A learner corpus-based study on the use of English prepositional verbs of Turkish efl learners

As learner corpora have presently become readily accessible, it is now practicable to examine interlanguage errors and carry out error analysis (EA) on learner-generated texts. The data available in a learner corpus enable researchers to investigate authentic learner errors and their respective frequencies in terms of types and tokens as well as contexts in which they regularly occur. The need to consider these authentic learner errors in the design of useful language learning programs and remedial teaching materials has been widely emphasized by many researchers (see e.g., Juozulynas, 1994; Mitton, 1996; Cowan, Choi, & Kim, 2003; Ndiaye & Vandeventer Faltin, 2003; Allerton et al., 2004). This study aims at analyzing the errors pertaining to the use prepositional verbs by Turkish EFL learners across six distinct proficiency levels, A1-A2; B1-B2; C1-C2, as defined by Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (henceforth CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2001). Prepositional verbs (PVs) are classified under the category of lexical items called multiword items (MWIs), or multiword expressions (MWEs) according to Baldwin (2005). These lexical items include idioms, phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, stock phrases, prefabrications, and formulaic sequences. They are built with two or more words in the mental lexicon enabling learners to sound more native-like claimed by Gardner & Davies (2007). The literature in this area highlights the importance of prepositional verbs in L2 learning (Tetreault & Chodorow, 2008; Hong, Rahim, Hua, and Salehuddin, 2011); however, there is a lack of empirical studies of these verbs in ESL and EAP writing. The corpus to be used in this particular study is the Cambridge Learner Corpus (CLC), the largest annotated test performance corpora which enables the investigation of the linguistic and rhetorical features of the learner performances in CEFR proficiency bands. Approach of this study uses the techniques of computer corpus linguistics and has its roots in the Error Analysis framework as proposed by Corder (1973): identification, description, classification and explanation of errors. Keywords: Learner corpus, error analysis, English as a foreign language, prepositionals verbs