Cross-linguistic influence on English collocational use among Tunisian EFL students

Research into collocation learning in second and foreign language environments has gained significant scholarly attention. Yet, cross-linguistic influence (CLI) on the use of collocations has received little attention from researchers, especially in the Tunisian context. Therefore, this study investigates how L1 Arabic influences the production of English lexical collocations among 50 third-year Tunisian EFL undergraduates at the Higher Institute of Human Sciences of Medenine. It also examines the relationship between learners’ vocabulary level and collocational errors. Data was gathered using a Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), a collocation test, and semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the participants’ L1 Arabic exerted a negative influence on their use of collocations, leading them to produce erroneous collocations. Moreover, the inferential statistics yielded no significant relationship between learners’ vocabulary levels and collocational errors. By demonstrating that larger vocabulary size is not sufficient for mastering multi-word expressions in this specific learner profile, these results refine existing CLI models by emphasizing the dominant role of L1 transfer over lexical knowledge in collocation production. The findings suggest that EFL pedagogy in the Tunisian system must shift from isolated word learning to explicit, collocation-focused instruction.