Digital games and collocations : A study of the relationship between L2 learners' gaming habits and knowledge of collocations

Abstract: Digital games are often considered a pastime activity with little to no real or tangible benefits. This, however, is contrary to studies on the usefulness of digital games in second language (L2) learning. There are several aspects of L2 learning that are affected positively by gaming, as well as other extramural English (EE) activities. One of these aspects is vocabulary, which has been proven to be substantially improved by gaming through incidental learning.  Collocations are often referred to as word pairs that co-occur more frequently than any other two words. The definition of a collocation is a contested subject, making research and theories around collocations widespread and varied depending on what definition a given author subscribes to. In the present study Howarth’s (1996) definition of collocations has been used. The hard-to-define nature of collocations extends into the act of teaching - collocations are rarely taught because they follow no set rule or pattern. This means that L2 learners must acquire their collocation knowledge incidentally, either in the classroom or through EE activities.   The present study aims to investigate the relationship between EE activities, primarily gaming, and the collocation knowledge of 87 Swedish teenagers in upper compulsory school and upper secondary school. This was done through a Productive Collocation Test (PCK) as well as a questionnaire. The results of the study show that students who engage in EE activities are more knowledgeable in terms of collocations than those who do not. Additionally, out of the EE activities included in the questionnaire gaming seems to be the best way to acquire collocation knowledge.   The present study concludes that there is a connection between EE activities, especially gaming, and collocation knowledge. Informants that claimed to spend more time per week playing digital games generally scored higher on the collocation test. This was also true for the students who claimed to spend a considerable amount of time on visual media per week. These informants also had knowledge of collocations that very few of the respondents knew, particularly the students who partake in gaming. The findings of the present study suggest that digital games could be used as a tool for teaching collocations. However, more research is required to carry this idea further.