Abstract
The prevalent English language methodology does not result in fluency and naturalness of language production, as supporters of lexically oriented approaches to teaching tend to claim. What is highly criticized is the undue emphasis which is placed on the explicit teaching of grammar rules and meanings of individual words.
The critics suggest refusing the traditional division into grammar and vocabulary. Instead, the focus should be on raising awareness of collocations and explicit teaching of these word partnerships, since naturalness and fluency seem to lie in collocational competence.
Our study was conducted to determine whether this method would lead to acquiring collocational knowledge and therefore enhance fluency and naturalness of language production in university students in the Czech Republic. The research reflects a 10-week experimental teaching in the winter semester in 2020 addressing the question of which types of students would benefit from this method most in terms of foreign language aptitude, motivation, learning styles and strategies, and personality traits.
The main aim of the paper is to present the design of the project, describe in detail the test battery and define the differences in the lesson plans for the experimental and the control group. The paper also presents findings from preliminary analysis of pre-test assessment of student's English proficiency and individual difference measures.