Vocab vs Phrase

[mobii]

Hi,
I am teaching English convo to 7-9th graders in Thailand. Lately, I have been reading articles that advocate focusing more on teaching the kids phrases as opposed to just new vocabulary words. Do you have any opinions on this subject? They make a few interesting arguments for the phrase idea.

Thanks for the help,
Mobii

[Tdol]

I don't know about the educational system in Thailand, but in some countries in Asia, great emphasis is laid on learning lists of vocabulary, at the expense of context, appropriacy, etc, and doesn't do much for fluency. There is a lot to be said for teaching phrases but there are also pragmatic issues such as their expectations and the way their success is tested at school to be taken into consideration.