Chunking lexical items
We know that placing together, or chunking, lexical items is also beneficial because much lexis consists of multiword units (MWUs), capable of various types of categorization (Nattinger and DeCarrico, 1992). Such units can be taught as if they were a single vocabulary item, depending on how fixed they are. These combinations can range from weak collocations to fixed expressions. For example, 'catch' can collocate quite freely as in 'catch a bus'/'catch a train'/'catch the post'. However, 'footloose and fancy free' or 'tall dark and handsome' are at the fixed end of a continuum from weak to strong collocations. Native speakers of English would never say 'dark handsome and tall' or 'fancy free and footloose'.
Activity 13
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Consider where you would place the following expressions on a continuum between 'weak collocation' at one end and 'fixed expression' at the other: A thin excuse What implications does this placement have for teaching the expression as a single multiword unit (MWU), or for teaching the meanings of each individual word? Are there equivalents to these expressions in the language(s) you teach? Compile a list of five to ten expressions in your target language and place them on a similar continuum. |
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