The Lexical Approach

The Lexical Approach

Definition, examples and exercises

​What is the lexical approach?

The Lexical Approach, like the Natural Approach and in the tradition of the Communicative Approach, places communication of meaning at the heart of meaning at the heart of language and language learning.

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​Language, according to the LA, consists of chunks which, when combined, produced continuous and coherent text, be it written or spoken.

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​The four main categories are: words, collocations, fixed expressions and semi-fixed expressions.

​Words

​These are lexical items which can stand alone and carry meaning, e.g.: Certainly! Open. Please.

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​Collocations

​These are certain words which co-occur together. These cannot be explained by logic as they are a linguistic convention, e.g.: miss the bus, be absent from, have a good time, be relevant to the present discussion.

Multiple Select

Which of the following sentences have examples of collocations? The suggestions are in italics.

• it is highly advisable (for you) to...

• That is a table.

• I totally forgot to...

• We made a decision at the very last minute.

• There's a man at the door.

​Fixed expressions

​This refers to phrases which cannot be changed. In teaching, these are featured in:

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​a) Social greetings: Good morning (not nice morning).

​b) Polite phrases: Well, I gotta get going (not Well, I must depart now).

​c) "Phrase book" language: What is the meaning of...? (Not what does ... signify?).

​d) Idioms: You're making a mountain out of a molehill (Not You're drowing in a glass of water).

​Semi-fixed expressions

​These allow variations to its components, e.g.: Could you pass the..., please? What was really (adjective) is/was...? On this essay, we will discuss...

​Identifying Lexical approach activities

Look at the activity and decide if it is a Lexical Approach-based activity or not.​

Multiple Choice

After reading a text, students complete a list of adjectives with a corresponding preposition (dependent prepositions) by looking them up in a text. 

• It is a Lexical Approach-based activity

• It is NOT a Lexical Approach-based activity

Multiple Choice

Before role-playing an interview, students practice semi-fixed expressions such as: "I see what you mean", "What do you think about...", "Have you ever...", etc. They focus on meaning and pronunciation too.

• It is a Lexical Approach-based activity

• It is NOT a Lexical Approach-based activity

Multiple Choice

Students are given a list of words related to professions. They need to match them to some images. The teachers checks the answers with the group. 

• It is a Lexical Approach-based activity

• It is NOT a Lexical Approach-based activity

Multiple Choice

Students look at some pictures. They match the lexical chunks to the corresponding image. Then, the teacher confirms students know the meaning, use and pronunciation.

• It is a Lexical Approach-based activity

• It is NOT a Lexical Approach-based activity

Multiple Choice

Students in teams with the help of a dictionary find the word that makes a strong collocations with the words in each list. 

• It is a Lexical Approach-based activity

• It is NOT a Lexical Approach-based activity

Multiple Choice

Students read for the gist. Then, they read again to find words or phrases that mean the same as in the options. The teacher asks students to underline where the answer is in the text. 

• It is a Lexical Approach-based activity

• It is NOT a Lexical Approach-based activity

Multiple Choice

Students have a series of collocations with the verb have. After reading and listening to stories, students write a story using the verbs in the list.

• It is a Lexical Approach-based activity

• It is NOT a Lexical Approach-based activity

Thank you.

Have a great day!​