THE LEXICAL APPROACH

The lexical approach is based on the idea that words and word combinations are building
blocks of language, and speakers of a language use words and multiword units
functioning as chunks in their communication. These important parts (chunks) are referred to
holophrases ( a single word explaining the ideas of a phrase or sentence especially
used by children with body language) milk (I want to drink milk)
prefabricated patterns (word groups constructed beforehand, that can be modified)
(That is a ________ ) [book, pen, toy, banana, baby etc.]
gambits (word or phrase which helps one express what he or she is trying to say)
[Today, I'm/we're going to talk about., The next point I'd/we'd like to mention concerns ,
To summarise/sum up , We may now look at...]
The lexical approach concentrates on developing learners' proficiency with lexis. (words
and word combinations)
The lexical approach makes a distinction between vocabulary and lexis
Vocabulary (traditionally understood as a stock of individual words with fixed meanings)
Lexis, (not only the single words but also the word combinations that we store in our mental
lexicons)

According to the approach, an important part of language acquisition is the ability to

comprehend and produce lexical phrases as unanalyzed wholes, or chunks.
Michael Lewis (1993), who coined the term lexical approach, suggests the following:
Lexis (words and word combinations) is the basis of language.
Lexis is misunderstood in language teaching because of the assumption that grammar is
the basis of language and that mastery of the grammatical system is a prerequisite for
effective communication.
The key principle of a lexical approach is that language consists of grammaticalized lexis,
not lexicalized grammar.
Language consists of grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar means is that lexical
phrases offer far more language generative power than grammatical structures.
In recent years it has been recognized that
Native speakers have a vast stock of these lexical chunks
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, but depends much on having rapid access to a stock of chunks.
According to the approach, language is not learnt by learning individual sounds and structures
and then combining them. Grammar is acquired by a process of observation, hypothesis and
experiment. We can learn and use whole phrases without understanding their constituent
parts.

How does Lexical Approach increase the fluency?

The mind stores and processes these [lexical] chunks as individual wholes. The mind is able
to store large amounts of information in long term memory but its short term capacity is
much more limited, when producing language in speech.
So it is much more efficient for the brain to recall a chunk of language as if it were one piece
of information.
The approach defines a number of terms which refer to lexical units.
The most important one is collocation, co-occurrence of words (words occur together)
Such occurrences are generally obtained by means of software called concordances. This
software scans authentic electronic texts created for this purpose and lists the lexical units that
meet the given criterion. (Note that this is the combination of form and function)
Collocations of
do and make
predict and forecast
choose and select
disease and sickness
gather and collect
clothes and dress
might be very useful for language learners.

buy and purchase

enough sufficient

The other definitions which refer to lexical units

binomials (Siamese words or Siamese twins)
far and away, hide and seek, sink or swim, apples and oranges, man and wife, heaven and
hell, bow and arrow, pros and cons, back and forth,
trinomials (consisting of 3 words)
cool, calm and collected
lights, camera, action,
signed, sealed, delivered
idioms (expressions whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of the words)
armed to the teeth (have lots of weapons)
burn your fingers (suffer something unpleasant as the result of something you did)
make your blood boil (makes you very angry)
split hairs (concentrate on tiny and unimportant details)
win by a nose (only just beat the others)
similes (a figure of speech in which two distinct things are compared)
as busy as a bee
as round as a circle /sphere
as cold as ice
as slow as a snail / turtle
as dense as a brick
as tall as a giraffe
as dry as a bone
as big as an elephant
as hard as rock
as brave as a lion
as hungry as a bear / wolf
as bright as the sun
connectives
He has no money. In addition, he has no means of getting any
A is B. A is C. To sum up, A is several things
The French love music. In other words, music is appreciated in France
Miss Gold lost her job. She, therefore, had no money
It is said that water flows up hill. On the contrary, it flows downhill
I had lunch. Meanwhile, my wife had her hair cut.

About LERANING:
It may be related to Krashens Natural Approach. (Through reading, such lexicon can be
considered as language input)
Encountering selected items can raise learners consciousness. (Noticing, similarities,
differences, restrictions may contribute to turning input into intake.
About MATERIALS
Complete course packages (Reading texts, teacher manuals, tapes)
Vocabulary teaching materials
Printouts of computer corpora collections
Concordancing software + electronic corpora
PROCEDURE
Teaching individual collocations
Making students aware of collocation
Extending what students already know by adding knowledge of collocation restrictions to
known vocabulary
Storing collocations through encouraging students to keep lexical notebooks.