords they kno . If e focus only on collocation" students may be able to use ords but not kno hat they are saying. +he solution to either approach!s fla s is obvious. ' teacher need only add definition to collocation" or collocation to definition" to to compliment each other. +o give definition its due" it must come first. 1ollocation is of much higher importance" ho ever" in terms of use" ac*uisition and ultimate success in language learning. In a vocabulary presentation" one.tenth of our time should be spent on establishing a definition" and the rest of the time should be spent on collocation and use. 8uture dictionaries of collocations ould be improved by inclusion of ords in series connected by and" or and versus" and ords as they appear in the frame &A" B and other C similar C related Ds.& +hey ill also hopefully include possessive noun J noun collocations 2city!s neighborhoods C ins and outs C attractions" etc.4 and collocations in the frame &A and it!s C their B& 2data and their interpretation C storage C analysis C interpretation" etc.4 as a ay of further associating vocabulary. +eachers are more accustomed to providing definition than collocation in their presentations. +his ill change" ho ever" as dictionaries of collocations catch on and ne and better dictionaries of collocations appear on the market. %ith a dictionary of collocations" a teacher can simply look up a ord" vie a ord!s collocates" and incorporate the information and e$amples in a presentation. In time" teachers ill be as *uick to think of a ord!s collocates as they are no to think of a definition.

*eferences

1obuild Ee Student!s Dictionary 26nd edition4" 6776. /L# 3arper1ollins. 1arter" 9. );<>. Vocabulary: Applied linguistics perspectives. (ondon# 9outledge. De1arrico" J. 677). Mocabulary learning and teaching. In Teaching English as a second or foreign language !rd edition4" edited by I. 1elcia.Iurcia. pp. 6<H.6;;. -oston# 3einle N 3einle. 8o$" G. );<>. +he case for e$amples. In "ooking up# An account of the $%B&'"( pro)ect in le*ical computing" edited by J. Sinclair. pp. )>?.)O;. (ondon# 3arper1ollins. Gairns" 9." and S. 9edman. );<=. +orking with words: A guide to teaching and learning vocabulary. 1ambridge# 1ambridge /niversity 0ress. 3ill" J." and I. (e is" eds. );;>. (ictionary of selected collocations. 3ove" /L# (anguage +eaching 0ublications. %*ford $ollocations (ictionary for ,tudents of English 267764. 5$ford# 5$ford /niversity 0ress.