2. BACKGROUND
It is a language teaching method published by Michael
Lewis in 1993
Giving importance the insight of the language lexicon
Lexis is the basis of language
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, minimal pairs, collacations, lexical units are the
specific characteristics of this approach
3. Chomsky has recently adopted a lexicon-is-prime
The role of lexical units has been stressed in both first and
second language acquisition research
These units are :
- Holophrases
- Prefabricated patterns
- Gambits
- Speech formulae
- Lexicalized stems
4. APPROACH
o No learning theory
o No theory of language
o The building blocks of language learning and
communication are not grammar, functions or
some of unit of planning but teaching lexis with
the help of chunks and collocations.
5. What is chunk?
'Lexical chunk' is an umbrella term which includes all the
other terms.
What are collocations?
Collocation is a pair of lexical content words commonly
found together
6. o Lexical Chunks (that are not collocations)
by the way
up to now
upside down
If I were you
a long way off
out of my mind
o Lexical Chunks (that are collocations)
totally convinced
strong accent
terrible accident
sense of humour
sounds exciting
brings good luck
7. LEXICAL UNITS
Binomials ( e.g. Knife and fork…)
Trinomials ( e.g. Cool, calm and collected…)
Idioms ( e.g. To rain cats and dogs… )
Similes ( e.g. As white as snow …. )
Connectives ( e.g. Finally, to conclude )
Conversational gambits ( e.g. Guess what… )
8. Krashen’s suggestion:
emphasis on reading and listening
Others’ suggestion:
making classroom laboratory
Bahns’ suggestion:
no direct translational equivalence for teaching of
lexical items in EFL
9. LEWIS’S ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT LEARNING THEORY IN THE
LEXICAL APPROACH:
Encountering new learning items
Noticing lexical chunks or collocations
Noticing similarities, differences, restrictions and examples
Acquisition is based not on the application of formal rules
No linear syllabus can adequately reflect the nonlinear
nature of acquisition
10. DESIGN
- Objectives;
To get students to become aware of, use and to eventually master these
meaning-filled, multi-word “chunks”, collocations and fixed utterances.
To help learners to notice for themselves how language is typically used
Language is learnt by an increasing ability to break down wholes into
parts.
Grammar is acquired by a process of observation, hypothesis and
experiment.
We can use whole phrases without understanding their constituent parts.
Acquisition is accelerated by contact with a sympathetic interlocutor
with a higher level of competence in the target language
11. SYLLABUS
Structural syllabus is used.( Also called as “ lexical
syllabus” )
teaching vocabulary and grammar
12. TEACHER’S ROLES;
The talk of the teacher as a major source of learner input( This is the same with
the Natural Approach)
To understand and implement the methodology which is based on stages
composed of;
-Task
-Planning
- Report
To create an operative environment(where students operate effectively)
To help the learners manage their own learning after operation
“…abandon the idea of the teacher as a knower and concentrate instead of the
idea of the learner as “discoverer”.” (Willis 1990)
13. STUDENT’S ROLES;
The analyzer of real life language samples based
on his or her own explanations
To observe, classify and make generalizations
Making use of computers
14. PROCEDURE:
Introduction of chunks
Practice of chunks
Accumulation of chunks
Use of chunks and collocations
15. CONCLUSION;
It has lexically based theory of language
It doesn't have any certain learning theory
It is an alternative approach
It focuses on words and word combinations
Grammar and lexis are the heart of learning
It aims to teach vocabulary within grammar
Teachers help learners to discover knowledge instead of giving
it directly
16. WEAKNESS:
It lacks full characterization of an approach
Lack of a detailed learning theory
