| As a new research approach in applied linguistics,corpus approach is employed more and more widely in language researches since the application of advanced computer and the emergence of enormous text corpus and well-designed concordance software. Applying this method,the researcher has conducted a qualitative study of college EFL learners' interlanguage vocabulary misuses and made tentative explanations of the sources of the misuses. The study uses data from both native English speakers' corpus (BNC) and EFL learners' corpus (CLEC). The concordance software SARA is used in the study.Language is a system,and concept plays an essential role in the operation of language system. For both the L2 learners and the foreign language learners,the development of their interlanguage concerns greatly construction of the concept. Based on some relative theories on language acquisition and semantic representation,the researcher put forward a three-stage mode of English semantic representation of Chinese EFL Learners.As learners at the intermediate stage,the Chinese college EFL learners are apt to make English semantic vocabulary misuses under effect of the L1 concept,and the best evidence of their vocabulary misuses is the improper collocations in their output. The researcher collected 413 sample sentences with improper collocations from the data of the EFL learners' corpus. The samples are sorted and analyzed in comparison with the data from the native speakers' corpus. The characteristics of the college students' vocabulary misuses are described generally and the misuses are classified into five categories from the perspective of the interlanguage representation:1. The vocabulary is used with reference to only the L1 concept triggered by the equivalent or corresponding L1 vocabulary,resulting in deviation from the target language norm.2. The vocabulary is used with reference to both the corresponding L1 concept and the incomplete interlanguage concept,making collocations containing semantically unnecessary words.3. The vocabulary is used with reference to both the corresponding L1 concept and the interlanguage concept,but the latter is interfered by the concept of the L1 correspondent word,making collocations improper in the context,4. The vocabulary is used with reference to both the L1 concept and the interlanguage concept,but the latter is stereotyped in a certain meaning that needs a specific context,making improper collocations when the context is changed.5. The vocabulary is used arbitrarily with no obvious reference to either the L1concept or the EFL concept,making combinations that are not acceptable ineither language.The researcher attempted to find out the internal and external sources of the misuses. Based on the classification and description of vocabulary misuses and relative linguistic theories,five internal factors are speculated from the psycholinguistic perspective. Firstly,the habit of lexical use of the L1 equivalent word is transferred to the use of the target words. Secondly,overgeneralization of collocation occurs when the learner creates a deviant collocation on the basis of other collocations in the target language. Thirdly,ignorance of collocational restriction leads to deviation from the native collocation. Fourthly,incomplete or inappropriate cognition of the meaning and concept conveyed by the target word make the learners fail to construct the proper relationships among the target words. Fifthly,in the process of acquiring English,learners are induced to make errors by the nature of the formal instruction they receive.Three external factors are also speculated according to the status quo of the college EFL teaching an learning. Firstly,there is too much input but too little time for students to form the concept system of their interlanguage. Secondly,Some teachers take grammars as terminal target of their teaching,emphasizing only the literal meaning of words and neglecting the meaning differences in various contexts. Thirdly,objective test conceals th...
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