engleski

Let's Focus on Lexis

In this paper we want to explore some of the key issues of the lexical approach in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). The thesis that vocabulary needs to be learned and that we dont have to teach it has been largely abandoned, ever since modern theorists began to focus on lexis. The main propagator of the lexical approach, Michael Lewis, thinks that vocabulary should be at the centre of language teaching. This article deals with the importance of raising awareness of the lexical nature of language through various activities, such as: developing skills for efficient use of dictionaries, reading and guessing the meaning of vocabulary items from the context, raising awareness of collocations and language patterns, developing students ability to analyse and understand &bdquo chunks&rdquo translating and contrasting L1 and L2 by using &bdquo chunks&rdquo and not isolated words, repetition of the same vocabulary through various exercises to facilitate retention, systematic and organised recording of new lexical items, and use of vocabulary related metalanguage for forming new mental maps. Apart from the steps necessary for the process of vocabulary retention, we suggest enhanced use of metalanguage by teachers as a foundation for new mental maps helping vocabulary acquisition. We also propose a new vocabulary recording technique in the form of &bdquo The Golden Notebook of Words&rdquo ; comprising headings for various lexical topics (collocations, compounds, metaphors, polysemy, idioms, false friends etc.). This technique assumes recording words in context and not isolated words, and thus aims to facilitate vocabulary acquisition in order to ensure better fluency and production. Key words: vocabulary, lexis, metalanguage, recording O Leksičkom pristupu u nastavi engleskog ezika U članku se razmatraju neka od glavnih pitanja leksičkoga pristupa u sklopu učenja engleskoga kao stranoga jezika. Teza da se vokabular mora nauèiti i da ga ne treba poduèavati u većini je sluèajeva napu&scaron ; tena, osobito otkako su moderni teoretièari poèeli isticati važnost poduèavanja leksika. Glavni zagovornik leksièkoga pristupa, Michael Lewis, vokabular stavlja u sredi&scaron ; te poduèavanja. U članku se naglava važnost podizanja svijesti o leksièkoj prirodi jezika kroz različite aktivnosti. Ističe se da bi povećana uporaba metajezika od strane nastavnika trebala omogućiti stvaranje nove mentalne mape koja bi pridonijela boljem usvajanju leksika. Također se predlaže inzistiranje na temeljitijem načinu bilježenja leksika u obliku Zlatne bilježnice riječi koja bi sadržavala naslove za različite leksičke teme (npr. kolokacije, složenice, metafore, polisemija, idiomi, lažni parovi, frazni glagoli itd.). Naglašava se važnost navođenja riječi u kontekstu, a ne pojedinačno, s ciljem da se olakša usvajanje leksika, a sve bi to vodilo tečnijem i pravilnijem služenju engleskim jezikom.

vocabulary, lexis, metalanguage, recording

nije evidentirano