French/German phraseodidactics can be defined as a discipline aiming at ways of systematic teaching of phraseological units (PU) within a contrastive framework. Focusing on French first language speakers learning German as a foreign language, we ask the question of which role dictionaries can play in the development of "phraseological competence". The definition of this concept is complex insofar as it is generally perceived as part of the overall communicative competence (see Ehrhardt 2014:1). According to the CEFR, this competence can be analyzed using a plurilingual approach based on the idea that the individual person "does not keep these languages and cultures in strictly separated mental compartments, but rather builds up a communicative competence to which all knowledge and experience of language contributes and in which languages interrelate and interact" (CEFR 2001: Section 1.3).
The CEFR's definition of communicative competence, then, combined with a plurilingual approach, provides a strong argument in favour of contrastive studies when dealing with phraseological competence. The reflections and observations developed in this contribution are based on teaching experiences of German as a foreign language mainly carried out in situations of teaching students at university and teachers in a teacher training institution, both 'non specialists'.
Using dictionaries for teaching PUs is not necessarily self-evident: non-specialist students rarely ask themselves whether the type of dictionary they use is appropriate for the task. The mistakes which can be frequently observed in their productions confirm a widely shared diagnostic: their competence regarding the use of dictionaries is considered widely insufficient (see, for example, Nied Curcio 2015: 449-450). Hence, the question of how dictionaries can be used to improve phraseological competence is intimately connected to another question: which teaching strategies will have to be deployed in order to raise not just the learner's language awareness but also their dictionary awareness?
One major hypothesis of the present study is that working on phraseological units with students using contrastive methods can be a particularly fruitful way to enhance both language and dictionary awareness, ultimately leading to an improvement of the competencies involved. Phraseological competence does not merely imply being able to recognize, interpret and (re)produce phraseological expressions. Thus, Ehrhardt (2014) insists on the importance of what he calls a "linguistic sense" ("Sprachgefühl", ibid.: 17) as part of the "idiomatic competence" ("idiomatische Kompetenz", ibid.) of the speaker.
The current study will present the findings of a number of observations and experiences carried out in class in combination with a questionnaire and suggest a (re-)definition of the role of the dictionary in foreign language teaching as well as a critical discussion of what a modern phraseological dictionary is or could be.
Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ehrhardt, C. (2014). Idiomatische Kompetenz: Phraseme und Phraseologie im DaF-Unterricht. German as a Foreign Language, 1, 1-20.
Nied Curcio, M. (2015). Wörterbuchbenutzung und Wortschatzerwerb. Werden im Zeitalter des Smartphones überhaupt noch Vokabeln gelernt? Info DaF 5/ 2015 (Themenreihe "Wörterbücher für Deutsch als Fremdsprache"), 445-468.
