1. The reason why I am writing this reflection it’s to provide the most important features
of the text “Teaching vocabulary to advanced students: A lexical approach” which is
helpful to all future teachers and also to student of English to learn how to explain in an
effective way the English vocabulary giving some aspects of Lexis and at the same time
explaining each aspect for a better comprehension. Moreover there is the opinion of a
controversial author “Lewis” which gave a lot of importance to the learning of new
vocabulary and the process that the teachers use to give this information to students
which is also important to know.
Firs to all, the author of the text gave us the explanation of several aspects of Lexis
which are important to take into account at the moment of teaching new vocabulary, this
explanations help future students of English, and also teachers, to realize that when you
teach new vocabulary is not only memorize a few words and the work is really, there is
much more beyond memorization. Teachers have to recognize and understand what
means to know a lexical item and give the opportunity to learners to apply and use this
items that they learnt in a real context to make the storage of this information more
effective. These bring us to the second item which is helpful for everyone involve or
interested in the English language, the memory and storage systems. Is inevitable to
have a good memory to storage all the new information which learning a new language
brings with it. The text gives future teachers some advices and examples of how
creating mental linkages, applying images and sounds and so on which helps to have an
effective process of learning and incorporation of this new information. There is
important to take into account the techniques and leaning style preferences which the
text named, such as: the visual, tactile, kinesthetic, aural, etc… because every student
learn in a different way and it is necessary to use every style inside a class for everyone
to understand what you are explaining.
Moreover something which is also important and that the text teach us is that every
person is more receptive if the lexical item makes them feel a personal need to know it,
or if they need to express something which are inside their own purposes. Nevertheless
these are not the only advices the text gave to us, the text also mentions how to chose
the material of a lesson, the group work, etc…
Personally, and as a future teacher this text made me realize how important is to teach
new vocabulary, it is not just the memorization of a few word but something deeper
than that, also it made me think about the necessities of learners and what I have to do
to make them have motivation to what they will learn.
To sum up, this text will be helpful to students and future English teachers, due to all
the advices of how to teach new vocabulary, which aspects are important, what a
teachers must be worried about in a lesson, the different aspects of Lexis, the memory
and storage systems and how to make a lesson effective to inquire, the use of the proper
language , which are the motivations of the learners, etc…
Dannae Del Campo Méndez.