Lexical approach 1: What does the lexical approach look like?

Introduction

The principles of the Lexical Approach have been around since Michael Lewis published The Lexical Approach in 1993. It seems, however, that many teachers and researchers do not have a clear idea of what the Lexical Approach actually looks like in practice.

In this first of two articles, we look at how advocates of the Lexical Approach view language. In the second article, we apply theories of language learning to a Lexical Approach and describe what lexical lessons could look like.

We have also produced teaching materials for you to try out in your own classrooms.

The theory of language

Look at the following version of the introduction. What do the parts printed in bold in square brackets have in common?

The principles of the Lexical Approach have [been around] since Michael Lewis published The Lexical Approach in 1993. [It seems, however, that] many teachers and researchers do not [have a clear idea of] what the Lexical Approach actually [looks like] [in practice].

All the parts in brackets are fixed or set phrases. Different commentators use different and overlapping terms: 'prefabricated phrases', 'lexical phrases', 'formulaic language', 'frozen and semi-frozen phrases', are just some of these terms. We use just two: 'lexical chunks' and 'collocations'.

'Lexical chunk' is an umbrella term which includes all the other terms. We define a lexical chunk as any pair or group of words which are commonly found together, or in close proximity.

'Collocation' is also included in the term 'lexical chunk', but we refer to it separately from time to time, so we define it as a pair of lexical content words commonly found together. Following this definition, 'basic' + 'principles' is a collocation, but 'look' + 'at' is not because it combines a lexical content word and a grammar function word. Identifying chunks and collocations is often a question of intuition, unless you have access to a corpus. Here are some examples:

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

Lexical Chunks (that are collocations)

totally convinced
strong accent
terrible accident
sense of humour
sounds exciting
brings good luck

Principle 1- Grammaticalised lexis

In recent years, it has been recognised that native speakers have both a vast stock of these lexical chunks and that these lexical chunks are vital for fluent production. Fluency does not depend so much on having a set of generative grammar rules and a separate stock of words – the 'slot and filler' or open choice principle – as on having rapid access to a stock of chunks:

"It is our ability to use lexical phrases that helps us to speak with fluency. This prefabricated speech has both the advantages of more efficient retrieval and of permitting speakers (and learners) to direct their attention to the larger structure of the discourse, rather than keeping it narrowly focused on individual words as they are produced" (Nattinger and DeCarrico 1992).

The basic principle of the lexical approach then, is: "Language is grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar" (Lewis 1993). In other words, lexis is central in creating meaning, while grammar plays a subservient managerial role. If you accept this principle, then the logical implication is that we should spend more time helping learners develop their stock of phrases, and less time on grammatical structures.

Let's look at an example of lexical chunks or prefabricated speech in action:

Chris: Carlos tells me Naomi fancies him.
Ivor: It's just a figment of his imagination.

According to the theory we have just outlined, it is not the case that Ivor has accessed 'figment' and 'imagination' from his vocabulary store and then accessed the structure [it + to be + adverb + article + noun + of + possessive adjective + noun] from the grammar store. It is more likely that Ivor has accessed the whole chunk in one go. We have, in Peters' words, in addition to vocabulary and grammar stores, a 'phrasebook with grammatical notes'. Probably, the chunk is stored something like this:

[It is/was + (just/only) + a figment of + possessive + imagination]

Accessing, in effect, eight words in one go allows me to speak fluently and to focus on other aspects of the discourse – more comments about Carlos, for example. We can make two more points about this example:

• A number of friends and colleagues were asked to give an example of the word 'figment'. They all gave an example which corresponds to our chunk above. When asked to define the word 'figment', hardly anyone could do this accurately. This is an example of how native speakers routinely use chunks without analysing the constituent parts.
• There is nothing intrinsically negative in the dictionary definition of the word 'figment', yet it is always, in my experience, used dismissively or derisively. This is an example of how we store information about a word which goes beyond its simple meaning.

Principle 2 - Collocation in action

In an application form, a candidate referred to a 'large theme' in his thesis. This sounded ugly, but there is nothing intrinsically ugly about either word – it's just a strange combination to a native-speaker ear. In the Lexical Approach, sensitising learners to acceptable collocations is very important, so you might find this kind of task:

Underline the word which does not collocate with 'theme':

main theme / large theme / important theme / central theme / major theme

Try completing the following sentences with as many different words as you can:

(a) The Lexical Approach has had a strong _______________ on me.

(b) Carlos and Ivor _________________ me to try out the Lexical Approach.

A second important aspect of the Lexical Approach is that lexis and grammar are closely related. If you look at the examples above, you will see in (a) that three semantically related words – impact, influence, effect – behave the same way grammatically: have a/an impact/influence/effect on something. In (b) verbs connected with initiating action – encourage, persuade, urge, advise, etc. – all follow the pattern [verb + object + infinitive]. This kind of 'pattern grammar' is considered to be important in the Lexical Approach.

About the authors

Carlos Islam teaches ESL and Applied Linguistics at the University of Maine. He is also involved in materials writing projects, editing Folio (the journal of the Materials Development Association – www.matsda.org.uk) and language acquisition research.

Ivor Timmis is Lecturer in Language Teaching and Learning at Leeds Beckett University. He teaches on the MA in Materials Development for Language Teachers, works on materials development consultancies and is also involved in corpus linguistic research.

Further reading

Baigent, M. (1999) 'Teaching in chunks: integrating a lexical approach', Modern English Teacher, 8(2), pp. 51–54.

Lewis, M. (1993) The lexical approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications.

Lewis, M. (1996) 'Implications of a lexical view of language', in Willis, J. and Willis, D. (eds.) Challenge and change in language teaching. Oxford: Heinemann.

Lewis, M. (1997) Implementing the lexical approach: putting theory into practice. Hove: Language Teaching Publications.

Lewis, M. (2000) 'Language in the lexical approach', in Lewis, M. (ed.) Teaching collocation: further developments in the lexical approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications, pp. 126–154.

Nattinger, J.R. and DeCarrico, J.S. (1992) Lexical phrases and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pawley, A. and Syder, F.H. (1983) 'Two puzzles for linguistic theory: native-like selection and native-like fluency', in Richards, J.C. and Schmidt, R.W. (eds.) Language and communication. London: Longman, pp. 191–225.

Thornbury, S. (1997) 'Reformulation and reconstruction: tasks that promote "noticing"', ELT Journal, 51(4), pp. 326–334.

Thornbury, S. (1998) 'The lexical approach: a journey without maps?', Modern English Teacher, 7(4), pp. 7–13.

Willis, D. (1990) The lexical syllabus: a new approach to language learning. London: Collins ELT.

Woolard, G. (2000) 'Collocation – encouraging learner independence', in Lewis, M. (ed.) Teaching collocation: further developments in the lexical approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications, pp. 28–46.