Grading Collocations in Essays

Pseudo-native speaker is the term given to a foreign language learner who has reached a high level of proficiency. Such level of proficiency is characterised by the mastery of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The present research work investigates the mastery of Verb+Noun lexical collocations by Algerian EFL learners at Université des Frères Mentouri, Constantine 1. It is hypothesised that Algerian EFL learners have a low level of mastery in the usage and comprehension of Verb+Noun collocations. It is also hypothesised that the essays of Algerian EFL learners lack the use of appropriate Verb+Noun collocations, a factor that influences the grades they receive. The findings of the study indicate that Algerian EFL learners have a low competence in dealing with Verb+Noun collocations. They also suggest that Verb+Noun collocational errors that were spotted were not taken into consideration during the correction, even though they are an indispensable part that guarantees the use of correct language. However, Verb+Noun collocational errors that were spotted did not solely determine the awarded grades.