Classroom Reports

One can exploit the Lexical Approach to his/her liking in different ways of course depending
on their own areas of interest or expertise and their student’s level, needs and interest. In
this chapter we will look at the different ways in which six collegues have modified their
teaching in ways they attribute to lexical ideas and which they report as in some way more
successful than their previous practices.

Classroom Report 1: Cherry Gough

In here he describes an activity that was designed to introduce collocations to advanced
learners of English in Poland. The activity was intended to be a part of a sequence of learner-
centered activities aimed at helping students develop strategies for reading and finding
collocations in authentic texts. The activity was designed to raise the students’ awareness of
collocations and to improve their ability to use them in their written work. After this he goes
on how he did it by explaining it step by step. There is also a commentary at the end. This
commentary discusses how the activity describe in Report 1 aligns with the principles of the
lexical approach. The activity emphasizes the importance of looking at and recording words
in groups rather than individually, and encourages the use of a lexical notebook to organize
and access to new vocabulary. It also emphasizes the importance of considering the
flexibility and likelihood of collocations. The activity is learner-centered and reflective, and is
designed to develop learners' language awareness in a way that will be beneficial
throughout their language learning careers. It is intended to have a medium-term impact on
learners' language skills.

Classroom Report 2: Ron Martinez

This chapter describes an activity designed by Ron Martines an American teacher to
introduce the collocational use of the verm “get” to his students. The activity was motivated
by the teacher’s dissatisfaction with the treatment of the “get” pattern in published
materials, which he believed did not adequately reflect the generative power of this lexis.
The activity is intended to help students understand the collocational use of “get” and to
recognize when it is appropriate to use this verb in place of more traditional forms like
“become.” The Activity involves a sqeunce of activities that are focus on the use of “get” in
different contexts. Commentary says that an activity that involves using pictures to practice
language skills, but with a lexical focus rather than a traditional grammar focus. The activity
involves making small changes to traditional methods rather than making a radical shift in
approach. The summary suggests that the implementation of the lexical approach often
involves making many small changes rather than adopting a completely new paradigm. An
example of a similar activity using the verb "have" in British English is also mentioned.

Classroom Report 3: Mark Powell

This chapter describes a technique called "sound scripting" developed by Mark Powell, an
experienced teacher of business English. The technique involves using lexical chunking and a
word processor to prepare a script that integrates phonology and lexis for effective oral
delivery. The technique is designed to help learners improve their linguistic and rhetorical
skills for presenting in English and is applicable to any text that will be spoken aloud. Powell
developed the technique while working with a French biochemist who struggled with
monotonous delivery and difficulty chunking his speech effectively. The technique aims to
help speakers chunk their speech into comprehensible units and pay attention to stress and
intonation to improve the clarity and effectiveness of their presentations. It is applicable to
both scripted and spontaneous speech. The commentary explains that the "sound scripting"
technique described in the previous report is useful not only for formal presentations, but
also for students who need to give mini-presentations in school. The technique can help
students feel more confident and prepared for these presentations, and can also help them
become more aware of the importance of tone units in language. The technique is relevant
for most classes, as it can help learners improve their awareness of these units and their use
in effective communication.

Classroom Report 4: Jonathan Marks

It describes a review by Jonathan Marks, an experienced freelance teacher trainer, on the
link between grammar and suprasegmental pronunciation as influenced by lexical ideas. The
review suggests that these elements of language are connected and can be understood
through the lens of lexical concepts. Marks has written extensively on pronunciation in the
past. In the commentary, six colleagues described how they have modified their teaching to
incorporate a lexical focus in their lessons. Cherry Gough introduced collocation to her
advanced learners in Poland through a series of learner-centered activities. Ron Martinez
used a sequence of activities based on the de-lexicalized verb "get" to help his students
understand collocation. Mark Powell described the technique of "sound scripting," which
involves using lexical chunking and a word processor to prepare a script that integrates
phonology and lexis for spoken texts. Jonathan Marks discussed the relationship between
grammar and suprasegmental pronunciation, and how they can be linked by lexical ideas.
George Woolard described literature-based group-writing activities that encouraged
students to express their own opinions, attitudes, and emotions. Heinz Ribisch explained
how he has incorporated lexical principles into the notebooks of his young learners. These
reports demonstrated the various ways in which teachers can implement the Lexical
Approach in their teaching and the benefits it can have for learners.

Classroom Report 5: George Woolard

He discusses how The Lexical Approach emphasizes the importance of language as a way for
people to express their personalities and emotions. It suggests that traditional language
syllabuses can restrict students' ability to express themselves, and encourages teachers to
provide students with the linguistic resources to express important aspects of life. He also
suggests that literature can be a valuable tool for encouraging students to express their own
opinions, attitudes, and emotions, and describes some activities that have been used to
achieve this in the classroom. The commentary describes how George Woolard, a teacher in
Edinburgh, has used poetry and song in his teaching to encourage learners to express
personal and emotional ideas and to work cooperatively to produce a final poem. The
emphasis is on using vocabulary and sentence structures to express oneself, rather than on
grammar. This approach combines lexis, grammar, and phonology in a creative and engaging
way.
Classroom Report 6: Heinz Ribisch
Here the sector mentions that Heinz Ribisch, a teacher in a secondary school in Vienna and
teacher trainer at Vienna University, has applied lexical principles to the notebooks of his
young learners. No further information is provided on the specifics of this application. In the
commentary, the reports described in this chapter demonstrate how experienced teachers
have modified their teaching practices to incorporate a lexical focus in different ways,
depending on their own areas of interest or expertise and the needs and interests of their
learners. These modifications include introducing collocations to a class, using the de-
lexicalized verb "get" in a sequence of activities, using a technique called "sound scripting" to
integrate phonology and lexis, exploring the link between grammar and suprasegmental
pronunciation, using literature-based group-writing activities to encourage personal
expression, and extending learners' notebooks to include collocations and expressions.
These changes are seen as improvements by the teachers and demonstrate the potential for
the Lexical Approach to be applied in various contexts and for different language levels.

My Experiences and Conclusion

After reading all of this I don’t think I came across anything like this before, but it is still an
interesting topic I might say. Seeing teachers that can modify their methods to their liking in
a cleaver way it is really inspiring. Most of my activities and exercises in learning was just
aimless task, focusing on learning rather then acquiring. I have not much to say but, all I can
say is it is an eye opening reading for teacher candidates. I hope one day I become more
experienced and be able to modify teaching methods to my liking.