Document Type : Research

Authors

• Reza-Morad Sahraee ¹
• Narges Fallah Shahraki ²

¹ : Professor of applied linguistics, Head of the Applied Research Group for Teaching Persian to Speakers of Other Languages, faculty of Persian literature and foreign languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University

² Master of linguistics, a member of the Applied Research Group for Teaching Persian to Speakers of Other Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University

Abstract

1. Introduction
In the language learning process, writing skills are often overlooked by teachers. On the other hand, acquiring this skill is important for a Persian learner because it shows the creative dimension of language. Writing is a productive skill, so everything Persian learners have learned, including words, grammar, and other language skills and components, is used when writing a text. Among the issues in teaching writing, the use of words and especially collocations, are more essential. Collocations are one of the eight dimensions of word learning, and without them, a word is not complete. Collocations are a type of formulaic language that usually appear together in texts and can have different divisions based on different approaches. Learning collocations is essential for language learners for two reasons. First, learning them alone and without a teacher takes time and is difficult. Furthermore, learning collocations helps Persian learners to learn language skills like a native speaker. The present study was an answer to this question: what is the relationship between teaching collocations and improving writing skills? To find the answer, six collocations were taught, from the division of Benson et al. (1986) to 20 Persian learners with Egyptian nationality and intermediate level. All learners were graded by the Center of Teaching Persian to non-Persian Speakers at Allameh Tabataba'i University. All learners were graded by the center. The statistical population was divided into two groups of experimental and control group. The research was conducted in three steps; in the first step, a pre-test was developed by the researchers and then executed to assess the level of collocation knowledge and writing skills. Then, five common lessons derived from Enjoy Readings3 (Sahraee et al., 2020), were taught by the researcher during five educational sessions. In the third step, a post-test was performed to evaluate the effect of teaching collocation on the learners. All learners were graded by the Center of Teaching Persian to non-Persian Speakers at Allameh Tabataba'i University. The statistical population was divided into two groups of experimental and control group. The results of the study indicated a correlation coefficient (0.640) and a significant level (0.002). The result showed a significant relationship between the two variables of the present study. This means that increasing the knowledge of collocations will improve the writing skills of Persian learners.

2. Materials and methods
Data collection tools include pretest, designed lessons, teaching, and posttest. After determining the level of the language learners (pretest). Then, five common lessons derived from Enjoy Readings3 (Sahraee et al., 2020) with the aim of teaching collocations. The test had two parts. In the first part, collocation exam, had 40 multiple choices and fill in the blank questions to assess collocation knowledge of the learners. All the collocation patterns used in these questions were based on the six patterns of Benson et al. (1986). The total score of this section was 20. Among the six patterns selected in the test, three of them were lexical and three grammatical patterns. In the writing part of the test, participants must write an article of at least 250 words. The subject of the exam was: “Nowadays, many people prefer to watch movies or TV shows alone at home instead of watching them in a group. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your opinion.” In order to measure the effect of teaching, a posttest is performed and the subject is selected from the “PLPT” (AMFA in Persian). The total score of this section was 30 and based on the five features, which are coherence of the text, understand the aim of the task, grammar, vocabulary, number of words and the number of the collocation which were used correctly. It should be mentioned that the posttest was similar to the pre-test questions.

3. Discussion
In order to evaluate the teaching influence, SPSS-26 was used for data analysis. Then the frequency distribution of each of the six patterns was calculated. We can say that in the posttest (V+N) with 56.5% was the most difficult for Persian learners and (Prep+N) with 73.8% was the easiest pattern. It must be pointed out that the number of questions of the sixth pattern (verb and adverb) was less than other ones and it might have impacted negatively the conclusion, therefore it is being deleted from the analysis and final conclusion.

4. Conclusion
In essence, the results of the present study, with a correlation coefficient (0.640) and a significance level (0.002), showed a significant relationship between the variables. As has been demonstrated in this paper, teaching collocations will improve the writing skills of Persian learners.
5. Suggestions
According to the results, it seems that Persian learners are not able to use collocations without teaching, especially in productive skills, including writing. Based on what we said, it is suggested that to improve language skills, especially writing skills, the teaching of collocation should be included in the curriculum and in the textbooks.

Keywords: writing skills, collocations, teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers

Keywords

• writing skills
• collocations
• teaching vocabulary
• teaching Persian to non-Persian speakears