Chapter 7

Multi-word chunks are word chunks that function like a single word, and they also include words formed by affixation.

According to our text, the following errors are common when dealing with multi-word chunks:
-Affixation errors
-Compounding errors
-Errors of multi-word units
-Collocation errors
-Phrasal verb errors
-Idiom errors

There are 2 ways to deal with these errors. You can either teach students the rules necessary to understand the multi-word chunks, or you can give students lots of examples, and contexts, so they can understand them better. We'll talk briefly about the advantages and disadvantages of both methods:

With a rule-based approach, you focus on teaching the correct form as shown by grammatical rules. There is evidence, especially for adults, that learning grammar rules can aid second language acquisition. However, there are always exceptions to rules. For example, what if a word is unclear, like the word "satisfied", as stated in our text. Which prefix should a learner add: un-, dis-, in-, or non-?

With item-learning, multi-word chunks are learned like basic words-one at a time. There is a presentation of the vocabulary, plus reinforcement and practice. As the text states, "For a start, this seems to be the way words are acquired naturally. They are first learned as items, and then gradually re-categorised according to rules" (Thornbury 2002). Item-learning is slow, but you can add consciousness-raising to make it go faster. Consciousness-raising isn't a presentation of rules, but it involves making learners aware of certain patterns.

A semantic syllabus is a syllabus that focuses on meanings instead of forms.

A lexical syllabus is a syllabus that is based around the most frequently used words. Basically, what Dave and Jane Willis did was check out the most frequently used words, figure out how those words were used, and teach the phrases or chunks in which those words usually occured. So, learners basically learned a phrase book. Lexical syllabi are becoming more and more popular.

When teaching lexical chunks, one must distinguish between fixed and semi-fixed chunks. Fixed chunks are chunks whose word order cannot be changed. Semi-fixed chunks can be changed a bit. Lexical chunks are learned by being exposed over and over again to the chunks, and by consciousness-raising. To aid in consciousness-raising, use your classroom. You have 4 walls; use them! Put up posters or have students make wall-charts. Also, when teaching lexical chunks, one should use authentic texts, giving students a chance to see the chunks in real and varying contexts. Songs, like pop songs, are also helpful.

To conclude, it would be a good idea for you to review the bullet points on page 122, which give you a list of things involved in "a general approach to the teaching of lexical phrases and collocation".

Thornbury, Scott. How to Teach Vocabulary (2002) Essex, England: Pearson-Longman.