Chunking Plus

There have been lots of articles and studies about “chunking” as a good way of learning languages. Basically, a chunk is a whole piece. Here in the U.S., many people like ice cream with chocolate or peanut butter chunks. That means the chocolate or peanut butter is one piece, a chunk, mixed in with the ice cream. You can’t separate the chunk … it’s all in one solid, delicious piece of chocolate (or peanut butter).

Languages work the same way. Think of words that belong together in a chunk … a single group of words that students learn all at once. For example, “How’s it going?” or “Nice to meet you.” We usually learn these expressions all in a piece; we don’t separate them into individual words. And the words belong in a particular order, which is why they’re often called set or fixed phrases.

So how can chunking help you on tests of English speaking? On tests like TOEFL, your biggest challenge is to say what you want to say naturally and fluently, without pausing and hesitating over the right wording.

To do this, I think it’s helpful to slowly acquire a versatile supply of phrases that can be used in many situations. But rather than learning first one chunk and then another chunk, with no relation between the chunks, I recommend a “chunk plus” method. With this method, you start with one group of words, one chunk, and then keep building on it by adding variations.

So, for example, start with the fixed phrase:

a lot of

Now think of some common verbs you can add to this:

waste a lot of

cost a lot of

spend a lot of

take a lot of

Then add some common nouns:

to waste a lot of time

to cost a lot of money

to spend a lot of energy

to take a lot of effort

Now practice using different subjects and tenses. Try putting your phrases in the negative.

I spend a lot of money

It took a lot of time

She doesn’t waste a lot of energy

Then, when these phrases roll off your tongue (which is just another way of saying they come naturally and fluently), refine and expand upon them. Add adverbs or adjectives or simple prepositional phrases:

It really doesn’t take a lot of money

I often waste a lot of my time at the mall

Now’s the time to pay attention to details. For example, should the verbs be followed by a gerund, infinitive, or both? What prepositions follow the verbs? It’s at this stage that a teacher is going to be the most helpful to make sure you get it right.

She spent a lot of time doing her homework. (not spent a lot of time to do …)

It takes a lot of time to learn English. (not takes a lot of time learning …)

You shouldn’t waste your money on new shoes (not waste your money for …)

With my “chunk plus” method, you start with a single chunk and, by building upon it, end up with an almost infinite number of useful phrases. The result, I hope, is that when you are face-to-face with the microphone in your testing room, you’ll be able to speak more fluently, fluidly, and confidently.