TKT Preparation Course

Unit 2. Lexis

T. César Cárdenas / March 2021

What is lexis?
Lexis - individual words or sets of words, i.e.
vocabulary items that have specific meaning, for
example:
• tree
• get up
• first of all
What meanings does the word tree have?

● denotative, e.g. - a large plant with a wooden trunk,

branches and leaves

● figurative, e.g. - a tree of life, a family tree

● depending on context
Key Concepts: meaning from
additional elements
- meaning can be created by:
Key Concepts: meaning from
additional elements
- meaning can be created by:
● adding prefixes and suffixes
(e.g. nationality, unprofessional)
Key Concepts: meaning from
additional elements
- meaning can be created by:
● adding prefixes and suffixes
(e.g. nationality, unprofessional)
● making compound words
(e.g telephone number, bookshop)
Key Concepts: meaning from
additional elements
- meaning can be created by:
● adding prefixes and suffixes
(e.g. nationality, unprofessional)
● making compound words
(e.g telephone number, bookshop)
● using collocations or idioms
(e.g. take a holiday, heavy rain, it’s raining cats and
dogs)
Key Concepts: meaning by
grouping
- meaning can be created by grouping:
Key Concepts: meaning by
grouping
- meaning can be created by grouping:
● synonyms (words with similar meaning)
Key Concepts: meaning by
grouping
- meaning can be created by grouping:
● synonyms (words with similar meaning)

● antonyms (words with opposite meaning)

Key Concepts: meaning by
grouping
- meaning can be created by grouping:
● synonyms (words with similar meaning)

● antonyms (words with opposite meaning)

● lexical sets (words within the same topic area, e.g.

members of the family, furniture, types of food)
Key Concepts: meaning by
grouping
- meaning can be created by grouping:
● synonyms (words with similar meaning)

● antonyms (words with opposite meaning)

● lexical sets (words within the same topic area, e.g.

members of the family, furniture, types of food)
● word families (words with the same root)
Key Concepts and the language
teaching classroom
● Really knowing a word means
knowing all its different kinds
of meaning.
Key Concepts and the language
teaching classroom
● Knowing a word also involves
knowing its form, i.e. what
part of speech it is, how it
works grammatically, and how
it’s pronounced and spelt.
Key Concepts and the language
teaching classroom
● Teachers need to introduce
vocabulary items again and
again to learners to increase
range of meaning and aid
memory.
Key Concepts and the language
teaching classroom
● We first introduce words in
reading and listening before
we ask learners to use the
items.
 Lexical Features
• Denotation • False Friends
• Synonyms • Prefixes
• Antonyms / Opposites • Suffixes
• Lexical Sets • Compounds
• Word Families • Collocations
• Homophones • Figurative Meanings
• Homonyms • Idioms