A Lexical Approach
to TBL
SATEFL
Saturday 9th October 2010
dave@willis-elt.co.uk
1
Janet’s friend begins a conversation by
saying:
Janet, I hear you’re planning a trip to Africa.
Work in groups and think of five questions
you might ask Janet to find out more about
her holiday. Try to think of one question which
none of the other groups will ask.
2
HOW DO PEOPLE LEARN LANGUAGES ?
Do they work from from grammatical
abstractions, which provide the framework
for lexis?
OR
Do they begin with lexis, which is
progressively grammaticised?
3
Ungrammatical or
‘ungrammaticised’?
•Omission of articles.
•Omission of BE.
•Questions marked lexically but not
structurally.
•Predominance of base form of the verb.
4
700 words account for around 70% of text.
1500 words account for 80% of text.
2500 words account for 86%.
3000 words provide a basic competence.
It takes over 6000 words to account for
90% of text.
Learners need 95% coverage to read
independently.
5
1. the
2. of
3. and
4. to
5. a
6. in
7. that
8. I
9. it
10.was
11. is
12. he
13. for
14. on
15. you
16. by
17. with
18. as
19. be
20. had
6
the beginning of
the end of
the middle of
the front of
the back of
the end of
7
WAY
1.Method, means: It’s a good way to meet
people.
2.Manner, style: He smiled in a funny way.
3.Direction: Is this the way to St. Pancras?
4.Distance, extent: It’s a long way to
Tipperary.
5.Time: Christmas is a long way off.
6. Pragmatic: by the way.
8
SYNTACTIC FRAMES
1.Noun Phrase + to + infinitive: The
cheapest way is to hire a van.
2.Noun Phrase + of + -ing: The different
ways of cooking fish.
3.Noun Phrase + relative clause: The only
way a telegram can be delivered
9
The word way offers input to the syllabus
in three ways:
• as a word which expresses a number of
central concepts
• as a component in a large number of
common phrases (on the way; in the
way; in a way; the .. way to; one way
of… )
• as an exemplar of valuable syntactic
frames
10
N + of + …ing
ways of cooking fish; as a result of
overeating; fear of flying; at the risk of
boring my audience
METHOD: way; method; means; process
LIKING/DISLIKING: love; hope; hatred;
fear; horror
POSSIBILITY: likelihood; chance;
possibility; risk; danger
OUTCOME: result; effect; aim; intention;
advantage; disadvantage
11
COLLOCATION
In English we talk about:
a strong personality; a strong leader;
strong wind/current; a strong
supporter; strong words; strong coffee;
strong language; a strong case ; strong
evidence; a strong possibility;a strong
team; a strong currency; a strong taste.
What words would you use for strong in
your language?
12
METAPHOR
Verbs of motion:
Life is a journey:
We go through life, reach the age of …,
reach adolescence; get to seventy
Discourse is a journey:
I’ll come to that soon; I’ll go on to my next
point; Let’s go back over that
13
USEFUL GUIDELINES
Ensure coverage of the most frequent 300
words.
Aim for coverage of the most frequent 700
words.
Check against frequency lists to see if
words are worth focusing on.
Use a good dictionary for frequency
information and for information on words.
14
LANGUAGE FOCUS EXERCISES.
Look for:
1 a word …
2 …. or part of a word.
3 words and phrases relating to a concept.
4 expressions of time, place and quantity.
5 vague language.
6 discourse organisers.
15
GO
1.Going in September;
2.I’m going to fly;
3.we’re going to be staying most of the
time in Monze;
4.We’re going to go on safari
5.How long are you actually going for?
6.we’re going to one of the big game parks
7.Probably going on down to see the
Victoria Falls
8.we’re actually going to Zimbabwe as well
16
TO
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
a trip to Africa.
to see my son
I’m going to fly to Lusaka
we’re going to be
We’re going to go
going to one of the big game parks
going on down to see the Victoria Falls.
we’re actually going to Zimbabwe
What airline are you planning to fly by?
I’ve had to do it as cheaply as I could
17
PLACE
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
to Africa.
in Zambia
to Lusaka
there
in Monze,
where he’s working
about a hundred miles south of Lusaka
on safari…
to one of the big game parks
18
REFERRING TO THE FUTURE
•
•
•
•
•
How long are you actually going for.
we can do quite a lot.
I’m going to fly.
we’re going to be staying in Monze.
Probably going on down to see the
Victoria Falls.
• And we’re actually going to Zimbabwe
as well.
• What airline are you planning to fly by?
• I think it’ll be okay
19
•
•
•
•
•
•
TIME
in September
most of the time
How long
six weeks.
Quite a long time
for a few days
20
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
1. I hear
2. who’s doing …
3. do a bit of
travelling
4. where he’s
staying
5. all sorts of
6. actually (x 2)
7. Quite a long
time
8. quite a lot
9. Probably
10.(as a) matter of
interest
11. Sorry?
12. as cheaply as I
could
13. I looked online
14. I mean
15. or anything
16. I don’t know
21
Going in September to see my son, who’s
doing volunteer work in Zambia.
Going ** September ** see my son, ***’*
***** volunteer work ** Zambia.
***** ** September ** see ** ***, ***’* *****
volunteer **** ** Zambia.
***** ** ********* ** *** ** ***, ***’* *****
********* **** ** ******.
Going in September to see my son, who’s
doing volunteer work in Zambia
22
REFERRING TO THE FUTURE
•
•
•
•
•
How long are you actually going for.
we can do quite a lot.
I’m going to fly.
we’re going to be staying in Monze.
Probably going on down to see the
Victoria Falls.
• And we’re actually going to Zimbabwe
as well.
• What airline are you planning to fly by?
• I think it’ll be okay
23
REFERRING TO THE FUTURE
•
•
•
•
•
How long *** *** actually ***** for.
we *** ** quite a lot.
I’m ***** ** fly.
we’re ***** ** ** ******* in Monze.
Probably ***** on down to see the
Victoria Falls.
• And **’** actually ***** to Zimbabwe as
well.
• What airline *** *** ******** ** fly by?
• I think **’** ** okay.
24
 research corpus.
 learner’s corpus.
 pedagogic corpus.
25
 To provide a pedagogic corpus
 To provide activities which promote
language analysis.
 To itemise language within that corpus.
 To provide learners with guidance to
help them make useful generalisations.
26
TBLT …True or False? What do you
think?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
.. is designed to teach spoken rather than
written English.
.. is learner centred.
.. rejects rote learning as a useful activity.
.. does not allow the use of the first
language in the classroom.
.. does not provide learners with language
input before expecting them to engage in a
communicative activity.
.. does not allow for the study of grammar.
.. does not allow drills and pattern practice.
.. requires a greater range of teaching skills
and techniques than traditional approaches.27
Doing Task-based
Teaching
Dave and Jane Willis
2007 OUP
dave@willis-elt.co.uk
www.willis-elt.co.uk
28