Mekenzie Powell

Student NameMekenzie Powell
Faculty Mentor NameJames Garner Ph.D.
CollegeCollege of Liberal Arts and Sciences
MajorLinguistics
MinorCommunication Sciences and Disorders; Disabilities in Society
Research InterestsLinguistics and Communication Sciences
Academic AwardsDean’s List 2019
University Scholars Program 2020
OrganizationsUndergraduate Linguistics Society and UF Signing Gators

Research Project

The Development of Prepositional Collocations in Learner English?

Our research focuses on collocations, which are a type of multi-word sequence that consists of two words that occur more frequently than expected based on chance (e.g. heavy rain, make effort). Previous research on collocations has shown that native speakers of English use collocations very frequently in speech and writing and that they process collocations more quickly than other grammatically correct, but less frequent, combinations. As a result, collocations are important for second language (L2) learners of English to acquire. By acquiring a productive knowledge of prepositional collocations, L2 learners can sound more native-like and develop quicker and easier processing and production of their L2 English. This research will help determine these L2 learners grasp of prepositional collocations and how learners from different proficiency levels are able to use prepositional collocations within English.