PER Grammar-translation Method AD Lexical Approach

“Per aspera ad astra”

A Latin proverb, anonymous

There’s a moment in every person’s life when it changes dramatically, upside down and overnight. It happened to all the Ukrainians one early morning on the 24th of February 2022 when the full-scale invasion broke out and they heard the sound of shelling and bombardment in the streets of their hometowns. That harsh winter morning had definitely changed my life as an EL teacher and a citizen of Ukraine forever.

Though, that was not the only turning point in my life. A few years before one seminar had drastically changed my way of teaching English and helped to overcome a professional burn-out. An explosion of energy, professionalism and charisma called Hugh Dellar brought me to the magical world of the Lexical approach in ELT and since then I’ve been teaching English happily ever after.

ONE VIEW OF LANGUAGE

Grammar plus words plus skills

…Traditionally, the most dominant view in English Language Teaching is probably that

grammar + words = productive language.

In other words, there has long been a belief that language can be reduced to a list of grammar structures that you can drop single words into. You may perhaps have seen this described as something along the lines of ‘grammar providing the order into which you slot words’.

This is a view of language that we disagree with.

There are a number of implications that follow this more traditional view of language – some of which may sometimes be explicitly voiced by teachers, and some which may not. Firstly, grammar is seen as being the most important area of language. If words are there to slot into the spaces which grammar presents, then it is grammar which must come first, and it is grammar which will help students do all the things that they want to do. It also follows that the examples used to illustrate grammar rules are relatively unimportant. …

“Teaching Lexically. Principles and practice.” by Hugh Dellar and Adrew Walkley, Delta Publishing, 2016 

This is an abstract from one of my favourite methodology books “Teaching Lexically” by Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley which cured me from grammar anxiety and a grammar view of teaching and tempted to join the teacher’s community with a lexical view of teaching. And I must assume it’s a whole different kettle of fish! It works! Becoming quite Evangelical about the Lexical approach implementation in class I witnessed incredible outcomes of my students’ work which inspired me even more to explore the topic and research the materials.

Are YOU grammar anxious at all? If so, then stay with us to find out more about a lexical view of teaching!

Lexical Me and the ‘Outcomes’ Series

Making the right choice

Digging deeper and deeper, eventually, I found myself in the bookshop searching for an ideal lexically-oriented course book written by Hugh Dellar who had then become a role model of a true teacher for me. I’m useless at making a choice especially when it’s so difficult as picking up a new course book for my students. Luckily, my clear-cut decision turned to be the ‘Outcomes’ series National Geographic Learning, Cengage Learning, 2017 by Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley which I’ve been using successfully for quite a few years so far. Each to their own, but I can find a lot of benefits through having the ‘Outcomes’ as the key source of information as well as inspiration in class. Looking forward to buying a brand new third edition of the series improved and upgraded and, hopefully, signed by Mr. Dellar at his oncoming seminar in February 2024 in Lviv, Ukraine.

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Lexical Lab and the War

A friend in need is a friend indeed

The summer 2022 was not probably the happiest one in my life but another lexical explosion went off in my career as an EL teacher bearing up currently in evacuation. A friend of mine invited me to join a group of Ukrainian EL teachers having weekly classes of English with… Guess Who? with a course book writer, methodologist and outstanding EL teacher Hugh Dellar who renewed the work of his London School of English ‘Lexical Lab’ after the harsh times of the COVID 19 pandemic and the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. I followed Hugh on Instagram learning the new collocations he introduced in his one-minute videos and his English culture corner on Tuesdays and Thursdays’ posts which were suddenly changed into a Ukrainian war digest spotting all dramatic events occurring in my country. Mr.Dellar stated his position clear showing his support and respect to the Ukrainians not only by posting the hot news reports and photos of ruined buildings and lives of Ukrainians, and making monthly streams on Instagram with Ukrainian EL teachers from the different parts of our country sharing their incredible and touchy stories of surviving and teaching during the war, but also hosting Ukrainian teachers and their families in his house in London.

That was another turning point for me as for an EL student then, me having insomnia and depression, me teaching as a robot without feeling anything and me whose recovery started with learning new English words, doing my English homework, exchanging fears and experiences with other Ukrainian teachers in a lexically friendly atmosphere tuned and shaped by my teacher of English, Hugh Dellar. I go mad with excitement when I say it.

And that’s not only about learning English, that’s much more than that.