WEBVTT

00:00:00.077 --> 00:00:04.120
Hi. Welcome to The Power of Lexis. My name
is Chris and I've been teaching English since

00:00:05.002 --> 00:00:11.060
1998 and training teachers since 2003, and
I've worked on 4 continents in 7 countries,

00:00:11.078 --> 00:00:15.123
including Argentina, Spain and South Africa.
I'm Head of Teacher Training here in Bournemouth,

00:00:16.023 --> 00:00:21.065
UK, at the International Teaching and Training
Centre, or ITTC. We do all sorts of teacher

00:00:21.065 --> 00:00:25.139
training, like the Cambridge CELTA and Delta,
but we also run other courses for overseas

00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:30.105
teachers of English. Our language school is
called BEET Language Centre, and the last

00:00:31.005 --> 00:00:35.078
British Council inspection said it is one
of the top three schools in the UK.

00:00:35.078 --> 00:00:40.144
OK, so what do we mean by 'lexis' and how
can we focus on it best to help our students

00:00:41.044 --> 00:00:47.085
become more fluent, accurate and natural communicators
in English? At its most basic level 'lexis'

00:00:47.085 --> 00:00:52.454
is 'vocabulary' or individual words. But lexis
is also how we put these words together to

00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:59.285
make phrases and sentences and texts. For
example my Elementary students know the vocabulary

00:00:59.879 --> 00:01:04.912
'have' and 'go', but that doesn't mean they
understand the phrase 'have a go at' means

00:01:05.209 --> 00:01:10.243
try something, or that they can use it in
sentences like 'I'll have a go at using these

00:01:10.549 --> 00:01:14.490
great new ideas'.
On this course we're going to see that lexis

00:01:14.049 --> 00:01:19.208
is so much more than individual words. And
as teachers we can focus on it in very different

00:01:19.649 --> 00:01:24.656
ways to help our learners develop their English,
and not just their vocabulary but also their

00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:30.791
grammar. We will see that by teaching lexis
well, we are in fact teaching grammar.

00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:35.496
The course is for teachers of all levels of
experience. We'll briefly look at the history

00:01:36.009 --> 00:01:41.016
of the Lexical Approach and the more recent
concept of Lexical Priming. It will be a very

00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:45.171
practical course, and you will gain many techniques
for teaching and practising lexis that won't

00:01:45.999 --> 00:01:52.340
necessarily take you longer to prepare. You
will have a clearer idea of how to select

00:01:52.034 --> 00:01:56.883
the lexis you teach and see some websites
and free online tools to help you see what

00:01:57.189 --> 00:02:02.560
lexis we really use. We will share suggestions
for lessons and you will develop a range of

00:02:02.056 --> 00:02:07.109
teaching ideas.
Each week there will be input sessions, articles

00:02:08.009 --> 00:02:12.075
and quizzes on different teaching ideas. You
will watch videos of me using the techniques

00:02:12.075 --> 00:02:17.153
with a class and evaluate them in the discussion
forum. There will also be a practical assignment

00:02:18.053 --> 00:02:24.075
in which you’ll use the ideas in your own
classes, then discuss your experiences. In

00:02:24.075 --> 00:02:28.136
the second week there will be a live Question
and Answer session with myself or a colleague,

00:02:29.036 --> 00:02:33.084
covering all the main points that have arisen
during the course.

00:02:33.084 --> 00:02:38.101
So I look forward to seeing you in the first
session, in which we'll start using the Power

00:02:39.001 --> 00:02:44.085
of Lexis to get your students communicating
in English that is more fluent, accurate and

00:02:44.085 --> 00:02:44.147
natural.