Teaching Vocabulary and Lexis

A student points to their notebook and asks, “Teacher, I memorized 50 new words from a dictionary list yesterday, but why can’t I use them in a sentence?” The traditional belief that learning vocabulary means memorizing isolated, single-word translations is a major obstacle to fluency. Language is not composed of slot-and-filler grammar structures into which single words are dropped, but of pre-fabricated, multi-word chunks.

Core Theory & Terminology

1. Knowing a Word: Form, Meaning, and Use (FMU)

Scott Thornbury (How to Teach Vocabulary) emphasizes that knowing a lexical item involves far more than knowing its dictionary definition:

• Form:
  • Spelling & Phonology: Pronunciation, word stress (e.g., /ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/), silent letters.
  • Morphology: Prefixes, suffixes, stem inflections (e.g., un-depend-able).
• Meaning:
  • Denotation & Connotation: Literal meaning vs. affective value (e.g., slim vs. skinny).
  • Sense Relations: Synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy (e.g., rose is a hyponym of flower).
• Use:
  • Collocation: Words that co-occur with high statistical frequency (e.g., heavy rain, NOT strong rain).
  • Register & Appropriacy: Formal, informal, technical, or taboo contexts.

2. Michael Lewis’s Lexical Approach

Michael Lewis famously asserted: “Language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar.” Fluency depends on a vast repertoire of pre-fabricated lexical chunks retrieved as single mental units.

Taxonomy of Lexical Items

1. Polywords: Short fixed phrases (e.g., by the way, ups and downs).
2. Collocations: High-frequency word partnerships (e.g., make a decision, commit a crime).
3. Institutionalized Utterances: Fixed pragmatic formulas (e.g., If I were you…, I’ll see what I can do).
4. Sentence Heads & Frames: Semi-fixed structural templates (e.g., Not only is X, but Y…).

In the classroom

For teachers in training, lexical analysis is a core component of formal lesson planning and peer observation:

1. In Formal Lesson Planning: Lexical targets must be analyzed for MFP (Meaning, Form, Pronunciation) and potential L1 negative transfer (e.g., false friends like Spanish actual meaning current, not actual).
2. On Observed Lessons: When presenting vocabulary, clarify meaning through visuals, realia, or concept questions before modeling pronunciation and highlighting form on the whiteboard.
3. Mentor Feedback: Observers look for clear phonetic transcriptions, word stress markings (e.g., phoˈtographer vs. ˈphotograph), and collocation highlights on the board.

Practical Classroom Application

Board Board-Work Framework for Lexical Items

When recording target vocabulary on the board during a lesson stage, use this systematic layout:

Reflection & Further Reading

Reflective Question

Look at your latest vocabulary board work. Did you write isolated single words, or did you highlight collocations, word stress, and grammatical patterns?

Key Reference Areas

• Lewis, M. — The Lexical Approach.
• Thornbury, S. — How to Teach Vocabulary.
• Scrivener, J. — Learning Teaching (Chapter 11: “Vocabulary”).