Interlingual Phrasal Friends as a Resource for Second Language Learning: Outline of a Lexicographical Project

In this paper I describe a project aimed at providing Italian learners of English with a collection of English multiword units (MWUs) which they may learn with relative ease. The MWUs in question are those which have similar forms and meanings in Italian and English. Over 2,400 pairs of such items have been inserted into a database. The items in question are not usually a problem for the learner from the point of view of receptive skills. The pedagogical usefulness of presenting learners with a collection of such phrases lies, above all, in the fact that they will readily become available for production skills, assuming that any eventual differences in usage have been highlighted. The paper is divided into 4 sections. The first consists of a description of the phraseological phenomenon in question. The second explains the pedagogical usefulness of the project. The third describes aspects of data collection and management. And the fourth gives an outline of expected lexicographical presentation.