Aren't Phrasal Expressions only for Advanced Students?

can understand them.  They are units of meaning just like other words.  Why do we say they are difficult? 

It is rather like the big words.  These are the words that are long.  Industrious.  Brachiosaur.  Supercalifragilisticexpialidotious. 

Big words are just words.  They have a meaning, just like small words.  And you can remember their meanings just like small words.  Except they are longer.  But the meaning is not longer. 

My son now knows lots of dinosaur names.  Names that are big.  Like Brachiosaur.  And Tyrannosaurus rex.  Or Allosaurus.  Were they difficult for him?  No, they were't.  Once he understood the unit of meaning, the word was just a sound to memorize. 

That is how phrasal verbs are.  Unit of meaning.  And a sound to memorize with them.  They are all equal.  And to a student of English, who wants to learn more, all words are equal at the beginning.  There are no hard words.  Just hard meanings.  And many phrasal expressions have very easy meanings. 

So, my question is, why wait until you are a high level student to study these expressions?  In fact, not studying them may even slow down your English learning since you cannot understand many things native speakers say when they use phrasal verbs and expressions. I guess there are some phrasal expressions that have difficult meanings.  Also, there are two kinds of phrasal expressions.  They are separable and inseparable phrasal expressions, which can be confusing. 

Of course, not all phrasal expressions are confusing.  Many phrasal expressions have simple direct meanings (like pick up, and throw out).   English speakers use them on a regular basis.  This makes them very important.  I say students should start learning phrasal verbs early.  Studying them in books is good but it is not good enough. 

Besides books,  phrasal expressions can be studied by listening to stories that use them.  Listening is another valid way to learn.  Students can do lots of listening practice. Use stories with phrasal verbs used in them.  This will help to memorize the words and they way they are used.  In fact, listening is a great way to learn becuase we can do it during other activities like exercising, commuting, or cleaning. 

How does this connect with my son?  I do not choose what language to teach him in what order.  Especially words.  To him, all words are equal.  When he learns a new meaning, he learns a new words. 

Students of English are the same.  They can start to study new words, including phrasal expressions, when they are ready to learn the meanings.  Next, I do not make him read.  He learns by listening, and of course, using the English and making mistakes.  Now, a student of English can learn faster than my son.  They can combine reading study and listening study.  And, of course, speaking practice.

One warning.  Students should not be too dependent on reading.  This slows down a student's learning, and they may not be able to speak as well as students who practice listening.  Proper listening practice includes both shadowing, and listen and repeat practice.   I have written and spoken about these on the English Listening World web site.  They are important techniques for any student of English. 

Phrasal expressions are not only for advanced students.  They are an essential part of spoken English.  Avoiding phrasal verbs can slow down a study program.  While they are difficult, a lot of the difficulty can be made easier by studying these expressions by listening to them in stories, and memorizing their usage.  Practicing them in an English conversation classroom is also essential to learning them. 

You can download a story with phrasal verbs to listen to on your iPod.  The phrasal verbs are listed below, and under the video is a link to see the script for the story.  Under that is the download.  I only want serious students to download this story, so you have to opt-in by giving your name and e-mail address. 

(**But if you come to my classroom, you can get the premium practicing experience.**)

Jim is living an easy life. He takes turns with his brothers going on hunts and managing the family business. He likes to hunt. In fact, he wants to hunt until he wears out his shoes. Then he'ill throw them away, get new ones, and hunt some more. There is only one problem: his brothers think he is lazy and spoiled. In fact, they want to get rid of him. He has to be careful everytime he goes hunting.