Lexical Approach

What is the meaning of Lexical Approach?

 An Approach to teaching languages that has a lot in common with the communicative approach, but also examines how lexical phrases, prefabricated chunks of language, play an important role in producing fluent speech. The lexical approach was first coined by Michael Lewis,  who observed that "language consists of grammaticalised lexis not lexicalised grammar " (The Lexical Approach, 1993). 

PRINCIPLES AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE LEXICAL APPROACH

v  The acquisition of lexis is not a purely intellectual process, but an experiential one.

v  The acquisition of vocabulary is not a linear but branching process (words are not learnt mechanically but associativily; good language learners recognize and use collocations, polyword contractions, fixed and semi-fixed expressions, etc.

v  Task and process, rather than exercise and product are emphasised.

v  Receptive skills, particularly listening, are recognized as deserving primary importance.

v  Succesful language is a wider concept than accurate language.

v  It is also a social process: we expand our apprehension of word meanings by interchanging and sharing them with others.

Check this material for your final exam:

http://kenlackman.com/files/LexicalActivitiesBook102.pdf

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

When you are thinking critically, you are not just thinking passively and accepting everything you see and hear. You are thinking actively. You are asking questions about what you see and hear, evaluating, categorizing, and finding relationships

We are thinking critically when we

• understand the logical connections between ideas
• identify, construct and evaluate arguments
• detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
• solve problems systematically
• identify the relevance and importance of ideas
• reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values

According to your ideas,  answer this in my blog. 
Is this related to critical thinking? Why? 

-Remember that Critical thinkers tend to:
-Be capable of taking a position or changing a position as evidence dictates
-Remain relevant to the point
-Seek information as well as precision in information
-Be open minded
-Take the entire situation into account
-Keep the original problem in mind
-Search for reasons
-Deal with the components of a complex problem in an orderly manner
-Seek a clear statement of the problem
-Look for options
-Exhibit sensitivity to others’ feelings and depth of knowledge
-Use credible sources

Now, we are going to watch this video, then discuss your ideas with the teacher. 
What's the meaning of entrepreneurs? 

Critical thinkers use these skills appropriately. Now you are going to choose three of them and explain them in your blog. Please make a picture according to your explanation. It’s important to keep in mind, you  always evaluate the outcome of your thought process. 

Multiculturalism and Children Literature

Analysis of multicultural elements in a children’s story…

“Multicultural children’s literature is about the sociocultural experiences of previously underrepresented groups. It validates these groups’ experiences, including those occurring because of differences in language, race, gender, class, ethnicity, identity, and sexual orientation.”

The 18th and 19th centuries saw travel and adventure stories as people began to discover new lands, foray into new fields, and communicate with new cultures and peoples. Hence this era saw books for children such as Gulliver’s Travels and the Grimms’ Fairy Tales, collected and written by the brothers Grimm, two German brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, whose collection is largely about central Europe and life during that time.

The idea of teaching children literature,  however, advocates for an approach that integrates multicultural children’s literature throughout the day, throughout your degree,  the school year, and at all times, for all types of lessons. 

Answer the following questions according to your teacher’s notes.
1. What is “culture”?
2. What is “ethnicity”?
3. Explain how every person has a culture and an ethnic background.
4. Give examples of your own individual cultures.
5. Describe how every person has an varied ethnic background and that nobody’s heritage is boring
or insignificant.
6. Discuss how culture is a personal thing, and that one’s culture can and will change over time.
7. Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures
address similar human needs and concerns.
8. Describe ways in which language, stories, folk tales, music, and artistic creations serve as
expressions of culture and influence the behavior of people living in a particular place.
9. Identify and describe ways families, groups, and communities influence the daily lives and personal
choices of individuals.

You will discuss your answer with the whole group when you finish this work. 

- Now you are going to watch a special video about multiculturalism. Take the best one and redo it according to your own culture. 

Storytelling structure....

My dear students, gather around. I would love to share with you this story and this video…..

                                               It is really interesting! Go ahead!

You are going to create two mind maps, the first one is about the storytelling structure in one famous storytelling, choose whatever you want…..Read this information and apply it, by using this page: http://mind42.com/
Choose pictures, explanations and part of your favourite story. 

Plot refers to the series of events that give a story its meaning and effect. In most stories, these events arise out of conflict experienced by the main character. The conflict may come from something external, like a dragon or an overbearing mother,  or it may stem from an internal issue, such as  jealousy, loss of identity, or overconfidence.

Character refers to a textual representation of a human being

(or occasionally another creature). Most fiction writers agree that character   development is the key element in a story's creation, and in most pieces of fiction a close identification with the characters is crucial to understanding the story.

Conflict  the elements that work against the main character's goals

Theme  The controlling idea or central insight that the author is trying to get across. 

Setting quite simply, is the story’s time and place. While setting includes simple attributes  such as climate or wall décor, it can also include complex dimensions such as the historical moment the story occupies or its social context.

The structure point could be the  simplicity of a picture book in terms

of narrative structure, visual appeal and often fable-like brevity might seem to suggest that  it is indeed ideally suited to a juvenile readership. It’s about showing and telling, a window for learning to ‘read’ in a broad sense, exploring relationships between words, pictures and the world we experience every day.

  The second one is about just the storytelling structure, the mindmap you are going to create is in: http://www.text2mindmap.com

I invite you to read extra information