Phraseology and English for academic purposes: Challenges and opportunities

No word is an island. Each word we teach and expect students to learn in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) carries with it many aspects of knowledge including meaning and or meanings, associations, referents, and contexts of use. In recognising that words of a feather seem to flock together, teachers and researchers are exploring new technologies to find out more about words in contexts and in use so as to meet the language needs of an unprecedented number of EAP students worldwide. Whilst this area of study is dynamic and interesting, it is somewhat fraught with doubts and frustrations. This chapter outlines some of the challenges of phraseology in EAP for teachers, researchers, and students. It also discusses some exciting opportunities for the future of phraseology in the teaching and learning of EAP.