lecture 2: understanding why we need to learn collocations online lecture series on collocation...
TRANSCRIPT
Lecture 2: Understanding Why We
Need to Learn Collocations
Online Lecture Series on Collocation Learning
Developed by Yang Ying
2010
Review of Lecture 1: What is Collocation?
Word Combinations
Phrases
Longer chunks
single words
Lecture 1 tells you about what is
collocation.
Focus of Lecture 2:
the importance of collocation
learning
Why Should We Learn Collocations?
Reason 1: Helps Language Production
Knowing the meaning of single words – comprehension
Knowing word combinations
–production/use
ExampleSingle word: analysis--
recognition Word combinations
What verb can I put before “analysis”?
Word combinations: Collocations
What verb can I put before
“analysis”?
You can say “perform an analysis” or “carry
out an analysis”!
Word combinations: Collocations
Great! Thank you!
Word combination: perform an analysis, carry out an analysis – USE
Why Should We Learn Collocations?
Reason 2: Be native-like
Word grammar—some combinations are allowed in your
native tongue, but not in the target language
Examples
What would you say?
A strong engine or a powerful engine?
Business journey or business trip?
Why Should We Learn Collocations? Reason 3: Express your ideas
better Giving you more power to
express your ideas
Contrast the following
1. This is a good book and contains a lot of interesting details.
2. This is a fascinating book and contains a wealth of historical detail.
You communicate much more with the right combination of words !
Why Should We Learn Collocations? Reason 4: Helping you to enhance writing
sophistication and avoid simple, flat style of writing. E.g. overuse of general words only.
Example
a good analysis? – too general – in what way is it good?
How about?
a detailed analysisa thorough analysis an in-depth analysis
Reason 5: Further Language Development
Bothered about slow progress in language development at this stage? Not knowing what to learn after all grammar topics have been learned?
Learning collocations helps you take off again!!!
Words from Experts
For intermediate level language learners, when they have learned the grammatical structures of the language and are able to produce such structures correctly, the only viable way for them to improve further and to reach the advanced level of language proficiency is to learn more collocations rather than doing grammar only (Morgan Lewis, 2001).
Do you know?
Uneducated native speakers of English may only have a
vocabulary size of 2000 words, but can function well in their
daily communication. That’s because
they are able to combine these words to make meaning
Summary
Importance of learning collocation
Improve language useUse native like expressions Express your ideas with greater
powerImprove writing sophistication Further develop your language
proficiency
Start Paying Attention to Collocations
Start Learning Collocations
Why Wait?
ReferencesLewis, Morgan. (2001). Third
conditional again! Isn't there anything else? New Routes, 12. Retrieved June 25, 2002 from http://www.disal.com.br/nroutes/nr12/indice.htm
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English (2003). Oxford University Press.
Click below to continue onto
Lecture 3Developing Awareness of
Collocation Through Reading