Humor4u

This year sees the 20th anniversary of the publication of Michael Lewis's "The Lexical Approach", the book that has changed the way many – but unfortunately not enough - teachers teach and see language. I just wanted to share with you my plans  for this anniversary year. Article The Education section of the Guardian has just run my "accessible" article about why Lewis's lexical approach hasn't gained widespread currency. Judging by the comments it has reignited the debate about traditional grammar versus chunks and whether it is the publishers' reluctance or "consumers"' conservatism that hinders the spread of new ideas in ELT. Click here to read it. Special publications I am currently guest-editing a special issue of the ETAI (English Teachers Association of Israel) Forum dedicated to the lexical approach with contributions from Hugh Dellar , Luiz Otavio Barros , Hannah Kryszewska ,  KenLackman and many others. The publication is on...

In the second installment of his thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable “Dissing Dogme” series (see here ), Hugh Dellar addresses the touchy topic of language input in Dogme but this time Task-Based Learning (TBL) is also thrown in the mix. Why has TBL come under attack? I enjoy reading Hugh Dellar’s posts, especially his latest anti-Dogme series which he pulls off with such ease and eloquence (and often withering sarcasm). For those who don’t know, Hugh Dellar is an advocate of the Lexical Approach and, together with Andrew Walkley, the co-author of Innovations and Outcomes , the only EFL textbooks available on the market written from a lexical perspective (you can read my very favourable post about Innovations here ) I’ve always thought that TBL and Lexical Approach with their focus on meaning and the emphasis on use and exposure are close cousins. That’s why I was surprised to see that while pulling Dogme to pieces Hugh Dellar also talks disparagingly of TBL. In doing so, he dr...

Students watch a few short clips and match them with different comedy genres. This video activity can be used to supplement a speaking activity in Innovations Advanced .  Innovations were the first series of textbooks that truly embraced the principles of the Lexical Approach (LA). While other books have started including collocation boxes and introducing some multi-word units, Innovations (published by Thomson Heinle or what is now known as Cengage) was the first one to embody the spirit of the LA focusing on chunks, formulaic expressions and dealing with aspects of grammar relevant to the spoken language which are rarely featured in other textbooks influenced by the written grammar of English. Innovations Upper-Intermediate is by far my favourite. (I may be biased here because upper-int. is my favourite level to teach). Not only does it have engaging, thought-provoking articles and refreshing topics (Women in boxing, rave parties and hair styles), it introduces the lexis that wil...

In this activity students watch a short clip from the movie “Red Eye” and then discuss problems people may encounter when staying in hotels. The activity is suitable for both adult and young learners at pre-intermediate level and up. Procedure Preparation You will need a DVD of the film or, alternatively, you can show the clip on Youtube (click here ).  If you're using the DVD, the scene starts at 2.12 and ends with the receptionist saying on the phone “they were such a**holes”. If you find it inappropriate, stop the playback right after the customers say “We won’t!” Before you watch Freeze-frame: a view of the hotel from outside. Discuss with students if they have ever stayed / often stay in hotels. Brainstorm what kind of problems hotel guests may encounter while staying in a hotel (e.g. rude staff, room not being cleaned etc) While you watch 1. Show the clip. Was the problem the guests experience in the film mentioned in the pre-watching discussion? 2. Give out the handout (2 ve...