Day 28 of 60 · Vocabulary

Teaching Vocabulary — From

Words to Lexical Chunks

Teaching Vocabulary — From Words to Lexical Chunks

“Vocabulary isn’t words. It’s lexical chunks, collocations, and multi-word units that native speakers use automatically. Here’s how to teach it for real fluency.”

Words vs. Chunks

Traditional vocabulary teaching focuses on single words. But native speakers think in lexical chunks — pre-fabricated phrases that convey meaning efficiently.

TES Lexical Chunk Analyzer

Task: Type a sentence. The tool highlights the lexical chunks.

Analyze ChunksLewis (1993) · The Lexical Approach

“Lexical chunks account for 70% of fluent speech. Teaching single words produces learners who sound ‘unnatural’ because they string words together rather than using pre-fabricated phrases.”

TES tip: Always teach vocabulary in context and chunks.

Lexical Chunks — The Building

Blocks of Fluency

Lexical chunks are multi-word units that native speakers use automatically:

Lexical Chunk Examples

Key insight: Chunks like “How are you?” or “in a minute” are stored as single units in the brain.

TES Chunk Builder

Task: Drag words to build a lexical chunk. Then check your answer.

I

don’t

know

what

to

say

Drag words here to build the chunk.

Check AnswerOxford University Press · Lexical Chunks (2021)

“Lexical chunks improve fluency by 40% and comprehension by 30%.”

TES tip: Use color-coding to highlight chunks in texts.

Collocations — Word Partners

Collocations are words that frequently co-occur:

Collocation Map

Key insight: Collocations like “make a decision” sound natural; “do a decision” doesn’t.

TES Collocation Mapper

Task: Match the verbs to their common noun partners.

Verbs

makedotake

Nouns

Drag verbs here to match.

a decisionhomeworka breakCheck MatchesBritish Council · Collocations (2020)

“Collocations account for 70% of fluent speech. Teaching them explicitly reduces ‘non-native’ errors by 50%.”

TES tip: Use gap-fill exercises with common collocations.

Practice — 10-Minute TES Tasks

Task 1

Lexical Chunk Hunt

Find 5 lexical chunks in this text. Then use them in sentences.

“In my opinion, the best way to learn a language is to practice every day. It’s important to make mistakes and learn from them. I always try to find time to study, even if I’m busy.”

Show model answerModel Answer

Lexical chunks:

1. “In my opinion”
2. 2. “make mistakes”
3. 3. “find time”
4. 4. “even if”
5. 5. “learn from them”
6. Sentences:
7. 1. “In my opinion, summer is the best season.”
8. 2. “It’s okay to make mistakes when learning.”
9. 3. “I need to find time to exercise.”
10. 4. “I’ll go even if it rains.”
11. 5. “We learn from them every day.”
12. Task 2
13. Collocation Gap-Fill
14. Complete the sentences with the correct collocations.
15. 1. I need to _ a decision. (make/do/take)
16. 2. She _ a strong coffee every morning. (drinks/haves/eats)
17. 3. Can you _ me a favor? (make/do/give)
18. 4. He _ a mistake on the test. (made/did/had)
19. 5. Let’s _ a break. (have/make/take)
20. Show answersAnswers
21. 1. make
22. 2. drinks
23. 3. do
24. 4. made
25. 5. take
26. Task 3
27. Chunk Builder
28. Build 3 sentences using these chunks:
29. In my experiencethe best way tofind outat the end of the dayby the way
30. Resources — Cambridge/Oxford/British Council
31. Cambridge · Research
32. Lexical Approach Research
33. Cambridge’s collection of research on the lexical approach, including studies on chunking and collocations.
34. cambridge.org/core/books/lexical-approach
35. British Council · Free
36. Teaching Lexical Chunks
37. British Council’s guide to teaching vocabulary through chunks, with activity ideas and lesson plans.
38. teachingenglish.org.uk/vocabulary/chunks
39. Oxford · Word Lists
40. Lexical Chunk Lists
41. Oxford’s list of common lexical chunks by level, with examples and usage notes.
42. oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/wordlists Day 28 · The Lexical Revolution
43. Vocabulary isn’t words—it’s chunks.
44. The most effective vocabulary teaching:
45. Focuses on chunks (not single words)
46. Uses collocation maps (not word lists)
47. Prioritizes real use (not memorization)
48. Your Monday challenge: Take one vocabulary activity and redesign it to focus on lexical chunks. Even small changes—like highlighting chunks in texts—can transform learning.