40 TESOL Journal

The only possibleshortcoming of Talk ItUp! is that the listeningpassages use scripteddialogues rather thanauthentic speech.Unlike the recordingsfor the second book ofthis series, Talk It Over!,the language in some ofthe dialogues soundssomewhat unnatural.This probably would notbe detected by students,however, and so shouldnot detract from theoverall quality of thebook. I would recom-mend Talk It Up! to any

ESL program that has literate adults who areliving and working in modern-day NorthAmerica. The book would especially benefitthose learners who need to improve their pro-nunciation, fluency, and listening compre-hension in English.

ReferenceMorley, J. (1998, January/February).

Trippingly on the tongue: Putting seriousspeech/pronunciation instruction back in theTESOL equation. ESL Magazine, 20-23.

AuthorAnn E. Roemer is principal lecturer at

Utah State University, in Logan, in theUnited States, where she teaches ESL in theIntensive English Language Institute.

Editor’s NoteDuring a master’s course on TESOL cur-

riculum last year, two of my graduate stu-dents, Pan Qing-sheng and Van Sinh Ha, hada vigorous debate on whether curriculumshould be constructed from a grammatical ora lexical perspective. Later, during thecourse, class discussion broadened toencompass a range of ways for tackling cur-riculum planning, but the debate remindedme of Lewis’s book, Implementing theLexical Approach, which had crossed mydesk earlier. Why not, I thought, offer Panand Ha a chance to continue their debate?

Pan and Ha read the book, noted it, andheld several discussions on the issues itraised about language learning and teach-ing. The following is but the bare bones oftheir recorded discussions, yet it representspart of a continuing dialogue among EFLteachers, as Ha returns to Vietnam to incor-porate case study research on teaching intohis professional life and Pan completes aminor dissertation on how Chinese studentschunk English language input in the lan-guage classroom.

Jill BurtonReviews Editor, TESOL Journal

University of South Australia

Implementing the Lexical Approachcov-ers theory and practice through the followingtopics:

• basic concepts (Chapters 1–5)• teaching techniques (Chapters 6–7)• teachers’ reflections on the

approach (Chapter 8)• language content implications for

teaching (Chapter 9)

• suggestions for teacher training(Chapter 10)

• new ideas on dictionaries, grammar,and teaching methodology (Chapter11)

Two EFL Teachers’ Explorationof a New Lexical Approach toTeaching

Pan: Lewis’s interpretation of vocabularyis innovative. In both of his books,TheLexical Approach(1993) andImplementingthe Lexical Approach(1997), he highlightsthe teaching of meaningful chunks.Teaching meaningful language chunks willhelp communication, even if the speakerhas a poor knowledge of grammar of thetarget language.

Ha: But what he wants to stress is theimportance of lexis in teaching and learning asecond language (L2). And this is not new.

The Concept of NoticingPan: Lewis argues that teaching encour-

ages the transition from input to intake.Noticing is an important strategy, in whichlearners’ attention is drawn to lexical featuresof input which the teacher expects them tolearn. Thus, noticing is a teaching strategy.However, learners, once motivated, will payattention to whatever interests them, not nec-essarily to what the teacher expects them to.In such cases, noticing becomes a learningstrategy.

Implementing theLexical Approach:

Putting Theory IntoPracticeMichael Lewis.

Hove, England: Language TeachingPublications, 1997.

Pp. 223.

Reviewed by Pan Qing-sheng and

Van Sinh Ha

Spring 1999 41

Chunking, Language Proficiency,and Teaching

Pan: The key term in Lewis’s book ischunk. A chunk can be one word or more, butin Lewis’s view, chunks can be regarded asbasic lexical items in L2 teaching.Unfortunately, he does not elaborate on howto chop an utterance into meaningful chunks.The same string of words may be a chunk inone context, but not in another. Lewis doesnot tell us how to chunk. He gives us someexamples, but not any techniques.

The Role of TranslationHa: Lewis says very clearly that transla-

tion is inevitable in L2 teaching and learning.When you cannot use the target language to

express an idea, you turn to the mothertongue. However, you should not translateword for word, but chunk for chunk. If youknow how to chunk, you can translate chunkfor chunk, and that is a condition for success-ful translation. Translation is, in his terms,just a way of raising consciousness aboutwords, and is, therefore, a central techniquein his lexical approach.

Putting the Lexical Approach IntoPractice

Ha: Lewis’s lexical notebook is a way toorganize and retrieve lexis. It is also an aid tonoticing—maximizing the chance of turninginput into intake. A large portion of his bookis devoted to exercises and activities (30exercises and 45 activities) that implementthis approach. These activities encourage thenoticing of chunks and serve as models forteachers to develop their own material.

Pan: The lexical notebooks are learnerdiaries for taking down the chunks. Whatlearners take down will depend on what we,as teachers, tell them about chunks, and whatthey choose to notice.

Ha: At first, learners may find identifyingchunks difficult. But this is true for anyapproach, not just for the lexical approach.Learners need time to develop skills.

Pan: From the cognitive point of view, itis a process of development. But every syl-labus has a timetable. In China, for example,we have a midterm and a final test. So eventhough development may still be incomplete,we have to test students.

The Lexical Approach: What’sNew?

Ha: First, many authors have writtenabout the role of vocabulary, so I think the

new thing here is terminology. Lewis hasgiven us more detail about chunking.Chunking helps contextualize the lexicalitems to be learned. Second, he confirms thenecessity of chunking, of breaking input intolexical pieces. And recombination requiresknowledge of grammar and phonology. Thatis why he calls it an integrated approach.

Pan: What interests me is where his viewof vocabulary is different from traditionaland current views. In his book, translation isseen as helpful, even inevitable, in EFL set-tings. But I still wonder why, in his approach,classroom interaction is not emphasized.That is what I would question. Anyway,Implementing the Lexical Approach is a goodread for EFL teachers.

Ha: For both EFL and ESL teachers, Ithink.

AuthorsPan Qing-sheng has taught EFL at the

secondary level in Shanghai, in the Peoples’Republic of China, for 16 years and is cur-rently studying for an MA in education(TESOL) at the University of South Australia,in Adelaide.

Ha Van Sinh has an MA in education(TESOL) and lectures in the English depart-ment at Nhatrang Teachers’ College, inVietnam.

The Self-Directed Teacher, part of theCambridge Language Education Series, is avaluable text for both teachers in training andexperienced teachers, as it offers a significantopportunity for self-reflection on a widerange of important issues. These issuesinclude student needs analysis, lesson plan-ning, error correction, classroom dynamics,maintaining an orderly classroom (even dur-ing group work), effective use of resources(including computers), affective issues suchas motivation and anxiety, as well as moni-toring and evaluating students’ progress.Experienced teachers will be glad to find cur-rent research underpinning all of these areas,along with exercises that allow them toreflect on their own teaching style. Authentictranscripts of classroom interactions included

throughout the book contain a wealth ofmaterial from which readers with little or noteaching experience can draw ideas to helpdevelop their own teaching styles. Obviouslysensitive to the preciousness of a teacher’stime and mental energy, Nunan and Lambhave written a clear and accessible text, evenoffering a prereading exercise to encouragereaders to formulate questions they wouldlike answered in key areas. Chapters beginwith an introduction and a concept map,allowing readers to get involved only at thelevel they desire. Each chapter can standalone, which is good for busy teachers whocan tackle only a little of the book at a timeor who wish to concentrate on a particulararea.

The Self-DirectedTeacher: Managing

the LearningProcess

David Nunan and Clarice Lamb.Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1996.Pp. xiii + 296.

Reviewed by S. Tiffany MacFerrin

U.S. distributors for LanguageTeaching Publications are Delta Systems (800-323-8270)and the Alta Book Center (800-258-2375).