UNIT 2: LEXIS

Lexis refers to words: the vocabulary of a language which have a specific meaning. Words have different kinds of meaning, the one that describes the thing behind the vocabulary and the other one that describes the figurative meaning. Vocabulary units come from their form, like affixation, compounds, and compound nouns. Some words occur together such as collocations and idioms, those are chunks: fixed units that we learn as one piece.  Words also have different relationships among them in the case of synonyms, or antonyms which may be part of the same lexical set or belong to the same word family. False friends, homophones, homonyms are other ways in which words can be related (Spratt, M. Pulverness, A. Williams, M, 2014). A complete knowledge of a word involves the understanding of its meaning and form, this process starts with its meaning, spelling and pronunciation.

The role of an effective teacher is to encourage students to acquire knowledge, by implementing teaching strategies. In this chapter new vocabulary items will be introduced in a class by using visual elements. Here it is vital to use real objects whenever possible, for example: sounds, smells, and tastes. By using and discovering students´ learning styles a teacher will appeal to all of his or her students’ senses. In addition, introduced new vocabulary should be used for students, by giving learners the opportunity to put into practice and to use lexis.  

Sources:

-          Spratt M., Pulverness A. & Willians M. (2011). The TKT course.Modules 1,2,3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

-     Lackman, K. (2011). Lexical Approach Activities. Retrieved from http://kenlackman.com/files/LexicalActivitiesBook102.pdf