How Useful is Learning Chunks of Language? A Survey
Hanna Kryszewska, Poland
Hanna Kryszewska is a teacher, teacher trainer, trainer of trainers. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Gdańsk, and EU Teacher Training College where she trains pre-service teachers. She is co-author of resource books: Learner Based Teaching, OUP, Towards Teaching, Heinemann, The Standby Book, CUP, Language Activities for Teenagers, CUP, The Company Words Keep, DELTA Publishing, and a course book series for secondary schools: ForMat, Macmillan. She is also co-author of a video based teacher training course: Observing English Lessons. Hania is a Pilgrims trainer and editor of HLT Magazine. She is a firm believer in lexical chunking. E-mail: hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk
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Background
Student voices
Conclusion
The survey was conducted among first year students at the University of Gdansk, Poland, at the end of their first year course Listening and Speaking. The aim of the course was improving the students’ listening and speaking skills with emphasis on noticing chunks of language (consisting of 2 to 8 words), and using them actively in speaking.
It has been observed, that at the upper intermediate/ advanced level students tend to remain on a plateau of lexis, not learning and therefore not using new chunks of language. What they do instead is notice and learn single low frequency words, which they rarely or never use.
The aim of the lexical element of the course was to give the students a lexical push, which as the examiners saw in the final exam worked only in few cases. In the exam it was quite evident that many students remained on the plateau level and their performance showed little or no evidence of having learnt new chunks of language, or, which is also possible, they were not able to use the new chunks in oral production. However, in the survey many state that learning through chunks is important.
The survey was conducted at the end of the first year, after two semesters of classes – 60 hours in total. The question asked in the survey was: At your level how important is it to learn through language chunks rather than single words? The students were also invited to rank the usefulness of learning through chunks on a scale from 0 – 6, from not useful to very useful.
NB. The original grammar and spelling has been retained. There has been some editorial intervention when the term ’the book’ replaces the title of an EFL publication which was used to spot and observe language chunks, which later were to be used in speaking and in the final oral exam.
1.
It is more effective to learn chunks than single words as one remembers them for longer periods. It is also easier to learn them and later to use them than single words that we learn by heart, as chunks give a general sense, it is easier to use combined words that constitute mini utterances, than single words that we need to combine into utterances
2.
(3 on the scale out of 6) I think that learning word chunks is less effective than learning single words. For me it is easier to learn vocabulary and then combine it in speech or writing. Looking for chunks in the book was difficult for me because I did not really find them useful. But, from the other hand, I sometimes use word chunks from the book instinctively.
3.
It is easier to put those chunks into a context; you can see what preposition they go with; it widens your vocabulary more than single words.
4.
(0 on the scale out of 6) For it is so much better to construct catchy phrases on the fly, rather than remember fixed ones to use in specific situations. Thus, learning whole phrases is a waste of memory. Through acquiring individual words, we, the users of language, are able to create a more efficient and, above all, versatile lexis.
5.
(4 on the scale out of 6) Learning vocabulary through chunks is quite important as it creates a ‘word map’ in one’s head, associates words and makes them much easier to use in speech or writing. However, chunks that consist of more than 4 words are difficult to remember
6.
Maybe not importance, but I can rank the usefulness. I would give it about 4/5 because I think on the long run it would benefit us if we paid it more, less stressed, attention, and actually studied them through our own initiative. It definitely familiarised me more with how to build cool sentences. Vocab is one thing, while constructing sophisticated and intelligent sentences is a whole new level. So it’s not just about chunks as simple phrases, but also about entire sentences.
7.
(5 on the scale out of 6) because chunks provide fixed expressions and sentences that can be used in various similar situations. Of course learning them by heart might be pointless, however they are still usable in our speech. While speaking we can use counterparts of certain words from chunks but the gist – the most important thing – stays. Chunks can also provide nice grammar and lexis that is why it is worth to learn.
8.
(5 on the scale out of 6) because learning words in phrases helps in better remembering how to use the word and also makes you learn new phrases that can be helpful f.i. in the oral exam or writing exam. However, sometimes it is hard to find the right chunk with the word. So it’s better not to make up something but write single word.
9.
(5 on the scale out of 6) The context is important, without it I won’t remember the word. In a chunk the word has context, so it is easier. Also the chunks stay at the back of my head easier than single words, which I sometimes have to learn for a longer period of time; in a chunk a word comes with the right verb so it is even more good.
10.
(4 on the scale out of 6) Single words are good for learning the basics. On more advanced level, it is a lot better to study how words function in relation to each other, looking at the whole from a bigger perspective. Chunks are also easier to memorise and then place correctly in an utterance.
11.
(5 on the scale out of 6) It is important because often we learn different collocations for certain words, and they all mean different things. Also, learning idioms is very important because they are often used and just as often one cannot guess what they mean just by looking at separate words. Knowing what prepositions one should use is also very important because it makes a huge difference, especially when it comes to e.g. phrasal verbs.
12.
(5 on the scale out of 6) Single words are also important but chunks stay in mind for longer periods of time and are easier to use while writing or speaking. They can be easily associated with some images or peculiar situation.
13.
(3 on the scale out of 6) It is certainly quite important to learn chunks at advanced level, but they should be used a lot, chosen ones not random linguistically correct combinations of words. Chunks may be quite useful to memorise, for instance, accurate phrasal verbs or idioms.
14.
(4-5 on the scale out of 6) On the level we are, learning language is mainly about learning the relations between and connections between its pieces, meanings that may gain in connections, as well as the context we can use them in, Learning single pieces is important as well, as they expand our lexical range, but what really makes us good English speakers is building the bridges between the words and filling the gaps in our knowledge.
15.
(4-5 on the scale out of 6) It’s better to know how and when to use the word, but if you remember the chunk you may not be able to use single words from it separately.
16.
(5 on the scale out of 6) Learning the word in context makes it easier to remember it and its meaning. However, it helps to use it properly ( in the right context). Knowing the whole chunks instead of isolated words by heart helps with the speech flow and makes it sound more natural.
17.
(4 on the scale out of 6) It is so because while speaking people rarely use just single words but rather more complex structures. Knowing whole chunks helps you to speak more fluently and more similar to native speakers. On the other hand, you also need to know the meaning of single words to understand chunks fully.
18.
(4 on the scale out of 6) It is quite important to know language chunks. Maybe not at the beginning because it is possible to be understood and understand others knowing only single words but at the advanced level you have to know chunks because there are many of them in more complicated texts and often it’s hard to deduct the meaning of the chunk without knowing it as single words separately most often mean something completely different. It’s pretty hard to learn them though. We do not use many of them though. We do not use many of them at every day basis.
19.
(5 on the scale out of 6) For me chunks are extremely important when it comes tp learning a language. It is easier to build sentences and one gets the view in accompany of which words, single word appears.
20.
(5 on the scale out of 6) In my opinion it is essential to learn language chunks because thanks to them I know how and where to use the whole phrases. When it comes to single words, it’s not as easy to build a sentence with the chunks. What’s more, it’s easier to learn a set of words which are logically connected.
21.
(5 on the scale out of 6) When we learn chunks, we get to know how to use a few (not just one) words in different situations. A single word, which results in a much longer memory of such phrase (single words are forgotten very quickly, because we don’t know in what context we shall use them).
22.
(5 on the scale out of 6) language chunks enhance our vocabulary and make us memorise collocations. They ensure that we speak English more fluently and naturally. Words in isolation are useful but without knowing collocations we make mistakes and we don’t know what words go with them.
23.
(5 on the scale out of 6) The importance lays in the context. When learning chunks you learn words in some specific environment . So it is easier to use them when speaking or simply it’s easier to remember their meaning.
24.
(2 on the scale out of 6) In may opinion human brain is not capable of storing long chunks of words so learning them by heart is pointless. People don’t think of chunks when they speak, the construct the utterance from single words or collocations. I don’t remember what I learned a month ago because I don’t use the whole long phrases, however, this method helps with rising awareness of what ‘sounds’ English and what not but the same one can obtain by different ways of learning.
25.
(6 on the scale out of 6) Learning single words is not useful because then we don’t know in which context we can use them, it’s important to learn chunks in order to be able to decide what they refer to. On the higher levels there’s so many fixed phrases we are suppose to know that single words start to be useless. We are expected to use advanced structures, idioms etc; nobody wants to speak with single words.
26.
(5 on the scale out of 6) It’s very important to learn through chunks, because a person who know single words only is actually more of a ‘walking dictionary’. Such a person knows the words, but might not use them the way native speakers would. That might sound peculiar or even stupid.
27.
(6 on the scale out of 6) I think learning language chunks is much more useful than learning single words. It gives you the idea of how the language sounds like; it makes sound more natural, and it prevents from using single words incorrectly, creating some non-existent collocations etc..
26.
(6 on the scale out of 6) To me learning through chunks is very important because it enables students to sound more sophisticated. What is more, it shows that different words combined together can mean something new, something that will enrich vocabulary.
28.
(5 on the scale out of 6) I think that learning through chunks gives you the opportunity to see how certain words are generally used in a language. Chunks come in handy in speaking, writing; it is also good to know them to understand the native speakers, as they use them a lot. The only disadvantage of learning chunks may be that some of them seem too long and difficult to remember.
29.
(4 on the scale out of 6) I guess it’s important but in my opinion, one can learn more when one hears them in a movie or in a song than when one learns them by heart. Learning chunks might be useful because then one knows whole phrases, not only singular words.
30.
(5 on the scale out of 6) Learning in chunks is important because we learn the context in which it is used at the same time, and this is more efficient than learning a single word and then its associations.
31.
(4 on the scale out of 6) Why? Word chunks are sometimes far more easy to remember because of their form and in the same time they enrich vocabulary and make the speed more engaging, interesting. Usually they help speakers to avoid using unnatural, artificial structures, created by translating a phrase word for word.
The students seem to have experienced little or no habit formation of learning English through chunks at lower levels, and so learning through chunks was a new approach for them. This may explain some resistance and criticism of having to learn chunks at university level. Quite surprisingly some do not seem to see chunks in everyday language use. Some state that they creatively put words together as they speak, which is an approach that leads to speaking in English but not speaking English. Possibly there is a need to start earlier with overt habit formation and learner training through which students learn chunks of language, which is food for thought for teachers of younger learners and learners at lower levels.
The method used to make students aware of chunks during the course may not have appealed to some of the students which is an idication that the approach needs to be revisited, which is now the case with a new generation of students. However, looking at the voices it can be said that overall quite a number of respondents believe that learning chunks of language helps them to sound more authentic.
Please check the Teaching Advanced Students course at Pilgrims website.
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