Multi-word Lexical Items and the Advanced Foreign Language User: Awareness Raising in the Context of Oral and Written Translation Training

Abstract

The paper has two main objectives: the fi rst is to present an overview of the phenomenon of multi-word items in English, and discuss their prevalence in native speaker usage. The second is to discuss how profi cient non-native speakers of English, and in particular those who are training to become translators, may benefi t from classroom training that increases awareness of the primary role of chunks and other multiword units in native-like speech. It is argued that classroom training may tend to emphasise grammar rules and lexis over building a repertoire of multi-word items; more practise in this area may improve fl uency, conserve energy, and enhance long-term language learning among adult foreign language users with nuanced foreign language performance goals.