Teaching Essential Units of Language

Book excerpt: This textbook provides a practical and research-based foundation for teaching second language (L2) multiword units (also commonly called collocations). Multiword units – such as strong tea, beautiful weather, or would you mind –cannot be readily understood or predicted by the meanings of their component parts, and prove particularly challenging for English language learners. With contributions from top scholars, this text presents a thorough and rounded overview of the principles and practices currently dominant in teaching L2 phrases in a variety of instructional settings around the world. Divided into two sections, Part I examines the pedagogical foundations of teaching the essential units of language. Part II covers a range of techniques and classroom activities for implementing instruction. Intended for students and teacher educators, this accessible volume integrates the key principles, strategies, and applications of current and effective English language instruction for both vocabulary and grammar.