Las redes entre unidades léxicas en el lexicón y la importancia de las colocaciones en el aprendizaje de vocabulario

Abstract

Lexis is considered as one of the essential elements of a language. Taking into consideration its paramount importance, this research offers the reader a detailed analysis on the inventory of terms that compose it, emphasizing on the concept of lexical unit, especially on the category of collocations. The present study starts by examining the contributions that the Communicative Approach and the Lexical Approach grant to the teaching of foreign languages, focusing on the last approach which is directly linked to the teaching and acquisition of vocabulary. This investigation relies on the main assertion of the Lexical Approach which states that language consists not only of processing isolated vocabulary but also of perceiving chunks and making associations with previous and new knowledge. This idea is supported by the performance of the speaker due to the fact that, while communicating, he/she does not only use individual lexemes but also chunks of phrases or statements that are recorded in his/her mind as a whole and thus increasing oral fluency. Furthermore, from a pedagogical point of view, this study provides the reader with various ideas, techniques and activities on how to present and deal with the concept of collocation in the classroom, essentially in the field of teaching Spanish as a foreign language. The present investigation leads us to the conclusion that a heterogeneous knowledge on the different types of words, the expressions which can be formed and the collocations which correspond, is more valued when opposed to the traditional concept of dominating a language by knowing long lists of vocabulary. In synthesis, it is a question of training the pupil to be able to refer to this knowledge and make use of it appropriately when communicating.