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LEARNING LANGUAGE IN CHUNKS - Coggle Diagram
LEARNING LANGUAGE IN CHUNKS
To what extent does language consist of chunks?
Subdivision of Chunks
Phrasal verbs
Functional expressions
Lexical phrases
Idioms
Collocations
Consist of more than one word
Frequency of chunks compared to that of single words
Chunks are as frequent as, or more frequent than, the most frequent individual words
Exhibit varying degrees of fixedness
Fixed and Idiomatics
Its composite meaning cannot be inferred from its individual words
Non-compositional
Fixed and Less Idiomatics
Its meaning is relatively easily derived from its parts
Exhibit varying degrees of idiomaticity
Learned and processed
as single items
Processed holistically, rather than as a sequence of individual words
These sequences are mentally organized
Stored as formulaic sequences in the mind
The more often a sequence is encountered the more likely it is that it is represented and retrieved as a single unit
How can chunks be integrated into the second language curriculum?
Criteria of Lexical Chunks
Fixedness and Idiomaticity
Idiomatic, are semantically opaque, are likely to cause problems in comprehension
More facilitative of productive fluency
Selecting chunks on the basis, not just of frequency, but also of transparency
Chunks which are relatively fixed in their form are, once learned, easier to deploy as a single item
Doesn't merit detailed attention
Frequency
‘Many phrases are generated from patterns
featuring the most frequent words of the language’
Learners should be given the opportunity early on to recognise the general use of word.
To peg it to the most common words
The principle is perpetuated in course materials that focus on 'key words' and diagram their common collocation
Teachability
Idiomatic expressions can be made more memorable, and hence more teachable
'Mnemonic potential' been unlocked through teacher elaboration
Relatively few learners will unlock it without prompting or guidance
Drawing attention to the commonly used phonological repetition in expressions enhance their memorability
Teach chunks that are embed prototypical examples of the target grammar
One should teach lexical phrases that contain several slots, instead of those phrases which are relatively invariant
Utility
Not be chosen on the basis of grammar but on the basis of their usefulness and relevance
Identifying the most common exponents of different functions
functions are no longer the primary organising
feature of mainstream courses
How are chunks best learned and taught?
The Phrasebook Approach
Rote learning of formulaic expressions
Drilling
Shadowing
Jazz chants
The Awareness-raising Approach
Extensive reading and listening tasks
‘Chunking’ texts
Listening to extracts of authentic speech
and marking a transcript into tone units
Listening to extracts of authentic speech
and marking a transcript into tone units
Recycling chunks in learners’ own
texts
The Analytic Approach
Targeted teaching of selected chunks
Noticing patterns of sound repetition
Use of memory-training techniques,
such as mnemonics
Frequent recycling and review
The Communicative Approach
The use of survey-type activities and guessing games that involve the repetition of formulaic expressions
Repeating speaking tasks with different partners and/or to a time-limit, in order to encourage ‘chunking’
Scripting, rehearsing, memorizing and performing dialogues that include formulaic expressions
How might the learning of chunks benefit language learning overall?
Fluency
The possession of a
memorized store of ‘chunks’ allows more rapid processing
The more confidently chunks were used, the more they contributed to the perception of fluency
Able to speak faster and with
less hesitation
Idiomaticity
The possession of a store of formulaic language
Chunks are speaker-oriented
Disposing of a relatively impressive lexical richness and syntactic complexity
Memorized chunks confer idiomaticity
Language Development
The jury is still out on the role that chunks play in overall language development
Counterproductive
Language is broken down after it is available for re-assembly in potentially new combinations.
Theories of Language Acquisition
A learner's utterance is the results of holistic learning
Re-analysis and subsequent creativity
Formulaic sequence were gradually analysed, the constituent elements were available to be re-combined creatively
Facilitating fluency
Over-reliance on formulaic language
Consequent fossilisation