Phraseology in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

This book addresses the key role of phraseology in second language acquisition and instruction. It is divided into three main sections: Extracting and Describing Phraseological Units investigates the role played by native and learner corpora in the extraction and description of multiword units, two initial and crucial steps in informing language pedagogy; Learning Phraseological Units deals with the learning aspect, an oft-neglected yet essential dimension of phraseology in second/foreign language pedagogy, this section also addresses issues in new literacies; and Recording and Exploiting Phraseological Units focuses on pedagogical tools, notably monolingual and bilingual dictionaries and textbooks. This stimulating collection presents cutting edge research in the field and identifies major avenues for future theoretical and applied work. It is of particular relevance to researchers and teachers interested in the patterned nature of language.

Table of Contents:
1. List of contributors; 2. Acknowledgements; 3. Phraseology: The periphery and the heart of language (by Ellis, Nick C.); 4. Introduction (by Granger, Sylviane); 5. Section I. Extracting and describing phraseological units; 6. Phraseology and language pedagogy: Semantic preference associated with English verbs in the British National Corpus (by Kennedy, Graeme); 7. Essential collocations for learners of English: The role of collocational direction and weight (by Handl, Susanne); 8. Phraseology effects as a trigger for errors in L2 English: The case of more advanced learners (by Osborne, John); 9. Contrasting English-Spanish interpersonal discourse phrases: A corpus study (by Neff, JoAnne); 10. Exemplification in learner writing: A cross-linguistic perspective (by Paquot, Magali); 11. Section II. Learning phraseological units; 12. Why can't you just leave it alone? Deviations from memorized language as a gauge of nativelike competence (by Wray, Alison); 13. Phraseology and English for academic purposes: Challenges and opportunities (by Coxhead, Averil); 14. Multiword expressions and the digital turn (by Wible, David); 15. Section III. Recording and exploiting phraseological units; 16. Phraseology in learners' dictionaries: What, where and how? (by Siepmann, Dirk); 17. Compilation, formalisation and presentation of bilingual phraseology: Problems and possible solutions (by Pecman, Mojca); 18. The phraseological patterns of high-frequency verbs in advanced English for general purposes: A corpus-driven approach to EFL textbook analysis (by Gouverneur, Celine); 19. Section IV. Concluding remarks; 20. Phraseology in language learning and teaching: Where to from here? (by Granger, Sylviane); 21. Author index; 22. Subject index

Review :
This book is aimed at researchers and teachers who are interested in the patterns of language use. A majority of the chapters present empirical studies and findings that are concrete and convincing. The concluding chapter brings forward issues for future research, which include the availability of phraseological information and the lexis-grammar interface, which may be enlightening to researchers in the field. It should be noted that despite an increasing number of studies that suggest a role for phraseology in L2 learning and acquisition, this area occupies, at best, only a supplementary role in pedagogical practice. This work is, therefore, a timely addition to the mounting evidence of the need to introduce a phraseologically oriented approach to language teaching. The volume sheds light on the issue of phraseology in foreign language learning and teaching from a variety of relevant angles. One of its merits is that besides presenting theoretical findings, the contributors give practical aid and suggestions for teachers and concrete examples of tools, materials, and resources. Even if a range of different methodologies and approaches are presented, the book is compact and coherent thanks both to being logically organized in three thematic sections and to the editors' introduction and conclusion. The volume is edited very carefully, structured clearly and contains a useful author and subject index. [...] I found the book very interesting and useful and recommend it to everybody interested in or dealing with language learning and teaching. Phraseology in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching is an important book that brings together a diversity of perspectives on the teaching and learning of phraseology. The fact that many chapters share the same focus on phraseology in dictionary-making, the influence of first language transfer in second language phraseology use, and phraseology in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), highlight these areas of research as some of the key recent trends in phraseology. The book introduces a number of innovative ideas about the nature of phraseology, phraseology-learning and research. The key strength of this volume is that it initiates discussions on, and raises researchers’ awareness of, issues revolving around phraseology in second/foreign language learning, while at the same time providing a series of high quality case studies. There is an ever increasing demand from learners for an informed lexical syllabus that reflects the central role of phraseology in language performance, and this volume is an invaluable exploration of the key issues that need to be addressed for this demand to be met. Phraseology in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching provides an insightful overview of an under-researched area: the learning and teaching of L2 phraseology. Contributors study the issue from a range of perspectives. Given the significant role that phraseology plays in language, ‘like blood in systemic circulation,’ as Nick Ellis describes it in his preface to the volume (p. 9), and the great difficulties that language learners usually encounter with phraseology, this book will be of interest to both teachers and researchers in the field of L2 and FL acquisition.