A study on common errors related to the usage of DO and MAKE collocations by English non-major students at Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business Administration (TUEBA)

A study on common errors related to the usage of
DO and MAKE collocations by English non-
major students at Thai Nguyen University of
Economics and Business Administration
(TUEBA)


Phạm Thị Ngà


Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ
Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: English linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15
Người hướng dẫn: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Võ Đại Quang
Năm bảo vệ: 2012


Abstract. The students at Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business
Administration as EFL learners often use uncommon phrasing patterns which make native
English speakers find it harder to understand. This thesis investigated common errors
occurred when the student used collocations with DO and MAKE in the “verb + noun”
pattern. Three types of tests were employed as the data collection instruments. The results
collected from the students’ tests represented the current state of error types as well as
confirmed the low vocabulary proficiency among students. It was found that errors were
made when students did not understand the constituents of the collocations. Studying
another type of error in different patterns could be necessary for future research.

Keywords. Ngôn ngữ; Tiếng Anh; Ngữ pháp

Content
1. Rationale of the study
“No piece of natural spoken or written English is totally free of collocation” (OCD, 2009).

Therefore, learning collocation is important for EFL learners. For students, choosing the right
collocation will make his/her speech and writing sound much more natural, more native-speaker-
like. Poor collocation in exams is also likely to lead to lower marks. However, during the time
working as a teacher of English at Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business
Administration (TUEBA), I have found out that English non- major students at different levels
often make mistakes in using DO and MAKE collocations. For this reason, I decided to choose this
as the theme for my MA thesis.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The ultimate purposes of the research are:
i. To help English non-major students gain an insight into DO and MAKE collocations.
ii. To examine the influenced factors to possible errors made by the students
iii. To improve my own teaching of English at TUEBA
To achieve these aims, the following objectives are pursued forward:
 Establishing the types of errors related to DO and MAKE collocations commonly
committed by English non-major students at TUEBA
 Finding out the causes of students’ errors related to the usage of DO and MAKE
collocations.
 Working out possible solutions to the problems encountered by students in using
collocations with DO and MAKE.
3. Scope of the study
The survey was conducted at TUEBA. The population was not large, only 300 Accounting students
who were at pre-intermediate level of English. Only errors related to the uses of DO and MAKE
collocations in the form of “verb + noun” pattern were taken into consideration.
4. Significance of the study
It is much to the author’s expectation that the research results will help students gain a more
insightful look into English MAKE and DO collocations. And, on account of this, well-formed
utterances containing DO and MAKE collocations might be produced. And, this constitutes the
practical value of the research.
5. Structure of the thesis
The thesis consists of three main parts: Part A, B and C. Part A is an introduction that gives a

rationale behind the study. It also presents the aims, objectives, the significance as well as scope of
the study. Part B is divided into three chapters; chapter 1 both reviewed some previous studies
related to the research area of the thesis and provides theoretical background to the concerning
matters. In chapter 2, the methodology of the thesis including research-governing principles and
research methods are introduced. Chapter 3 analyzes data collected from the students’ tests.
Additionally, some significant findings of the study are written up and discussed.
Part C concludes the main issues which dealt with in the previous parts. Accordingly, some
concluding remarks are drawn out.


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