2.12 - The Lexical Approach
2.12 - The Lexical Approach
2.12 - The Lexical Approach
Background
We have seen throughout this book that central to an approach or
method in language teaching is a view of the nature of language, and this
shapes teaching goals, the type of syllabus that is adopted, and the em-
phasis given in classroom teaching. A lexical approach in language teach-
ing refers to one derived from the belief that the building blocks of
language learning and communication are not grammar, functions, no-
tions, or some other unit of planning and teaching but lexis, that is, words
and word combinations. Lexical approaches in language teaching reflect
a belief in the centrality of the lexicon to language structure, second
language learning, and language use, and in particular to multiword
lexical units or “chunks” that are learned and used as single items. Lin-
guistic theory has also recognized a more central role for vocabulary in
linguistic description. Formal transformational/generative linguistics,
which previously took syntax as the primary focus, now gives more
central attention to the lexicon and how the lexicon is formatted, coded,
and organized. Chomsky, the father of contemporary studies in syntax,
has recently adopted a “lexicon-is-prime” position in his Minimalist Lin-
guistic theory.
The role of lexical units has been stressed in both first and second
language acquisition research. These have been referred to by many
different labels, including “holophrases” (Corder 1973), “prefabricated
patterns” (Hakuta 1974), “gambits” (Keller 1979), “speech formulae”
(Peters 1983), and “lexicalized stems” (Pawley and Syder 1983). Several
approaches to language learning have been proposed that view vocabu-
lary and lexical units as central in learning and teaching. These include
The Lexical Syllabus (Willis 1990), Lexical Phrases and Language Teach-
ing (Nattinger and DeCarrico 1992), and The Lexical Approach (Lewis
1993). Advances in computer-based studies of language (referred to as
corpus linguistics) have also provided a huge, classroom-accessible
database for lexically based inquiry and instruction. These studies have
focused on collocations of lexical items and multiple word units. A num-
ber of lexically based texts and computer resources have become avail-
able to assist in organizing and teaching the lexicon.
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The lexical approach
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The lexical approach
Procedure
Procedural sequences for lexically based language teaching vary depend-
ing on which of the four types of materials and activities outlined in the
preceding section are employed. However, all designers, to some degree,
assume that the learner must take on the role of “discourse analyst,” with
the discourse being either packaged data or data “found” via one of the
text search computer programs. Classroom procedures typically involve
the use of activities that draw students’ attention to lexical collocations
and seek to enhance their retention and use of collocations. Woolard
(2000) suggests that teachers should reexamine their course books for
collocations, adding exercises that focus explicitly on lexical phrases.
They should also develop activities that enable learners to discover
collocations themselves, both in the classroom and in the language they
encounter outside of the classroom. Woolard (2000: 35) comments:
The learning of collocations is one aspect of language development which is
ideally suited to independent language learning. In a very real sense, we can
teach students to teach themselves. Collocation is mostly a matter of noticing
and recording, and trained students should be able to explore texts for them-
selves. Not only should they notice common collocations in the texts they
meet, but more importantly, they should select those collocations which are
crucial to their particular needs.
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Alternative approaches and methods
Hill (2000) suggests that classroom procedures involve (a) teaching indi-
vidual collocations, (b) making students aware of collocation, (c) extend-
ing what students already know by adding knowledge of collocation
restrictions to known vocabulary, and (d) storing collocations through
encouraging students to keep a lexical notebook. Lewis (2000: 20–21)
gives the following example of how a teacher extends learners’ knowl-
edge of collocations while giving feedback on a learner’s error.
S: I have to make an exam in the summer.
(T indicates mistake by facial expression.)
S: I have to make an exam.
T: (Writes ‘exam’ on the board.)
What verb do we usually use with “exam”?
S2: Take.
T: Yes, that’s right. (Writes “take” on the board.)
What other verbs do we use with “exam”?
S2: Pass.
T: Yes. And the opposite?
S: Fail.
(Writes “pass” and “fail” on the board.)
And if you fail an exam, sometimes you can do it again.
What’s the verb for that? (Waits for response.)
No? OK, retake. You can retake an exam.
(Writes “retake” on the board.)
If you pass an exam with no problems, what can you say? I . . . passed.
S2: Easily.
T: Yes, or we often say “comfortably.” I passed comfortably.
What about if you get 51 and the pass mark is 50?
What can you say? I . . . (Waits for response.)
No? I just passed. You can also just fail.
Conclusion
The status of lexis in language teaching has been considerably enhanced
by developments in lexical and linguistic theory, by work in corpus analy-
sis, and by recognition of the role of multiword units in language learning
and communication. However, lexis still refers to only one component of
communicative competence. Lewis and others have coined the term lexi-
cal approach to characterize their proposals for a lexis-based approach to
language teaching. However, such proposals lack the full characterization
of an approach or method as described in this book. It remains to be
convincingly demonstrated how a lexically based theory of language and
language learning can be applied at the levels of design and procedure in
language teaching, suggesting that it is still an idea in search of an ap-
proach and a methodology.
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