When learning new vocabulary, should language learners memorize words or phrases? This is one of the first questions I had when I first started learning a second language. Back then, the primary material I had was a book, which preferred to teach individual words.
A couple of years later, I needed to learn the basics of a different language for work purposes. Instead of getting another book, I decided to invest on a second language software, one which focused on learning phrases.
Having had the chance to compare the two approaches, I have to side with learning phrases. Phrases simply have more context than singular words, making them easier to picture and, eventually, remember. Additionally, exposure to phrases also gives you more insights into the different figures of speech in the language, such as tenses, prepositions and more.
Current research findings seem to point in the same direction, as well. According to a recent magazine article, our brain processes new language by chunks — which would be phrases, as opposed to single words.
With that said, there’s nothing wrong with building up a vocabulary by learning words. That’s how I learned during my first brush with a second language, after all. I do prefer learning phrases since it’s a much more efficient and intuitive approach for me, although your own mileage may vary.
Related posts:
