Lexical Approach

王文靜

Abstract： The lexical approach， as a method of teaching a foreign language， is an alternative to grammar-based approach. This approach concentrates on developing learners skills in understanding and using words and word combinations. This paper will introduce and explain this new teaching approach， “l(fā)exical approach”， which is supposed to contribute to learners fluent production of a foreign language.

Key words： lexical approach， word combinations

1. Introduction

A few decades ago， there was a predominant view in the linguistic circles that vocabulary was subservient to grammar. Linguists at that time strongly supported the dichotomy of grammar and vocabulary. Also， they were of the view that acquisition of a language is dependent on the mastery of grammatical rules of the language and vocabulary is of secondary importance. However， with the publication of the book The Lexical Approach in 1993， there was a shift from the traditional approaches of language teaching to a lexis-based approach which holds that the building blocks of language learning are not grammar or some other units of planning and teaching but lexis， that is， word and word combinations. The lexical approach believes that vocabulary is a collection of “l(fā)exical chunks”. It is based on the idea that an important part of language acquisition is the ability to comprehend and produce lexical phrases as unanalyzed wholes， or “chunks”， and by these chunks， learners perceive patterns of language which are traditionally thought of as grammar（Lewis， 1993）.

2. Types of lexical units

For lexical approach， there is a distinction between vocabulary and lexis， which includes both separate words and word combinations stored in mental lexicons. Lewis（1997） argues that language consists of lexical units and treats them as belonging to five major categories：

1） Words （e.g. pen， glass）

2） Poly-words （e.g. upside down）

3） Collocations （e.g. to catch a cold）

4） Fixed expressions （e.g. If I were you）

5） Semi-Fixed expressions （e.g. Firstly...； Secondly…； Finally…）

Words and poly-words have been considered as essential vocabulary for learners to memorize. Collocations are understood as the way in which words typically occur with each other. Collocations and expressions are thought to be the most important types of lexical units. Language fluency and accuracy is achieved mainly by recalling and combining ready-made chunks of language.

3. Lexical approach in language teaching and learning

It is clear that lexis plays an important role in a lexical approach in language teaching and learning. Teaching should be based on the idea that language production is the piecing together of ready-made units appropriate for particular situation. Lewis（1997） holds that implementing lexical approach in the class room would entail teachers paying more attention to： lexis of different kinds， specific language areas， listening and reading， the language learners may meet outside the classroom （films， books， Internet）， preparing learners to chunk the language， creating a habit of using dictionaries as learning sources， etc.

The lexical approach recommends the learning of multi-word items as they aid the learner in producing the language without much effort. Lewis also emphasizes that the lexical approach does not undermine the importance of grammar. As he puts it， the Lexical Approach in no way denies the value of grammar， nor its unique role in language （Lewis， 1997）. Lewis suggests that language teaching should include the teaching of lexical phrases or chunks. Lexical chunks are characteristics of language use and language acquisition and present advantages for language teaching and learning.

4. Conclusion

The Lexical Approach is worthwhile and beneficial for students， because they get involved in the process of becoming aware of lexical chunks， identifying， writing， distinguishing between high frequency and low-frequency lexical units. Counting lexical chunks as unanalyzed wholes will surely contribute to more efficient and fruitful English teaching and learning.

Reference：

[1]Lewis， M. The Lexical Approach[M]. Hove， England： Language Teaching Publications， 1993.

[2]Lewis， M. Implementing the Lexical Approach[M]. Hove， England： Language Teaching Publications， 1997.

[3]Nattinger， J. A Lexical Phrase Grammar for ESL[J]. TESOL Quartly， 1980（14）：337-344.

[4]沈敏瑜. 詞匯法—一種新的教學(xué)路子[J]. 外語界， 1999（3）：27-31.