the lexical approach

We [tend to] [put words into] [little groups of words]:
chunking

This is called the Lexical Approach:

The lexical approach is a method of teaching foreign languages described by Michael Lewis in the early 1990s. The basic concept on which this approach rests is the idea that an important part of learning a language consists of being able to understand and produce lexical phrases as chunks. Students are taught to be able to perceive patterns of language (grammar) as well as have meaningful set uses of words at their disposal when they are taught in this way.
In the lexical approach, instruction focuses on fixed expressions that occur frequently in dialogues, which Lewis claims make up a larger part of discourse than unique phrases and sentences. Vocabulary is prized over grammar... in this approach. The teaching of chunks and set phrases has become common in English as a foreign or second language...
Lexical approach - Wikipedia

The lexical approach is a way of analysing and teaching language based on the idea that it is made up of lexical units rather than grammatical structures. The units are words, chunks formed by collocations, and fixed phrases.
Example
The phrase 'Rescue attempts are being hampered by bad weather' is a chunk of language, and almost a fixed phrase. It is formed by the collocations 'Rescue' + 'attempt', 'rescue attempt' + 'hampered', 'hampered' + 'by', 'hampered by' + 'bad weather'.
In the classroom
A simple activity to incorporate the lexical approach is to encourage learners to identify and record lexical chunks and fixed phrases in texts they read.
Further links:

Lexical Approach 1 - What does the lexical approach look like? | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

Lexical Approach 2 - What does the lexical approach look like? | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Lexical approach | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

It's getting better to do this kind of thing in the classroom and at home - but traditions die hard:

Taking a lexical approach to teaching: principles and problems - Harwood - 2002 - International Journal of Applied Linguistics - Wiley Online Library

But it's very useful - even when it comes to professional English, where we shouldn't be learning lists of single words:

Kavaliauskiene - Using the Lexical Approach for the Acquisition of ESP Vocabulary (TESL/TEFL)

From 2013:

Why has the lexical approach been so long in coming?
Twenty years after Michael Lewis used computer research to show that the phrases and word groups used in English hold the key to learning the language, not grammar rules and vocabulary, ELT remains resistant to change... 

The central role of lexis in ELT has been recognised. Textbooks routinely include collocation boxes, pages with functional language and generally pay more attention to spoken language. But, clearly, Lewis was aiming at much more.

If anything, the lexical approach for me is about grammar. Not the kind of carefully sequenced and fundamentally flawed presentation of discrete items but grammar as a search for patterns and regularities in language we use. Lewis's goal was to effect a radical upheaval in the way we teach language and not merely bring vocabulary to the fore. But 20 years on, it is evident that this is precisely what his lexical approach has achieved and – to finish off with a chunk – we should be grateful for small mercies.
Why has the lexical approach been so long in coming? | Education | The Guardian

From 2019:
The Lexical Approach - Teflpedia
The Lexical Approach in Language Teaching
Lexical Approach e sviluppo del parlato in lingua inglese
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