Collocations in Teaching German as a Foreign Language: Theoretical Framework and Learning Strategies

Collocations represent a segment of the lexicon that poses a significant challenge for all learners of a foreign language. However, this aspect does not receive attention in teaching practice proportional to its importance. The reasons for this vary, including teaching approaches, the quality of teaching materials, and the habit of teaching and learning words as isolated units rather than as lexical combinations. This paper aims to deepen the understanding of relevant theoretical discussions on the conceptual definition of collocations from the perspective of glottodidactics, their utility in the process of learning German as a foreign language, as well as collocational competence, which is considered one of the fundamental but also most demanding goals of language instruction. Taking into account the specificity and relevance of this linguistic phenomenon, the paper provides concrete proposals for strategies and activities that contribute to creating an educational environment in which students are sensitized to the recognition, understanding, and use of collocations. Developing awareness of collocations and integrating them into teaching are key steps towards improving students' lexical competence. Implementing the described strategies on a specific sample and over an extended period would help to assess their effectiveness in teaching practice.