The phraseological patterns of high-frequency verbs in advanced English for general purposes: A corpus-driven approach to EFL textbook analysis
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Céline Gouverneur
Abstract
This chapter sets out to give an account of the treatment of the two high-frequency verbs make and take in three series of English for General Purposes (EGP) textbooks at the intermediate and advanced levels. The focus is on the delexicalised (and hence more phraseological) uses of these verbs, which, recent corpus studies have shown, represent a stumbling block to native-like proficiency. The principles underlying the selection and presentation of the make andtake phraseological patterns are investigated through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of a new corpus of textbook material, the TeMa corpus. The methodology used proved particularly effective in shedding light on issues which cannot be tackled in traditional page-by-page textbook research. Two main observations emerged from the comparisons made across levels on the one hand, and across textbooks on the other. First, there were striking discrepancies between the treatment of the phraseological patterns of make and take at the intermediate and advanced levels. Secondly, the three textbook series display great consistency in terms of pedagogical choices. Overall, the results obtained provide conclusive evidence of the need for redefining the principles underlying the selection and presentation of phraseological units in EGP textbooks.
Abstract
This chapter sets out to give an account of the treatment of the two high-frequency verbs make and take in three series of English for General Purposes (EGP) textbooks at the intermediate and advanced levels. The focus is on the delexicalised (and hence more phraseological) uses of these verbs, which, recent corpus studies have shown, represent a stumbling block to native-like proficiency. The principles underlying the selection and presentation of the make andtake phraseological patterns are investigated through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of a new corpus of textbook material, the TeMa corpus. The methodology used proved particularly effective in shedding light on issues which cannot be tackled in traditional page-by-page textbook research. Two main observations emerged from the comparisons made across levels on the one hand, and across textbooks on the other. First, there were striking discrepancies between the treatment of the phraseological patterns of make and take at the intermediate and advanced levels. Secondly, the three textbook series display great consistency in terms of pedagogical choices. Overall, the results obtained provide conclusive evidence of the need for redefining the principles underlying the selection and presentation of phraseological units in EGP textbooks.
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
