Multiword expressions and the digital turn
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David Wible
Abstract
Increasingly the target language input that second language learners are exposed to is digital. This chapter traces some of the implications of this digital turn for the learning of multiword expressions. The underlying question being addressed in the chapter is what sorts of digital resources and tools can foster learners’ mastery of multiword expressions. First, it is shown how multiword expressions pose a fundamentally different acquisition challenge for learners who rely primarily on textual input compared to those who depend mainly on spoken input. Unlike most literature on the acquisition of multiword expressions, the chapter then concentrates on the challenge to the text-oriented learner. The limitations of traditional paper and ink lexical resources are described in terms of three qualities: they are static, centralized, and passive. The significance of the digitalization of these resources (for example, machine-readable dictionaries) is analyzed then through the lenses of these three qualities. Finally, the nature of the Web as a massive, noisy digital archive is taken as an environment for embedding a radically different sort of lexical resource for learning multiword expressions, one that is dynamic, distributed, and active. An existing tool that exemplifies this alternative, called Collocator, is described in terms of these qualities.
Abstract
Increasingly the target language input that second language learners are exposed to is digital. This chapter traces some of the implications of this digital turn for the learning of multiword expressions. The underlying question being addressed in the chapter is what sorts of digital resources and tools can foster learners’ mastery of multiword expressions. First, it is shown how multiword expressions pose a fundamentally different acquisition challenge for learners who rely primarily on textual input compared to those who depend mainly on spoken input. Unlike most literature on the acquisition of multiword expressions, the chapter then concentrates on the challenge to the text-oriented learner. The limitations of traditional paper and ink lexical resources are described in terms of three qualities: they are static, centralized, and passive. The significance of the digitalization of these resources (for example, machine-readable dictionaries) is analyzed then through the lenses of these three qualities. Finally, the nature of the Web as a massive, noisy digital archive is taken as an environment for embedding a radically different sort of lexical resource for learning multiword expressions, one that is dynamic, distributed, and active. An existing tool that exemplifies this alternative, called Collocator, is described in terms of these qualities.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xi
- Phraseology: The periphery and the heart of language 1
- Introduction 15
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Section I. Extracting and describing phraseological units
- Phraseology and language pedagogy: Semantic preference associated with English verbs in the British National Corpus 21
- Essential collocations for learners of English: The role of collocational direction and weight 43
- Phraseology effects as a trigger for errors in L2 English: The case of more advanced learners 67
- Contrasting English-Spanish interpersonal discourse phrases: A corpus study 85
- Exemplification in learner writing: A cross-linguistic perspective 101
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Section II. Learning phraseological units
- Why can't you just leave it alone? Deviations from memorized language as a gauge of nativelike competence 123
- Phraseology and English for academic purposes: Challenges and opportunities 149
- Multiword expressions and the digital turn 163
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Section III. Recording and exploiting phraseological units
- Phraseology in learners' dictionaries: What, where and how? 185
- Compilation, formalisation and presentation of bilingual phraseology: Problems and possible solutions 203
- The phraseological patterns of high-frequency verbs in advanced English for general purposes: A corpus-driven approach to EFL textbook analysis 223
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Section IV. Concluding remarks
- Phraseology in language learning and teaching: Where to from here? 247
- Author index 253
- Subject index 257
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xi
- Phraseology: The periphery and the heart of language 1
- Introduction 15
-
Section I. Extracting and describing phraseological units
- Phraseology and language pedagogy: Semantic preference associated with English verbs in the British National Corpus 21
- Essential collocations for learners of English: The role of collocational direction and weight 43
- Phraseology effects as a trigger for errors in L2 English: The case of more advanced learners 67
- Contrasting English-Spanish interpersonal discourse phrases: A corpus study 85
- Exemplification in learner writing: A cross-linguistic perspective 101
-
Section II. Learning phraseological units
- Why can't you just leave it alone? Deviations from memorized language as a gauge of nativelike competence 123
- Phraseology and English for academic purposes: Challenges and opportunities 149
- Multiword expressions and the digital turn 163
-
Section III. Recording and exploiting phraseological units
- Phraseology in learners' dictionaries: What, where and how? 185
- Compilation, formalisation and presentation of bilingual phraseology: Problems and possible solutions 203
- The phraseological patterns of high-frequency verbs in advanced English for general purposes: A corpus-driven approach to EFL textbook analysis 223
-
Section IV. Concluding remarks
- Phraseology in language learning and teaching: Where to from here? 247
- Author index 253
- Subject index 257
