Developing Sense

Introduction
The goal of the English to go programme is to help learners develop a sense for the English
language. In other words, we want them to develop a gut feeling for how the language works and
how they can use it.
There are two complimentary approaches to be found in English to go: the Lexical Approach and
the Cognitive Grammar model. In the following pages, we provide background on these two
influences.
What do we mean by a sense for the language? Here are some examples:
being able to recognise carriers of meaning, in other words, lexical items or chunks
fostering the development of an English sense of time
fostering the development of an English sense of pronouns (gender sense)
encouraging meaningful comparison and contrast of English with the mother tongue to notice
the idiosyncracies of English
being able to cope with natural language
using English naturally to communicate, i.e. helping learners store useful chunks in their
existing mental lexicons
anchoring meaning and language choices (e.g. written vs. spoken language) with context

English to go 1 Coursebook, p. 24

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The Lexical Approach

The lexical approach places
communication of meaning at
the heart of language and
language learning. This leads to
emphasis on the main carrier of
meaning, vocabulary.
- Michael Lewis

What is the lexical approach?

The principles of the Lexical Approach have been around since
Michael Lewis published The Lexical Approach (LTP, 1993).
Lewis and his associates have also coined this term.
The lexical approach to language teaching offers an alternative to
grammar-based approaches. It concentrates on developing learners' proficiency with lexis, or words
and word combinations. It is based on the idea that an important part of language acquisition is the
ability to comprehend and produce lexical phrases as unanalysed wholes, or chunks, and that
these chunks become the raw data by which learners perceive patterns of language traditionally
thought of as grammar (Lewis, 1993).
The lexical approach differentiates between vocabulary (traditionally understood as a stock of
individual words with fixed meanings) and lexis, which includes not only the single words but also
the word combinations that we store in our mental lexicons. These mental lexicons consist of
meaningful chunks that, when combined, produce continuous coherent text.
It is worth noting that the lexical approach is not a break with the communicative approach, but a
development of it. It is, however, less concerned with output students participation is not only
measured by talking time, but also by listening, noticing, and reflecting.
Grammaticalised lexis
As Lewis writes, the basic principle of the lexical approach is that language is grammaticalised
lexis, not lexicalised grammar(Lewis 1993). In other words, lexis is central in creating meaning;
grammar plays a subservient managerial role. Following this principle, teachers should spend more
time helping learners develop their stock of phrases and less time on grammatical structures. In
recent years it has been recognised both that native speakers have a vast stock of these lexical
chunks and that these lexical chunks are vital for fluent production. Fluency does not depend so
much on having a set of generative grammar rules and a separate stock of words than on having
rapid access to a stock of chunks.
Lewis distinguishes among the following lexical items:

words (the largest category, e.g., book, pen) and polywords (small group, e.g., by the way,
upside down, bread and butter)
collocations or word partnerships (words that frequently occur together in natural
language, e.g., community service, absolutely convinced).
fixed expressions (e.g., Good morning! How are you? Thanks, Im fine. / Excuse me, can
you tell me the way to ?)
semi-fixed expressions with slots to fill (e.g., Could you pass , please?)

In the lexical approach, special attention is directed to collocations and expressions.

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Lexical Approach Methodology

Implementing the Lexical Approach in the classroom does not require radical methodological
changes. Rather, it involves a change in ones mindset. It requires teachers and learners alike to
shift their focus from generative grammar rules (which combined with words generate possible
sentences) to language (or better: lexis) as a whole.
Most importantly, the language activities consistent with a lexical approach must be directed
towards naturally occurring language and toward raising learners awareness of the lexical nature of
language.
In the Lexical Approach, lexis is thought to play a central role in In the lexical classroom
language teaching and learning. Teaching should be based on the learners will, particularly in the
idea that language production is the piecing together of ready-made early stages, meet a lot more
units appropriate for a particular situation. Comprehension of such language than they are
expected to produce.
units is dependent on knowing the patterns to predict in different
- Michael Lewis
situations. (As Mark Powell notes, Grammar tends to become lexis
as the event becomes more probable.)
Activities used to develop learners knowledge of lexical items include the following:

Exposing learners to as much natural language as possible: Input, input, input!

Intensive and extensive listening and reading in the target language
Chunking texts
Comparing first and second language chunk-for-chunk rather than word-for-word
Regular revision and recycling to keep words and expressions that have been learned active
Guessing the meaning of vocabulary items from context: contextualised learning
Noticing and recording language patterns and collocations
Working with dictionaries and other reference tools.

Chunking
A central element of language teaching is raising learners
frequently ask why the
awareness of, and developing their ability to chunk language Students
language behaves in a certain
successfully. Most learners equate vocabulary with words, and way, and are unhappy to be
there is a tendency among learners to translate word-for-word, i.e. told English is like that, but
they take apart lexical phrases to work with separate words. The role unfortunately that is the only
of teachers is to raise students awareness of the existence of lexical accurate answer.
- Michael Lewis
items.
The second step is to help learner recognise lexical items, i.e. whole expressions which are the
carriers of meaning. By noticing chunks the learner is able to develop a better sense of the language.

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Lexical Approach Methodology

Noticing
Activities should be designed to encourage noticing of chunks. Noticing involves the intake both of
meaning and form, and it takes time for learners to progress from initial recognition to the point
where they can internalise the underlying rule. At the same time Lewis (2000) argues that noticing
chunks and collocations is a necessary but not sufficient condition for input to become intake. If
learners are not directed to notice language in a text, the danger of looking through the text can
lead to learners failing to take in language.
Sometimes the noticing is guided by the teacher, i.e. the teacher directs the learners attention to
useful chunks; sometimes the noticing is self-directed, i.e. the students themselves select features
they think will be useful for them. Sometimes the noticing is explicit, e.g. when items in a text are
highlighted; sometimes it is implicit e.g. when the teacher reformulates a students text.
New lexical items need to be repeated or recycled to guarantee that they are fully integrated into the
learners lexis. Lewis calls these activities recording and revisiting what is important is to
encourage learners to look back at the language they have recorded and do something perhaps
anything with it. (Lewis, Implementing the Lexical Approach, 2002, p. 49).
Role of L1
Every teacher knows that learners have a tendency to translate word-for-word. We also know that
very often a word-for-word translation is impossible or leads to misunderstandings. In the lexical
context, translation and interference can turn out to be rather useful as long as learners are
encouraged to translate chunk-for-chunk. Comparing and contrasting expressions in L1 and L2 is a
vital precondition to raise language awareness. When learners meet a new chunk in L2, they should
be encouraged to look for the equivalent expression in their own language. This concept also
suggests that listing every new word in L2 and its equivalent in L1 should be avoided. Moreover,
instead of translating a new word or even explaining it, the teacher should show learners how this
word is used, provide context, background, etc.
Learning journals
Every learner has a notebook for vocabulary, but it is rarely used as a true learning aid. More often
it consists of word lists and their translations, more or less organised (chronological or unit by
unit, alphabetical, topical, )., in which learners archive vocabulary words in a more or less selfdirected manner.
Lewis argues that the traditional vocabulary notebook (Vokabelheft) should be replaced by what he
calls lexical notebooks. We call these notebooks learning journals. The basic principle is that
learners should use notebooks to personalise their learning. Another principle: no item should go
into the notebook unless learners can retrieve it when needed.
The notebook may contain all of the following:
Words, strong collocations and fully fixed expressions with L1 equivalents; collocation patters (see
formats), semi-fixed expressions, grammar examples, miscellaneous language chosen by the
individual learner.
The organisation of the notebook should follow a system and should not be left entirely to the
learners. In fact, the teacher can make use of this opportunity to help learners systematise their
learning (alphabetical, topical, expressions with keep, greetings, expressions of place, time, ). Go
to www.etg4me.com for more information about learning journals.)
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Lexical Approach Methodology

Formats or phrase builders
Formats encourage the recording of larger chunks, of complete collocations and expressions.
Experience has shown that formats with 3-5 alternatives can be managed best. We have called these
formats phrase builders in English to go.
water
juice
a glass of cola
iced tea
milk
5 verbs + noun
dismiss
express
meet objection
raise
withdraw
verb + 5 nouns
breakfast
a shower
have a break
a meeting
a test

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country
pop
rock music
folk
punk
4 adverbs + adjective/adverb
much
slightly
significantly better
marginally

verb + 5 adverbs
drastically
significantly
change abruptly
visibly
for the worse

Lexical Approach Methodology

Role of Grammar
No doubt, grammar also plays a significant role in the Thus, in this years first year I used
Lexical Approach, especially in the first 3-4 years of expressions like Do you live in
language learning. As mentioned above though, grammar is Vienna? from the very beginning,
given a different, a subservient role. In the lexical classroom, long before they are introduced by the
learners will be exposed to a lot more language (and official course book that we also use.
Needless to say, I did not explain
grammar) than they are expected to analyse and use. the grammar of this question.
Although each lexical chunk has grammar, it is not important
- Heinz Ribisch
to analyse that grammar in order to use the chunk correctly.
Very often learners will ask why the language behaves in a certain way, and are unhappy to be told
English is like that. Teachers should have the courage to use this the only correct answer over
and over again and refrain from analysing and explaining grammatical structures, but rather teach
lexically. As learners acquire new chunks, they also get the benefit of its grammar.
In the following pages, we have provided information about the cognitive grammar model, which is
coherent with the Lexical Approach.
Learning Through Discovery
observe
Rather than use the traditional Present-Practise-Produce
principle to teach content, the Observe-HypothesiseExperiment cycle is favoured in the Lexical Approach.
Learners should be guided to discover (ir)regularities
themselves and experiment with new structures and
experiment
hypothesise
contexts. This approach is called learning through
discovery.
The observe-hypothesise-experiment cycle is a neverending human cycle. Qualitative research in how babies learn shows that they are actually small
scientists in the process of observing, hypothesising and experimenting. Anyone who has ever
played peek-a-boo with an infant and was disappointed later to find it was no longer an interesting
game for the toddler, knows how the process works. At some point, the babys hypothesis that the
other person hadnt really disappeared was proven true, so the game was no longer interesting.
Discovery methodology relies on existing mental concepts and representations. In this regard, it is
harmonious with findings in cognitive science. It requires inductive reasoning, the ability to reason
from observations to broader principles. In contrast to traditional teaching, learners formulate their
own principles based on their own experiments.

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Grammar through Discovery

Grammar through discovery means that it is taught implicitly and
made explicit through the process of inductive reasoning.
Learners are guided towards a generalised grammar rule or
pattern through a series of steps (tasks, texts, activities, etc.).
An advantage of using the discovery approach is that teachers can
find out what learners already know or partially know. By
eliciting information from them rather than telling them we find
out more about their abilities and knowledge. More importantly,
it is believed that taking an active part in creating the content of a
subject helps learners to learn more effectively.

Giving students chances to be

exposed to, or to attempt to use,
language above their apparent
level of knowledge of grammar is
extremely useful and greatly aids
future work on grammar. This
approach celebrates what
students can do and clarifies
precisely what still needs to be
worked on.
- Jim Scrivener,
Learning Teaching

Grammar structures as well as lexical items can be taught in a similar manner, so the discovery
approach does not exclude any particular grammar models.
Observation phase
In order to observe or analyse language, learners need language input. Input can be in any
form, such as texts, recordings, storytelling, or pictures. The learners naturally focus on
understanding the input, in other words, they focus on lexis.
Hypothesising phase
In the second phase, the teacher refocuses the the learners attention on the targeted grammar
by guiding the learners observations. To do so, the teacher uses prompts or sets tasks which
lead the learners to hypothesise about the structure behind the language. Refocusing on
meaning, use, and form are essential.
Experimenting phase
To ensure true experimentation, learners must have the freedom to make mistakes when
trying out their theories. Mistakes should be handled as a failure of a hypothesis rather than a
failure of performance and should lead learners to go back and revise theories. Feedback is
essential for testing hypotheses and it can be provided through self-check exercises, open
learning tasks, teacher and peer feedback, and computer-based learning with correction.
Example from English to go:

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Approaches to Grammar
How we as teachers handle grammar in the classroom has to do with our approach to language and
definition of grammar. Most EFL teachers use a mix of grammar models in their teaching, which
they often call communicative grammar. Unfortunately, this term is not used by linguists, who are
the makers and theorists of grammar models. As a result, it is hard to know which grammar models
are really at work in EFL teaching.
Whats my approach? Put an X on the range for each statement as it applies to
your teaching practices. Then talk about your answers with a colleague.
always --------------------never
Grammar is like a formula that helps learners to put together sentences.
I tend to give my learners structures that look like math sentences, for
example negation with auxiliary verb do = subject + do/does + not +
verb.
I teach grammar at point of need, in other words when it is in context.
For example, if my learners have to write technical manuals, I teach
them the passive voice for describing processes.
Grammar is rarely a topic in my teaching. I explain structures and
correctness by saying it is right or wrong, Thats just the way it is.

When I present grammar structures, I try to explain how and when they
are used. For example, I explain to learners that the past simple is used
to talk about things that happened in the past.
When I deal with irregular verbs, my learners practice the forms until
they know them, e.g., go went gone, go went gone.

When I introduce a new grammar topic, I explain it first. For example,

Today were going to learn about the past simple. It is used

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I like learners to guess about the rules of grammar. For example, if I

have a text which uses the passive voice, we read it together and then I
ask them questions to figure out what the structure is and how it is used.

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I think it is important for learners to master structures, so I often give

them grammar exercises, such as filling in the correct tense of a verb or
transformation exercises for tenses or active/passive voice.

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Grammar is handled step-by-step in my teaching. I start with simpler

structures such as the present simple and move on from there. More
complex structures such as negation in the present simple come later.

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Why Cognitive Grammar Makes Sense

What is the cognitive grammar model?
This theory tries to approach grammar as a process of the human mind. It is a usage-based approach
founded on the idea that there are two subsystems of language: grammatical constructions
(structure) and lexical items (content). Grammatical structure and organisation reflect cognitive
structure and organisation, not the other way around, so the question of how to relate grammar to
existing concepts is central. It is argued that language is understood through lexical concepts
moreso than through grammatical structures.
The theory argues that syntax and morphology choices are made by speakers according to the same
cognitive principles as lexis. It does not, however, ignore grammatical structures, but rather it deals
with them in the context of communication and therefore handles them in the same way lexical
items are handled. Choices are driven by meaning.
For example, a speakers choice to say, Jane wrote a book. or A book was written by Jane.
depends on the meaning the speaker wishes to convey. In the cognitive grammar model, linguists
therefore analyse sentences both grammatically and lexically: agent/patient (Jane = object),
occurring at a time before now (wrote = past simple), a single unspecified object (a = indefinite
article, singular), agent/patient (book = subject), point of view (active voice), the speaker knows it
to be true (word order, declarative).
Implicit vs. explicit learning
We acquire a considerable amount of information or knowledge unintentionally. Natural language
is a striking example: infants do not need to be explained grammar rules to communicate effectively
and adult speakers recognise grammatically correct language but often can not explain why.
Learning has taken place in a complex environment without necessarily intending to do so, so the
knowledge is difficult to express. This is called implicit learning. In contrast, explict learning is
driven by strategies or hypotheses and the learner is usually aware of it. These two different
approaches to learning something also have an impact on the role of the teacher. If learning is to
take place at least in part implicitly, then the role of the teacher is to provide learners with a
complex environment which provides learners with enough learning experiences to make sense of
the subject.
Mental lexicons vs. dictionaries
The human mind does not have a mental dictionary, with alphabetically listed words and their
arbitrary meanings, nor does it have a grammar reference with lists of grammar structures and rules.
According to current research, the human mind uses mental lexicons comprising lexical items
which form natural categories in orderly semantic networks organised around a central sense. For
example, the structure I have been ing (present perfect continuous) is probably related to a natural
category related to a sense of time: something I began to do and still do now, such as working (Ive
been working here since 1990.)
Lexis is always in a context
Cognitive linguists argue that the basic purpose of language is to communicate, so lexical items
occur in context, not in isolation. When a lexical item is in a specific context, it has a specific
meaning. Over time, a variety of meanings are understood and remembered as the senses of a word.
(Example: up can mean an upward direction, as in Look up! but in phrasal verbs such as look up
stg, as in Look it up! the spatial concept of an upward direction is irrelevant.)
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Why Cognitive Grammar Makes Sense

Human concepts are based on the real world
Human conceptual structure is shaped by our perception of and interaction with the real world. For
example, the sense of prepositions of location is schematic, related to sensory imagery of space
rather than linguistic categories. Our mental representations are based on our experience.
Interpretation is greater than lexis
Interpretation of language is more complex than language itself. Our mental representations and
conceptualisations determine how we interpret meaning. For example, if you say Look at that
bird! to someone, the person will most likely look up although you havent said up. This is
because the persons concept of bird is related to flying (up) in the sky. On the other hand, if you
say Look at that bird! and point to the ground, the person will look down. Again, the lexical item
down is not necessary, but the mental conceptualisation related to a finger pointing downwards is
one meaning of the word down.
Example from English to go, Coursebook Unit 11.

First, the learners read a chat text about pets and focus on meaning (lexis). They will often
understand without knowing the structures. Then the learners start the hypothesising phase by
analysing the text, refocusing on the questions (grammatical structures). Some are familiar
(questions with to be) and some are new (questions with do).

The teacher can extend the task by asking learners to answer the questions. This additional task
focuses on the type of question (open or closed) and allows learners to get a fuller picture of the
communication purposes involved without necessarily articulating them:
Do you have a pet?
Yes, a dog. Hes two years old.
Whats his name? Does he do tricks?
Yes, he does. He can sit and play dead.
His name is Rugger.
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(Jen doesnt know, but she wants to find out yes or no.)
(Joe implies yes by giving unasked for details.)
(Jen knows he has a pet and wants specifics.)
(Joe confirms and gives specifics, gives information.)

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Lexical vs. Structural Organisation

Here are examples of questions with auxiliary verb do handled structurally and lexically. Can you
identify structural grammar elements? Can you identify cognitive grammar elements? Which
approach helps them to explain language (meta-knowledge)? With which approach do you think
learners are more able to produce language?
Structural view:

Lexical view (as semi-fixed expressions):

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11