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The Lexical Approach

1) The lexical approach focuses on language learning through memorization of lexical chunks like collocations, idioms, and fixed phrases rather than through grammar rules. 2) Key features include prioritizing lexis over grammar and learning language in prefabricated chunks, as chunks represent a significant part of native speaker language. 3) A lexical syllabus targets how texts are used in the classroom through activities that raise awareness of lexical patterns and help students add to their stored collocations.

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Syed Anwer Shah
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148 views

The Lexical Approach

1) The lexical approach focuses on language learning through memorization of lexical chunks like collocations, idioms, and fixed phrases rather than through grammar rules. 2) Key features include prioritizing lexis over grammar and learning language in prefabricated chunks, as chunks represent a significant part of native speaker language. 3) A lexical syllabus targets how texts are used in the classroom through activities that raise awareness of lexical patterns and help students add to their stored collocations.

Uploaded by

Syed Anwer Shah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Theory background

Key figures:
Corder – “ holophrases” – (1973)
Hakuta – “ prefabricated patterns” – (1974)
Keller – “ gambits” – (1979)
Peters – “ speech formulae” – (1983)
Dave Willis – “The Lexical Syllabus” - (1990)
Nattinger and deCarrico - (1992)
“The Lexical phrases and language teaching”
Michael Lewis – “The Lexical Approach” - (1993)
The viewpoint of language
“Language consists not of traditional grammar and vocabulary but often
multi-word prefabricated chunks.” Michael Lewis

“The essential idea is that fluency is based on the acquisition of fixed and
semi-fixed prefabricated items, which are available as the foundation for
any linguistic novelty or creativity.” Michael Lewis
It refers to the belief that the building blocks of language learning and
communication are not grammar, functions or notions or some other unit
but lexis. Michael Lewis
According to the Lexical Approach, students should learn 'chunks' of
language, since language is made up of collocations, idioms, and fixed
phrases. Michael Lewis
The Lexical Approach

• It is a method of teaching foreign languages.

• An important part of learning a language consists of being


able to understand and produce lexical phrases as chunks
which can be adapted, combined and recombined to fulfill
different functions or purposes.
• The lexical approach concentrates on developing learners'
proficiency with lexis, or words and word combinations.

Lexis plays the central role.


• Alternative approach to traditional grammatical approach

Chunks which makes fluency reality)


• Minimal pairs, collocations, lexical units are the specific
characteristics of this approach
The Lexical Approach

What are the main features of the lexical approach ?

LEXIS,
LEXIS rather than grammar, plays a primary role in the acquisition
of language.

LEXIS is not just vocabulary.

CHUNKS (lexical prefabricated items) represent a significant


portion of a native speaker’s spoken and written output.
Therefore, these chunks of language are vital for fluent production.
The Nature of Lexis

For this approach, vocabulary has the central role in linguistic


description.
This approach establishes that the centrality of lexicon to
language structure and the importance of lexical units or
“chunks” that are learned and used as single items

Lexical units
There is a distinction between vocabulary, traditionally
thought to be constituted of single items, and lexis, which
includes not only the single words but also the word
combinations that we store in our mental lexicon.
The Nature of Lexis: examples

Words: book , pen


Idioms: dead drunk , to run up a bill
Similes: as old as hills
Binomials: clean and tidy , back to front
Trinomials: cool, calm , and collected
Connectives: finally , to conclude
Collocations: community service, do * a job, my hair , my work
make* bed , promise , coffee , a meal
Polywords: by the way , upside down , on the other hand
Fixed expressions: I´ll get it ; We´ll see ; If I were you ...
Conversational gambits: guess what !
Sentence frames or heads: The problem is… ,That is all very well, but…
The Nature of Lexis
The role of collocations is also important in lexically based theories of
languages.
Collocations refer to the regular use of words together.
Do my hair/the cooking/my work
Collocations might be described as the words that are placed or found
together in a predictable pattern. Examples range from two word
combinations These language patterns comprise much of speech and
writing
Collocations: are words that 'sound right' together, even though there is
no grammatical reason they should be used together:
gin & tonic (but never tonic & gin)
high probability (but good chance)
completely useless (not entirely useless)
The Lexical Approach
Idioms: are phrases that express something entirely
different than what their literal meaning suggests:

to pull someone's leg

to get cold feet

to cut to the chase


Fixed phrases: are commonly-used expressions:

 to close your eyes

 to get the impression

 larger than life


DESINGING FOR LANGUAGE
TEACHING AND LEARNING

Objectives The role of teacher

Syllabus The role of learners

Materials
Learning
activities
Teaching Objective

 To understand and consolidate learning


materials based on lexical rather than
grammatical principles.

 Comprehending the most common


lexical words together with lexical
patterns and accesses.
SYLLABUS
 The lexical syllabus not only subsumes a
structural syllabus, it also indicate how the
structures which make up syllabus should be
exemplified (Willis, 1990).
 A lexical syllabus provides a discussion of
some of the major issues in language
teaching methodology ( Willis, 1990) .
 Lexical syllabus target how text are used in
classroom
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
 Teachers’ aims :

 Class time should be confined particular


learning strategies dealing with unknown
lexical items and structures.
 Teachers can struggle for students’
consciousness and lexical patterns’ benefits.
 Students should be relaxed for fear of
causing confusion to the learners’ lexicon.
• THE ROLE OF TEACHERS • THE ROLE OF LEARNERS
• Teacher talk is a major source • The idea of the teacher as
of learners input ‘knower’ = the idea of the
• Organizing technological learners as ‘discoverer ’
systems and creating • Data analyst
environment to help
effectively learners • Providing participation with
• Teachers’ methodology in listening , noticing and
classroom reflecting.
• Helping learners manage their • The student is the discoverer
own learning
MATERIALS AND
TEACHING RESOURSES

TYPE 1 TYPE 2

Course package computer Collection of vocabulary


Concordance Teaching activities

TYPE 3 TYPE 4

“printout version” of computer Programs and attached data sets


corpora
Collections packaged in text format
PROCEDURE
 On the base of the implemented

documents and activities, procedural


sequences change.
 Classroom procedures generally include
followings:
 a) Attracting students’ attention to lexical
collocations
 b) Increasing students’ retention
PROCEDURE
 C) Teaching individual collocations
 d) Making students aware of colocations
 E) Extending what students already
know by adding knowledge of collocation

restrictions to know vocabulary.


 F) Storing collocations through
encouraging students to keep
a lexical notebook.
A proposal from Woolard:

 Revising the course books to seek collocations , and


practicing making use of activities developing the
students’ realization to collocation
A proposal from Hill:
 Teaching individual collocations
 Providing students awareness to
collocations.
 Giving the knowledge of collocation
and adding them to appropriate
known words.
 Supporting students to keep a lexical
notebook.
 This approach’s characterization still
remains incompletely.
 It is still only an opinion .

 Teachers should use more exercises


for raising students’ mindfulness
rather than explaining lengthily.
REFERENCES
• http://www.scribd.com/doc/17116576/Presentation-on-The-Lexical-Approac
• Lewis, M. (1993). The lexical approach: The state of ELT and a way
forward. Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications.
• Lewis, M. (1997). Implementing the lexical approach. Hove, England:
Language Teaching Publications.
• Nation, I. S. .P. (1990). Teaching and learning vocabulary. Rowley, MA:
Newbury House.
• Richards, J. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching:Cambridge University Press.
• Sinclair, J. (1991). Corpus, concordance, collocation. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
• http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/4/363.extract
REFERENCES
• Corder, P 1963 Introducing Applied linguistics. Baltimore: Penguin
Books.
• Lewis, M.(ed.).2000.Teaching collocation: Further Development in
the Lexical Approach. London: Language Teaching Publication.
• Lewis, M.2000. Learning the Lexical Approach. In M.LEWIS
(ED.),Teaching collocation : further development in the Lexical
Approach. London : Language Teaching Publication.
• http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/knowledge-wiki/chunks
• http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/lexical-approach-
1-what-does-lexical-approach-look
• http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/chunkterm.htm
• http://www.cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej09/r10.html

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