IATEFL-H Conference Eger The Lexical Approach and its classroom implications, or the sad story of the dead rabbit IATEFL-H Conference Eger October 2012 Judit Révész balogrevesz@t-online.hu

Language as a huge substitution table… Noun/ pronoun auxiliary verb Relative pronoun SHE YOU I Brad Pitt Tom & Jerry Cinderella WE MAY WILL SHOULD MUST ‘LL SEE KNOW DECIDE SWIM WHEN WHAT WHY HOW WHO HE THEY BILL SUSAN CAN GO COOK DO SING HANG Nonsense combinations like How they should do, what they should go Swim

I’LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO.

What is a collocation?   “Collocation is the readily observable phenomenon whereby certain words co-occur in natural text with greater than random frequency. Instead of words, we consciously try to think of collocations, and to present these in expressions. Rather than trying to break things into ever smaller pieces, there is a conscious effort to see things in larger, more holistic, ways.” (Michael Lewis, (1997). Implementing the lexical approach: Putting theory into practice. Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications.)

Density of collocations 2 “Collocation is the readily observable phenomenon whereby certain words co-occur in natural text with greater than random frequency. Instead of words, we consciously try to think of collocations, and to present these in expressions. Rather than trying to break things into ever smaller pieces, there is a conscious effort to see things in larger, more holistic, ways.” Intertwining collocations

50-80% of text is made up of chunks!

The reason why you’re so fluent is that you have a great amount of overlearnt chunks at your disposal!

Colligation is the way a word regularly co-occurs with a (grammatical) pattern, the word and its grammatical environment. Each word has its own “grammar”. OWN = SAJÁT Hunglish: *He’s only 19 but he drives an own car. *She passed the driving test.” *They suggested to go somewhere else.

Collocational competence Is it just an issue for advanced learners? *She listens the classical music. *They go to home. *He plays on the violin. *My niece is one, she can go but she cannot speak. *He very likes football.

Listen to the radio looks limited whereas listen to + object seems unlimited. Which one is more generative?

„Like slow-release aspirin, (chunks) surrender their internal structure slowly, over time” (Scott Thornbury) These chunks become the raw data by which learners perceive patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar. Only a minority of spoken sentences are entirely novel creations.

Implications for language teaching Translation is out Vocabulary lists with L1 equivalents are out Value of learner creativity is questioned. Huge amounts of authentic input Awareness raising Rote learning is back Teacher as language model and input provider Working/ Playing with language corpora e.g. BNC and concordances Although collocations change very fast, they are controlled by the native speaker community. Learner creativity should start at the level of combining chunks.

Rote learning is back! Collocations memory, jigsaw Gapped reading Correcting text Reconstructing text to make it personally meaningful Dictation – key words Copying – off-the wall-dictation Drills Learning by heart, songs, poetry, tongue twisters, proverbs, etc. Mini narratives – 5 nouns 5 verbs Recording formats, 5-5-1, Lobster Grouping collocations (have, put)

Retell your story in their words! Re-telling Retell the story in your own words! = Retell their story in your words. Retell your story in their words! Off the wall dictation

I have a close friend called Irene I have a close friend called Irene. I’ve known her for about 15 years now. We met at work – she was a colleague of mine at the company where I used to work. We get on very well although we don’t have a lot in common – we have quite different interests. We don’t work together any more, and when I changed jobs we lost touch for a couple of years. But now we keep in touch regularly.  (New English File Intermediate, OUP)

I have a close friend called Irene. I’ve known her 1……. 15 years now I have a close friend called Irene. I’ve known her 1……. 15 years now. We met at 2…….– she was a colleague 3……. at the company where I used 4………. We get 5…………. although we don’t have a lot in 6…… – we have quite different 7……….. We don’t work together any 8………, and when I changed jobs we lost 9……… for a couple of years. But now we 10…….. in touch regularly.  

TOUCH in the British National Corpus I did not want to touch her. staying in touch is essential. I don't wanna lose touch with them now. had been out of touch since the first report Clare kept in touch with Annabel. trying to get in touch? a touch more deeply He will touch everyone on the raw’ It was always touch and go He has been in touch with Greenalls when the South Africans touch down at Kingston Airport Yes touch wood. a touch of elegance.

Collocation domino/memory TRAFFIC CYCLE PEDESTRIAN RUSH PARKING JAM LANE AREA HOUR LOT

Storing/revising vocabulary Catch the Miss the Get off the Get on the Take the BUS

Storing/revising vocabulary BUS LANE TIMETABLE TERMINAL ROUTE PASS

CLEVER DISAPPOINTING IMPRESSIVE ENJOYABLE STUPID BRILLIANT DISASTROUS VERY ABSOLUTELY CLEVER DISAPPOINTING IMPRESSIVE ENJOYABLE STUPID BRILLIANT DISASTROUS SUPERB HILARIOUS IDIOTIC CLEVER, 2. BRILLIANT, 3. DISASTROUS, 4. DISAPPOINTING, 5. IMPRESSIVE, 6. SUPERB, 7. HILARIOUS, 8. ENJOYABLE, 9. STUPID, 10. IDIOTIC

The sad story of the dead rabbit The body work or car body but it also applies to the engine. Mechanistic view of language.

The sad story of the dead rabbit Taken apart, dissected and put together again? What we can learn by dissecting the rabbit What we cannot learn by dissecting the rabbit, movement, eating habits, mating behaviour, how it behaves in its natural environment. Imitate the rabbit! Looking back, what concepts would you expect to see in the test? Collocations being idiomatic, a selection of cartoons.

Catching the bus

Making friends

Fan club

Half brother

Toasting the bride

Don’t fabricate, imitate! SUMMARY Don’t fabricate, imitate! Obsessive grammar syndrome or OGS

Thank you for your attention! Have a good day!