Is teaching Lexis an easy task?
By Mayra Yaranga
Classes have just
started and there is a high level of enthusiasm and motivation among both
teachers and students. We have already started thinking of new (or not so new)
fun activities and games for class, and planning for the whole year. Lexis is
one of the topics that we will find most frequently in lessons, and the
simplicity of terminology (e.g. food and drink nouns, job nouns, adjectives
expressing feelings) may lead us to believe that teaching and learning it may not
be very difficult. Let us stop and reflect on lexicon teaching and the issues
it entails.
Introducing new terms
The initial stage
in teaching lexical content consists in conceiving a presentation scheme. We
often spend time searching for and printing captivating visual aids, devising
games and even employing an engaging song that uses many examples of the new nomenclature.
Up to this point, everything seems to be fine. However, the first risk lies in
that the words we teach might appear isolated –that is, without a context,
either linguistic or situational-- to be “noticed” in their real usage, or
perhaps ignoring the usual ‘chunks’ or collocations in which they often appear.
This leaves students with vocabulary that they will probably have to memorize from
lists that are commonly found in coursebooks. Another danger is that our
presentation might cover a comparatively long time, leaving little or even no
time for practice. This is the point when we should reconsider what our aim is:
presenting, or providing opportunities for practice?
Real-life practice
The second danger
in the paragraph above raises an issue: do our students have the opportunity to
revisit the vocabulary they studied in the lesson, to use it in a memorable and
life-like manner? We are commonly under pressure to comply with the contents of
a textbook, and for this reason we may be satisfied with presenting it so that
we can move on to another topic, such as reading or grammar. Conversely, we may
feel satisfied with having our students repeat the words by themselves, and not
in statements or realistic conversations. The truth is, displaying vocabulary is
not enough, especially if we are planning to test our students in this type of
content. The solution is not hard to discover: how about choosing three new
lexical items and insert them into questions to generate discussion? Even an
activity as simple as “find someone who” can become very communicative and
useful if the new content is added. If the texts we are using provide lexis in
decontextualized boxes, we have an incredible opportunity to adapt this
material to apply the principles of contextualized presentation and maximized
practice.
Higher levels
When students have
reached a level close to B2 (intermediate-upper intermediate), most English
grammar has already been studied, but the same cannot be said of lexis. For
this reason, vocabulary deserves special attention at all levels. One typical
question from our students is how to increase their already good-sized vocabulary.
Although the typical answer involves further exposure to the language, we are
ignoring a crucial factor: the students’ interest should direct them to
authentic (non-graded) material that they will find enjoyable. Some students
may be familiar with comics, online tutorials and others, so why not try them
in English? Familiarity with certain types of discourse and contents is a
hugely motivating factor, and taking advantage of it can be extremely
beneficial for our students.
A final word
Teaching
vocabulary, as opposed to teaching grammar, may appear simple and easy, but it
is not. Context, practice and further development are necessary in order to
guarantee a true increase in our students’ proficiency.
What do YOU think?
How do you
challenge your students to use new lexis communicatively in class?
REFERENCES
Lewis, Michael
(1993). The lexical approach. LTP/Heinle, London.
Scrivener, Jim
(2011). Learning Teaching, Third Edition. Chapter 8: Teaching Lexis. Macmillan,
London.
BIODATA:
Mayra Yaranga (1985) has completed Doctorate
studies in Education at UNIFÉ; she holds a Master’s Degree in Media, Culture
and Identity from Roehampton University (London) revalidated by PUCP, a Bachelor’s Degree in Education
from UPCH and the Professional Title of Licenciada from IPNM. Currently she
works as Pedagogical Specialist and Member of the Research Area for Universidad
del Pacífico Language Centre. She is also Associate Professor at UNIFÉ. She has
published papers in the fields of English Language Teaching and Cultural
Studies