posed “lexical approach” which is based on the idea that language is made up of grammatical lexis instead of lexicalized grammar, and an important part of language acquisition is the ability to comprehend and produce lexical chunks as unanalyzed wholes, while these chunks are the raw data. It makes a distinction between vocabulary and lexis which concentrates on developing students’ proficiency by using lexis, or word combinations (Lewis, 1997).
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Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Theories on Lexical Chunks
During the late nineteen century, there has been an increasing concern about the linguistic study in China and abroad. Many linguists, scholars and teachers devote themselves to language teaching and learning. Among these approaches, introduction of lexical chunks during teaching process has been advocated and employed to language acquisition. There have been different definitions of lexical chunks. Becker (1975) first put forward his opinion that lexical chunks are those particular multi-words or sentences, which are usually in the form of fixed or semi-fixed chunks and share the common characteristics of traditional grammar and lexis. And, Nattinger & Decarrico(1992), who also defines lexical chunks as “multi-word lexical phenomena”, arguing that these chunks are ready-made multi-word expressions. They think that these phrases are “collocations that are assigned pragmatic functions”, which differs them from other multi-word units like idioms or collocations. It is necessary to make clear the conceptualizations of lexical chunks in order to delineate a precise boarder for present study. Therefore, in the following part, the definition of lexical chunks, its classification and functions will be discussed.
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2.2 Theories on Lexical Approach
Lexical approach is put forward by Michael Lewis (1993) who suggests that lexis is the basic unit of language instead of grammar and single words, and they play a central role in language acquisition. According to Lewis (1993), the key principle of a lexical approach is that “language consists of grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar.” (p.36). He suggests that it is necessary to put pedagogical chunking as a lesson activity in a high frequency, in order to develop the awareness of language learning. He has written two books The Lexical Approach (1993) and Implementing the Lexical Approach: Putting Theory into Practice (1997). These two books introduce lexis-focused theories and how to apply lexical chunks to language teaching, and they have received interest in the language-teaching field since they were published. The Lexical Approach which developed by Michael Lewis, has gained popularity and attention in recent years. It develops the fundamental principles of Communicative Approach. Although it has similarities with the Communicative Approach, the differences are obvious too. Such as it increased understanding of the nature of lexical chunks in naturally occurring language, and it contributes to enrich language pedagogy po
