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certain words in the span occur with the node is the more fixed and idiomatic the collocation.
According to Larson 1984: 145, only a native speaker of the language can judge whether or not a collocation is acceptable. It means that the non-native
speaker cannot create their own collocation since acceptable collocations are from the native speakers’ speaking habit. Therefore, collocation cannot be arranged by
the non-native learners of English. If the learners do not use the acceptable collocation in translation or in other purposes, the translation result will not sound
naturally English.
d. Collocation versus Idiom
Collocation is different from idiom in some aspects. However, the occurrence of collocation is often related to idioms. According to Larson 1984:
142, idioms are special collocations, or fixed combinations of words which have a meaning as a whole, but the meaning of combination is not the same as the
meaning of items. Consequently, it is obvious that collocation is different from idiom in the case of meaning. The meaning of collocation is still related to the
meaning of the words which is combined. For example is in the collocation: make a speech. The meaning of this collocation still has relationship with the word
make and speech. Therefore the reader can say that make a speech means membuatmelakukan pidato or in brief berpidato. On the contrary, the meaning of
idiom has been totally different from the words which are combined. For example is in the idiom: face the music. This idiom has different meaning from the
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meaning of the words face and music themselves. Literary, face the music in Indonesian language means menghadapi musik. Nonetheless, the idiom face the
music means menghadapi kenyataan. Carter 2000: 65 also stated that idiom is fixed expressions which can
most obviously cause difficulties for non-native learners of a language. Thus, the choice of words in idiom cannot be changed because it is fixed. This is which lead
difficulties for non-native learners of English since the different choice of words have the different meaning of the idiom itself. However, both collocation and
idiom are related to the use of common expression of a native language and it can influence whether the result sounds naturally English or not.
e. Importance of Collocation Mastery for Non-Native English Learners
Definitely, there are some problems that can be found in learning a language. In learning a language, the learner must memorize the vocabularies of
the target language. According to James and Huckin 1997: 16, memory contains more than records of past experiences; it also has plans for action on the basis of
what the learners know and what the learners have done. According to Lightbown and Spada 1999: 53, learning quickly is the
distinguishing feature of proficiency. The proficiency factor has been investigated most intensively by researchers who are interested in developing tests which can
be used to predict whether individuals will be efficient learners of a foreign language in a classroom. The proficiency is composed of different types of
abilities. They are shown as follows.
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1. T
he ability to identify and memorize new sounds, 2.
T he ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences,
3. T
he ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples, 4.
M emory for new words.
Besides, motivation and attitudes are also important in learning a language. According to Lightbown and Spada 1999: 56, motivation is a complex
phenomenon which can be defined in terms of two factors: learners’ communicative needs and their attitudes towards the language in wide social
situations or to fulfill professional ambitions, they will perceive the communicative value. There are seven factors which can characterize and
influence the learner’s language use. They are mentioned as follows. 1.
Language transfer, 2.
Intralingua interference, 3.
The effects of the sociolinguistic situation, 4.
The modality of experience to the target language and the modality of production,
5. The age of the learner,
6. The instability of the learner’s linguistic system,
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7. The effects of the intrinsic difficulty of the particular item
being learned Richards and Sampson, 1977: 4.
2. Verb plus Verbal Noun Collocation
