In almost every language, there are default phrases used to do certain things. When you pick up a phone in an office, for instance, there are usually set ways that people answer; when you answer a knock on a door, you typically respond in specific ways; when you greet someone on their birthday, same thing.
These language rituals allow picking up a working knowledge of a language easier. Instead of focusing on individual words and joining them together to form sentences, you can simply observe others saying them and emulate it. In doing so, you learn canned phrases that effectively get social interactions going.
In some circles, they call this practice “chunking.” That is, instead of focusing the study on vocabulary words and how to use them to form sentences, learners pick up the language via lexical chunks – phrases and sentences that carry a set meaning in proper contexts.
Some language learning programs have already adopted this approach to learning, especially when looking to gain facility in specific contexts. When learning business-speak in a foreign language, for instance, memorizing 100 words from a dictionary and learning how to use these to form sentences might help. However, memorizing 100 canned business responses for specific contexts will probably help better.
As of now, language experts continue to debate the merits of chunking and whether it truly is a better approach for learners. Like all methods, of course, it has its pros and cons. Do realize, though, that it’s very effective, especially with the right learning tools at hand.
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