Lexical Approach Helps English Teaching A Lot詞匯的方法有助于英語教學(xué)有很多

學(xué)段：高中學(xué)科：英語學(xué)校：江門市第一中學(xué)題目：LexicalApproachHelpsEnglishTeachingALot作者：麥劍平 聯(lián)系方式：133268086690750-8065308Email:joanmjp@

LexicalApproachHelpsEnglishTeachingALot江門市第一中學(xué)麥劍平IntroductionAsIamteachingEnglishasaforeignlanguage,Iencountermanydifficultiesinimprovingthestudents`abilitiesinwriting,listening,speakingandreading.Ihavetriedeverymeans,hopingthatIcansolvetheproblemsforthestudents.ThenIfindthattheproblemoriginatesthattheyneedtoimprovethelexis.Nomatterhowgoodtheyareatthelistening,writing,speakingorreadingskills,iftheydon’tgrasplexis,theywillmisunderstanditorjustmakespeoplefeelthatitisnotnativeenough.MoreandmoreeducatorsrealizethatlexisisattheheartofEnglisheducation.Whatislexicalapproach?Thelexicalapproachconcentratesondevelopinglearners'proficiencywithlexis,orwordsandwordcombinations.Itisbasedontheideathatanimportantpartoflanguageacquisitionistheabilitytocomprehendandproducelexicalphrasesasunanalyzedwholes,or"chunks."MichaelLewisalsogaveaverygooddefinitionoflexicalapproachasfollows:1.Lexisisthebasisoflanguage.2.Lexisismisunderstoodinlanguageteachingbecauseoftheassumptionthatgrammaristhebasisoflanguageandthatmasteryofthegrammaticalsystemisaprerequisiteforeffectivecommunication.3.Thekeyprincipleofalexicalapproachisthat"languageconsistsofgrammaticalizedlexis,notlexicalizedgrammar.4.Oneofthecentralorganizingprinciplesofanymeaning-centeredsyllabusshouldbelexis.Asweallknow,languageisnotlearntbylearningindividualsoundsandstructuresandthencombiningthem,butbyanincreasingabilitytobreakdownwholesintoparts.Cowiebelievesthatthe

widespread"fusionofsuchexpressions,whichappeartosatisfythestudents’communicativeneedsatagivenmomentandarelaterreused,isonemeansbywhichthepublicstockofformulaeandcompositesiscontinuouslyenriched".Icompletelyagreetothat.Also,weneedtoexposeourstudentstoasmuchnaturallanguageaspossible.Therefore,whenweteachEnglishasaforeignlanguageinthisway,wemustfindasmanyauthenticmaterialsaswecanforthestudents.Whydomore

andmoreteachersteachEnglishasaforeignlanguagewithlexicalapproach?(a)Thenewsyllabus’requirement.Ithinkweareluckybecausethenewsyllabusisbasedonlexicalandcultureratherthangrammaticalprinciples.ThenewsyllabusencouragesteacherstoteachstudentsinLexicalApproachandexposethemtothelanguage.Itisquitepracticalandfocusesonourenvironment,science,education,music,sports,livingabroadandsoon.Theyaresorelatedtoouractuallifethatstudentsareinterestedinthem.TheylongforknowingmoreandimprovingtheirlexissoastocommunicatewitheachotheronthesetopicsinEnglish.Now,weareusingthebookNewSeniorEnglishforChinainseniorhighschool.ThroughtheOHEwaytogetherwiththelexis,mystudentshaveimprovedmoreandmorequickly.TheOHEisobserve,hypothesis,experiment.Forexample,whenItaughtstudentsUnit5Travellingabroad(module8),accordingtothearrangementoftheunit,Iputupsomequestionsforthemtodiscussandaskedthemtosharethematerialsthattheyfoundafterclass.Duringthetimetheycarriedoutthetask,theywererequiredtotakenotesoftheusefulwordsincludingthephrasesandcollocationsthatwereimportantormaybeusefulforthistopic.Anothertaskwasthattheyneededtoworktogethertoguesstheusageofthephrasestheyhadcollected.Weusedandpractisedmanyofthemwhenwelearnedthetext.Attheendoftheunit,someofthemcouldgiveaspeechfluentlytomakeaconclusionoftravelingabroadandotherswrotecompositionsaboutit,usingthelexistheygraspedinthisunit.Thereasonthattheyhadalottosayisthatafterstudying,theyknewenoughlexistoexpresstheiropinions.Thelexicalsyllabusnotonlysubsumesastructuralsyllabus,italsodescribeshowthe"structures"thatmakeupthesyllabusareusedinnaturallanguage.Agoodlexicalsyllabuscangivetheteachersandstudentsagoodguide.AndthepresentsyllabususedinGuangdongdoesmakeit.(b)Teachershopetohelpimprovestudents’lexisandstudentswanttoknowmore.Whatweteachersneedbadlyishowtohelpthestudentsgraspthelexis.Encouraginglearnerstonoticelanguage,specificallylexicalchunksandcollocations,iscentraltoanymethodologyconnectedtoalexicalviewoflanguage.Wejusthelplearnerstonoticeforthemselveshowlanguageistypicallyusedsothattheywillnotethegapsand'achievelearningreadiness'aswellasindependencefromtheteacherandteachingmaterials.Inmyview,itisnotpossible,orevendesirable,toattemptto'teach'anunlimitednumberoflexicalchunks.But,itisbeneficialforlanguagelearnerstogainexposuretolexicalchunksandtogainexperienceinanalyzingthosechunksinordertobegintheprocessofinternalisation.Thus,goodteachingproceduresforeverylessonseemtypicallyimportantforstudents.Wecanhelptogivestudentsopportunitiestopractisenewlexicalitemsinspokencommunication,readingmaterialsandalsowritingtasks.Duringthecourse,goodpronunciationmightbeencouragedgettingthesoundsandthestressright.Thefocusonlexismayoccurbefore,whileorafterthestudentsreadorlistentoteachingmaterials.Asforpre-reading,Iwillselectsomeactivitiesspecificallydesignedtorevise,teachandpracticelexis,whichwillbemostneededforcompletion.Forexample,beforeItaughtUnit3HealthyEating(Module3),Ishowedthempicturesofdifferentkindsoffruitasfollows:pineapple,lemon,strawberry,peach,cherries,melon,banana,orange,plum,raspberry.Then,IencouragedstudentstonametheminEnglish.Someofthefruitswerefamiliartothemandeasytotell,whicharousedtheirinterests,andotherswerequitedifficultforthem,whichweresomenamesofthefruitthatIwantedthemtograsp.Astovegetables,Iputuptwogroups.Onehadpicturesofvegetablesonitandtheotherhadthenamesofthem.Theirtaskwastomatchthetwogroups.Bythismeans,thestudentsknewsomevegetablesinEnglishlikepotato,green,bears,peas,onions,garlic,carrot,mushrooms,pepper,cabbage,broccoli,celery,cauliflowerandsoon.Thenwecametomeatandfish.Inthisactivity,Iencouragedstudentstowritedownasmanyastheycouldontheirpaper,suchaslobster,crab,salmon,prawn,oyster,mussels,beef,pork,lamb,chickenandsoon..Sinceourtextwasaboutarestaurant“ComeandEathere.”Then,Igavethematopic,“Howtomakeasalad?”Theydiscussedandfoundoutthematerialstomakesaladsandthewaytomakethem.Whilestudentswereworkingonreadingthetextorlisteningtoit,Iwaslesslikelytospendtimeonlexis.Ijustgavebriefexplanationsortranslationsratherthandetails.Afterthefirstphaseoflisteningorreading,thestudentsbecamecomfortablewiththetext.ThenIcouldfocusattentiononlexicalitemsandhowtheyareused.Inparagraphone,alotofdisheswerementioned.So,Iaskedthemtofindthedishesoutandstressthedifferentwaystomakefood.Theywereabletogetanswersveryquickly:raw,boiled,roast,fried,baked.Ialsoofferedthechanceforthemtoworkoutwhatfoodoftenwenttogetherwiththedifferentways.Then,thewholeclasslearnsomethingasfollows:rawfish,rawspinach,rawbeef;friedswam,friedrice,friedchicken,friedpork;boiledeggs,boiledwater;roastbeef,roastpeppers;bakedbananas,bakedbread,bakedpotatoes,bakedcake;grilledcheese,grilledrice,grilledchicken,grilledcheeseandsoon.Afterreading,Idesignedanoralpracticeforthem.Itwasadiscussionon“Whatishealthyeating?”Itworkedlikethis;Igavethemamenutodiscusswhetheritwasagoodmenuandthenmadeaconclusionwhatweshouldhaveeverydaytoeathealthily.Theytriedusingtheitemstheylearned.Thatwasaheateddiscussion.Theymadeexcellentspeeches,expressingtheiropinionsfreely.Sinceatthattimetheyhadknownsomethingaboutfruit,vegetables,meatandfishandalsothewaystocookfood,theywereconfidentofthemselvesanddarecommunicatewithothers.Ialsoofferedanotherfollow-upwritingexerciseforthem,thatis,howcanyoupersuadepeopletofollowyourhealthydiet?Fromtheirperformance,IcanseehowLexicalApproachhelpsthem.(c)Whatweneedtoconsideraswemaketeachingplans:Nevertheless,implementingalexicalapproachintheclassroomdoesnotleadtoradicalmethodologicalchanges.Rather,itinvolvesachangeintheteacher'smindset.Aboveall,thelanguageactivitiesconsistentwithalexicalapproachmustbedirectedtowardnaturallyoccurringlanguageandtowardraisinglearners'awarenessofthelexicalnatureoflanguage.Studentslearnthelanguage,hopingthattheycancommunicate,readorwritesomething.So,everytimewedesigntheactivitiesinclass,weneedtotakethefollowingsintoaccount:(a)thedesiretocommunicate(b)thepurpose(c)thelanguageneeded(d)thelikelydegreeofsuccessthatlearnerswillenjoy.Forexample,asIteachthestudentsthroughreading,Iwillchoosethematerials.Materialsareanimportantcomponentwithinthecurriculum,andareoftenthemosttangibleand"visible"componentofpedagogy.Meanwhile,wemustconsiderthefollowing

Goals:GeneralGoals:

Todevelopstudents’readingskills

Toincreasestudents’storeoflexicalchunks

MoreSpecificGoals:Tomotivatestudentstoreadbyprovidingtextswithuniversallyengagingthemes;byprovidingactivitiesthatallowstudentstopersonalizetexts;byencouragingmeaningfulandauthenticinitialreactionstotexts.

Toraisestudentawarenessoftheideaoflexicalchunkingbydirectingstudents’attentiontospecificlexicalchunksalreadyencounteredinthetext,helpingstudentsanalyzethesechunksdirectingstudentstodifferentmeansofanalyzinglexicalchunks.Tohelpstudentsdevelopskillsforindependentlearningbyprovidingopportunitiestoexperiencelexicalchunksinauthentictextsencouragingstudentstoanalyse,generalise,researchandexperimentwithlexicalchunksprovidingstudentswithopportunitiestodiscoverchunksforthemselves.Besidesreading,therearealsomanywaysthatwecanuseasweteachstudentsinlexicalapproach.Suchas,guessingthemeaningofvocabularyitemsfromcontext;repetitionandrecyclingofactivities;noticingandrecordinglanguagepatternsandcollocationsandsoon.Nomatterwhatactivitieswechoosetouse,weneedtochoosetherightmaterialsandconsiderourgoals.ConclusionForanumberofyears,theteachingoflexiswasneglectedinlanguageclassrooms,especiallyintheforeignlanguageclassroom,despitetheimportancethatlearnersattachtothetaskof

buildingandmaintaininganadequatelexis.Itcouldbearguedthatinaforeignlanguagecontext,theinitialstagesoflanguagelearningshouldbedevotedalmostentirelytolexicalwork.Theoretical

andempiricalissuescurrentlybeinginvestigatedincludeworkonwordlistsandfrequencycounts,theimportanceofcontexttolexicalacquisition,lexicographyandtheroleofthedictionary,semanticnetworksandfeatures,andcognitiveprocesses,particularlylexicalsearchprocessesandmemorization.Thevalueofthe