Processing collocations: Do native speakers and second language learners simultaneously access prefabricated patterns and each single word?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether native English speakers and Japanese ESL (English as a Second Language) learners concurrently access prefabricated patterns as well as each word in these patterns when collocation meanings are retrieved. Previous studies have tended to focus on either holistic or analytic solo processing; however, there is the further possibility that single-word knowledge is simultaneously activated when prefabricated patterns are accessed. With this possibility, this study examined the possible parallel processing of collocations. Two experiments were conducted with 30 native English speakers and 30 advanced Japanese ESL learners. It was found that (1) the native speakers (NSs) generally processed collocations in parallel, but some collocations were solely processed; and (2) ESL learners generally used sole processing and tended to use fewer prefabricated patterns than the NSs. From these findings, it was suggested that the ESL learners processed collocations differently from NSs even after the knowledge of collocations had been acquired. This provides some evidence that dealing with simultaneous processes is challenging for ESL learners.