Teaching lexis to EFL students: a review of current perspectives and methods (2004)

Lee, S. (2004). Teaching lexis to EFL students: a review of current perspectives and methods. ARECLS E-Journal, 1(1).

Artículo AQUÍ

ABSTRACT

EFL learners spend a significant time learning lexis. However, it is difficult to utilise vocabulary in authentic situations since textbooks are unable to offer sufficient information on usage. The literature reviewed here proposes a new approach to content and methodology, which claims to be crucially relevant to both teachers and textbook writers. After briefly reviewing some of the reasons for placing emphasis on lexis over grammar, pedagogical implications for L2 vocabulary teaching will be discussed in terms of content and methodologies. For textbook writers and teachers, it is important to not only present those lexical elements which are essential for accurate and fluent use of the language, such as fixed expressions and lexical patterns (thus answering the question of what lexis to teach?), but also to attempt to design some activities that raise learners' consciousness (thus offering suggestions as to 'how to teach lexis'). By doing so, they encourage learners to realise that lexical items can work as useful tools to help produce more accurate and fluent utterances in authentic situations.