Learning Verb-Noun Collocations Through Multiple-Choice Exercises: Do Distractors Benefit or Hinder Later Recall?
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate under what conditions multiple-choice exercises benefit second language learners’ acquisition of lexical phrases. Of particular interest was the question whether the distractors in the multiple-choice items create interference when learners’ later try to recall the lexical phrases. Twenty advanced ESL (English as a Second Language) learners were given 20 multiple-choice items on verb-noun collocations (e.g., run a business, take a toll, speak volumes) followed by feedback. They were then tested on the same collocations two weeks later by means of gap-fill items. The participants were invited to verbalize their thoughts during the exercise and the test. They were subsequently shown the multiple-choice exercise again and asked if they could remember how they had responded to each item and what the correct response option was.
This mixed-methods study revealed poor effectiveness of the multiple-choice exercises overall. When learners failed to produce the correct response in the post-test, this was either because they could not remember which of the response options in the multiple-choice item turned out to be the correct one or because they simply had not recollection of the exercise item. The likelihood of producing a correct response in the post-test increased when learners (a) chose the correct response option in the multiple-choice item, (b) remembered the multiple-choice item, and (c) accurately recalled the feedback received on the item. Individual learner differences and item characteristics also influenced the effectiveness of multiple-choice exercises for learning collocations. The findings suggest that, for multiple-choice exercises to be relatively beneficial for collocation learning, they need to be designed and implemented in a way that ensures a high accuracy rate at the exercise stage.