UNIVERSITY OF EL SALVADOR

WESTERN MULTDISCIPLINARY CAMPUS

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

UNDERGRADUATE WORK:
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEXICAL APPROACH TO ENHANCE THE
NINTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT THE CENTRO
ESCOLAR FRANCISCO GAVIDIA, EL REFUGIO, AHUACHAPÁN, DURING THE
YEAR 2018.

SUBMITTED TO OBTAIN THE DEGREE OF:

LICENCIADA EN IDIOMA INGLÉS, OPCIÓN ENSEÑANZA

PRESENTED BY:
ALBANÉS ALVARADO, KAREN LISSETH
ESCOBAR RODRÍGUEZ, SONIA MARIBEL
MORÁN VILLANUEVA, FLOR DE LUZ

ADVISOR:
M. Sc. JOSÉ RIGOBERTO CORLETO BERGANZA

SANTA ANA, EL SALVADOR, 2018

 UNIVERSITY OF EL SALVADOR

CENTRAL AUTHORITIES

M. Sc. ROGER ARMANDO ARIAS ALVARADO

RECTOR

DR. MANUEL DE JESÚS JOYA ÁBREGO

ACADEMIC VICE-RECTOR

ING. NELSON BERNABÉ GRANADOS ÁLVAREZ

ADMINISTRATIVE VICE-RECTOR

LICDO. CRISTOBAL HERNÁN RÍOS BENÍTEZ

GENERAL SECRETARY

M. Sc. CLAUDIA MARÍA MELGAR DE ZAMBRANA

DEFENDER OF UNIVERSITY RIGHTS

LICDO. RAFAEL HUMBERTO PEÑA MARÍN

UNIVERSITY ATTORNEY
 WESTERN MULTIDISCIPLINARY CAMPUS

AUTHORITIES

DR. RAÚL ERNESTO AZCÚNAGA LÓPEZ

DEAN

M. Ed. ROBERTO CARLOS SIGÜENZA CAMPOS

VICE-DEAN

M. Sc. DAVID ALFONSO MATA ALDANA

SECRETARY

M.A. EDGAR AMILCAR PÉREZ MENDOZA

CHIEF OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARMENT
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My endless thanks to:

God, for allowing me to reach the end of this stage in my life and give me the strength to

overcome all the difficulties of life,

My parents, Salvador Antonio Albanés and Mirna Esperanza Alvarado Martinez, for

supporting me in my life, providing me with pieces of advice when needed, and for giving me

important lessons for my life,

My sisters, Kattiana, Carmen and Ester, for being by my side giving me words of

encouragement in the difficult moments faced in my studies,

My best friend, Rosa Villalta, who has been by my side encouraging me to reach my goals and

to overcome the problems I faced during these years,

My friends, Eduardo Escobar, Franklin Tobar, Michelle Alegría and Francisco Barrientos who

have given me the motivation to complete my goals and the words of encouragement,

Our advisor, M.Sc. José Rigoberto Corleto Berganza, for the patience, good advice,

knowledge, and guidance during our investigation and the major,

My friends and research team, Flor de Luz Morán and Sonia Maribel Escobar for the patience

and help to finish our investigation and for the years of friendship and support provided.

Karen Lisseth Albanés Alvarado

My endless thanks to:

Almighty God since nothing would be possible without Him. He is my comforter, my teacher,

and my best friend. He is the one who understands me and gives me the strength I need in

every single moment of my life. To Him I dedicate all the efforts I made in order to finish this

major.

My mother María Teresa Rodriguez de Escobar who encouraged me to study at the University

in the first place; she was always willing to help me and give me wise counsel whenever I

needed it.

My father, Juan Antonio Escobar Corado since he always made sure I had everything I needed

in order to finish this major. And he also provided moral support when things got hard.

My grandmother who helped me with everything she could and gave me counsel too.

All the teachers who helped me acquire all the knowledge I have, especially to M. Sc. José

Rigoberto Corleto Berganza for all the help he provided in this research.

The members of this research team, Karen Albanés and Flor de Luz Morán for everything they

did during this research.

Sonia Maribel Escobar Rodriguez

My endless thanks to:

God for giving me the strength and courage to continue and overcome all the difficulties I

faced during the years at the university,

My father José Roberto Morán and my mother Rosa Elvira Villanueva who have been always

by my side supporting me and helping me in everything I needed to keep on studying.

My sisters who always encouraged me to finish the major,

My best friends: Dicmar Sanchez, Jacqueline Hernández, and Josseline Barillas who have

been supporting me through thick and thin.

To M. Sc. José Rigoberto Corleto Berganza for all the knowledge he has shared with us and

the guidance he provided during the thesis process,

My friends and research team Karen Lisseth Albanés and Sonia Maribel Rodriguez for all the

patience, understanding, and help they provided me during this study.

Flor de Luz Morán Villanueva

 Index
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. i
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................ii
CHAPTER I: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ........................................................................... 1
1.1. Description of the Problem .................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Research questions ................................................................................................................. 3
1.3. Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 4
1.3.1. General objective ................................................................................................................ 4
1.3.2. Specific objectives ............................................................................................................... 4
1.4. Hypothesis of change .............................................................................................................. 4
1.5. Justification ............................................................................................................................. 5
1.6. Scope of the research.............................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................. 7
2.1. First and Second Language acquisition .................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 First Language Acquisition ........................................................................................... 7
2.1.2. Second Language Acquisition ....................................................................................... 8
2.1.3. Differences and Similarities of First and Second Language Acquisition .................. 8
2.2. Importance of the Listening Skill ........................................................................................... 12
2.3. Importance of the Speaking Skill ........................................................................................... 14
2.4. Importance of the writing skill in language learning ........................................................ 15
2.5. Vocabulary Teaching and Learning ................................................................................... 16
2.5.1. Types of lexical units ........................................................................................................ 16
2.5.2. Vocabulary acquisition .................................................................................................... 17
2.5.3. Teaching vocabulary ........................................................................................................ 17
2.5.4. Vocabulary in listening and speaking skill..................................................................... 18
2.6. Lexical approach .................................................................................................................. 18
2.2.1. Lexical Approach Key Principles ............................................................................... 19
2.2.2. Lexical approach in the syllabus ................................................................................. 19
2.2.3. Lexis in the classroom .................................................................................................. 20
2.2.4. The use of new lexis and vocabulary .......................................................................... 22
2.2.5. Reinforcing new vocabulary ........................................................................................ 22
2.2.6. The efficiency of the Lexical Approach ...................................................................... 22
 2.2.7. Advantages and Disadvantages of using the lexical approach ................................. 23
2.2.7.1. Advantages ................................................................................................................ 23
2.2.7.2. Disadvantages ........................................................................................................... 23
2.7. Motivation ............................................................................................................................. 23
2.6.1 What is motivation? ............................................................................................................ 23
2.6.2 Why motivation is important in the process of learning a new language ...................... 24
2.8. Teaching teenagers ............................................................................................................... 24
2.8.1. Make use of pop culture................................................................................................... 24
2.8.2. Cater to their skills and exploit their talents. ................................................................ 25
2.8.3. Utilize video clips in lessons ............................................................................................. 25
2.9. Exercises to record new vocabulary and lexis ................................................................... 26
2.10. Background of the Phenomenon ..................................................................................... 29
2.10 Actual Situation of the Phenomenon .................................................................................. 30
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN ............................................................................ 32
3.1. Paradigm and design............................................................................................................ 32
3.2. Sampling procedure ............................................................................................................. 32
3.3. Preliminary phase ................................................................................................................ 33
3.3.1.1. Approaching the field of study ................................................................................ 33
3.3.1.2. Diagnostic study........................................................................................................ 34
3.3.1.3. Definition of the problem ......................................................................................... 35
3.4. Planning phase ...................................................................................................................... 36
3.4.1.1. Literature review ...................................................................................................... 36
3.4.1.2. Data collection instruments ..................................................................................... 37
3.4.1.3. Validation of data collection instruments .............................................................. 38
3.4.1.4. Validity and reliability ............................................................................................. 38
3.4.1.5. Ethical aspects .......................................................................................................... 38
3.5. Execution phase .................................................................................................................... 39
3.5.1.1. Data collection procedures ...................................................................................... 39
3.5.1.2. Data processing......................................................................................................... 40
3.5.1.3. Data analysis and interpretation ............................................................................. 40
3.6. Operationalization of Variables .......................................................................................... 41
3.7. Time table ............................................................................................................................. 43
 3.8. Budget.................................................................................................................................... 45
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA............................................... 47
4.1. Listening and speaking activities ............................................................................................ 51
4.2. Vocabulary and lexis ................................................................................................................ 57
4.3. Motivating writing skill activities ........................................................................................... 60
4.4. The use of new lexis and vocabulary ...................................................................................... 68
4.5. Reinforcing the new vocabulary ............................................................................................. 73
4.6. Efficiency of the lexical approach ........................................................................................... 80
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................ 88
5.1. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 88
5.2. Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 90
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 92
APPENDIXES ...................................................................................................................................... 93
 ABSTRACT

The study “The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to Enhance the Ninth Grade

Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio,

Ahuachapán, during the year 2018” was aimed to describe how the lexical approach helps to

enhance the ninth grade students’ English vocabulary through a series of speaking, listening and

writing activities, and activities to have a record of the new vocabulary at Centro Escolar

Francisco Gavidia. Since the Lexical Approach focuses on teaching based on lexis units such as

words, collocations, fixed patterns or phases and more instead of grammar points, researchers

consciously observed and studied how it could be implemented in the ninth-grade curriculum

for the English language to help ninth grade students enhance their English vocabulary. Also,

they assessed the effectiveness of this approach when working with teenagers and observed the

students’ development in the implementation phase. Finally, researchers analyzed the

advantages and disadvantages of this approach at Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia through the

activities used in classes, and they provided detailed description of the implementation of this

approach.

i
 INTRODUCTION

This document presents the study “The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to

Enhance the Ninth Grade Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco

Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, during the year 2018.” It shows a description of the

implementation of the lexical approach in the curriculum used with the target population to

enhance their English vocabulary.

This research study is divided into five chapters. In “Chapter I: Statement of the

Problem,” the researchers describe the problem observed in the ninth grade English classroom

at Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, and they focused on the main problem observed which

was the English vocabulary acquisition of the students, and the researchers looked for an

approach that best suits the students’ needs. In addition, it contains the research questions which

hand and hand with the general and specific objectives are, the hypothesis of chance,

justification and scope of the research.

Furthermore, “Chapter II: Theoretical Framework” exposes a description of the main

variables considered for this investigation. Additionally, this chapter provides the background

of the phenomenon and discusses points that support the reason why the implementation of the

Lexical Approach to ninth grade students helps them to enhance their vocabulary at the Centro

Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, during the year 2018.

In “Chapter III: Methodological Design,” the researchers describe the environment in

which the investigation was carried out as well as the methodology they used as research team

to carry out this research study. The researchers used the qualitative paradigm and used the

action research design to help the students and the teachers to implement a new approach to give

ii
a different perspective to solve to the phenomenon observed. In the preliminary phase, the

researchers approached the field of study by using an observation guide that served to have a

clear view of the problematic situation that was going to be studied. The researchers collected

the data step by step so that the research would be meaningful and valid. Also, the different tools

that were designed to collect information were observation guides, diaries, interviews, quizzes,

and exams. All the instruments helped researchers to gather the information for this

investigation.

Additionally, “Chapter IV: Analysis and Interpretation of Data” contains the detailed

analysis of the information gathered through the sixteen lexical approach classes developed by

the research team. The analyses were done per variable to show how each of them was

developed in class. Each variable contains a table with the most significant aspects of the

information gathered with the different tools in each class. Through these tables, the research

team presents and cites the information analyzed in each variable to demonstrate scientific and

reliable evidence of each analysis.

Finally, “Chapter V: Conclusions and Recommendations” contains the information that

shows whether “The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to Enhance Ninth Grade

Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio,

Ahuachapán, during the year 2018” was an effective approach to teach a foreign language to

ninth grade students. Also, it contains recommendations to future researchers, teachers and

MINED to carry out this approach in a more efficient manner to get better results with students.

iii
 CHAPTER I: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

One of the most important things in learning a new language is to have the ability of

communicating in different situations. Language learning is not as easy as learning any other

subject. Learning and mastering a new language involves developing four macro skills that are

the productive (speaking and writing) and receptive (listening and reading); also, the language

learning process has different stages for the students to acquire it. Indeed, the first two macro

skills that are usually developed by the students are the listening and speaking skills in order to

communicate.

Vocabulary and lexis teaching and learning is a challenge for both the teacher and the

students since there is not a specific method to do it in the EFL classroom. There are ways to

acquire new lexis and vocabulary and to enhance the one the students have by using the Lexical

Approach in different speaking and listening activities and exercises.

1.1. Description of the Problem

The research study, The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to Enhance Ninth

Grade Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio,

Ahuachapán, during the year 2018, aimed to enhance ninth grade students’ vocabulary so

that they are able to express their ideas in the target language.

In pursuance of a clearer understanding of the term “Lexical Approach” a brief

explanation is provided. “The lexical approach concentrates on developing learners’

proficiency with lexis, or words and word combinations. It is based on the idea that an

important part of language acquisition is the ability to comprehend and produce lexical

1
phrases as unanalyzed wholes, or “chunks,” and that these chunks become the raw data by

which learners perceive patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar (Lewis,

1993, p. 95).” According to what this approach states, activities in the EFL classroom should

be focused on these “chunks.” By using this approach, students were exposed to the language

through the activities and exercises which are focused on developing the lexis and

vocabulary.

During an observation carried out by the researchers at the Centro Escolar Francisco

Gavidia at El Refugio, researchers noticed that ninth grade students presented various

problems with the English language. At this level, they are supposed to manage certain

contents, and master some basic vocabulary; however, some topics are out of context, and

students have troubles understanding the meaning of some words. Students struggled to

understand the teacher’s instructions to develop a task, which were given in English. Also,

the teacher asked them to express some ideas in English, but it was difficult for the students

to say any phrase. Regarding teaching material, the teacher uses a book and covers some

material during every class, but only two students have the book, and the other ones are

asked to photocopy it.

As the students did not manage a lot of basic vocabulary to express their ideas, they got

distracted easily in the class and they seemed confused about the English contents that they

were studying. The methodology used by the teacher was based in the grammar rules, and

it did not give the students many chances to encounter with the vocabulary in different

contexts. In addition, researchers decided to work with the ninth-grade students as they were

expected to have the knowledge of the basic topics in English presented in the MINED’s

curriculum such as the verb to be, simple present tense, parts of the house, classroom objects,

2
 family and so on. However, students forgot many of the topics they studied because they

only studied it for one class, and the teacher moved to the next topic in the following one.

On the other hand, students seemed to have the idea to share with the class about the topic,

but they struggled to find the words to express it. The students’ English vocabulary was not

enough to understand clearly the idea of the topic the teacher was developing; consequently,

they seemed a little lost in the class, and they did not complete the tasks successfully. They

asked the teacher for the instructions, but they had forgotten the vocabulary they had studied,

so they found it difficult to complete the activities and to express their opinions and ideas.

The students were discouraged to participate because they were afraid of not being able to

say what they wanted to share with the class. Besides, students asked the meaning of the

vocabulary to the teacher in Spanish, but they did not look up the meaning or look for more

vocabulary by themselves.

After a deep analysis of what researchers could do to help ninth grade students at the

Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia at El Refugio, they decided to apply the Lexical Approach

to help learners acquire more vocabulary and lexis. As the Lexical Approach gives some

key principles to apply in the classroom, researchers considered it appropriate to implement

in this situation because it gives the students chances to acquire the new English vocabulary

and enhance it in each class, so even if the students did not manage completely the grammar

rules, they could express their ideas.

1.2. Research questions

 Will ninth grade students enhance their vocabulary through the implementation

of the lexical approach at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio,

Ahuachapán, during the year 2018?

3
  Will the exercises to record new vocabulary help the students to practice their

lexis and vocabulary?

 Will the students be able to remember the new vocabulary with the speaking,

listening and writing activities in the classes?

1.3. Objectives

1.3.1. General objective

To enhance the ninth-grade students’ vocabulary and lexis at the Centro Escolar

Francisco Gavidia through the implementation of the Lexical Approach at El Refugio,

Ahuachapán, during the year 2018.

1.3.2. Specific objectives

 To enrich ninth grade students’ vocabulary through listening and speaking activities

focused on the lexical approach

 To empower ninth grade students to use their new vocabulary and lexis in their writing

through motivating writing activities focused on the lexical approach

 To reinforce ninth grade students’ vocabulary and lexis through lexical item collector

activities

 To assess the efficiency of the implementation of the lexical approach

1.4. Hypothesis of change

If ninth grade students of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán

are exposed to the lexical approach, they will enhance their vocabulary.

4
1.5. Justification

This investigation was worth carrying out since researchers planned to help ninth grade

students of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán enhance their lexis

and vocabulary through the implementation of the Lexical Approach. Researchers used the

terms vocabulary and lexis since they intended to establish a difference between them. It is

important to mention this difference to clarify the correct use of lexis in this investigation since

the use of this term “reflects a fundamental shift in understanding, attitude and approach”

(Scrivener, 2011 p.185) and according to Hornby (2006) “vocabulary is all the words a person

knows or uses, and it is all the words in a particular language.”

This research was worth to be carried out for the ninth-grade students because through the

implementation of the lexical approach, students used new knowledge and vocabulary by

completing the speaking, listening and writing activities in each class during the implementation

phase. The researchers had as goals to teach the students by using exercises based on the lexical

approach in order to enhance students’ English lexis and vocabulary. This approach allowed

them to encounter with the new vocabulary in different contexts and gave them the opportunity

to get more input, so they could remember it later. Students presented problems with the

vocabulary acquisition and enhancement in the English classes since it was difficult for the

students to express their thoughts, and they forgot the vocabulary studied. Furthermore, ninth

grade students of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán were benefited

from this, since this approach gives a different perspective to learn and teach vocabulary and

lexis other than the traditional method used in the EFL classroom which generally focuses on

grammar. Students were able to enhance their lexis and vocabulary by using this approach

because the activities the researchers chose were aimed to be meaningful and to suit the students’

5
needs taking into account the context of the vocabulary. Indeed, students had the chance to

review the vocabulary in the classes, and they got motivated to learn more vocabulary by

themselves. Moreover, the approach is not so commonly applied or known by the majority of

teachers even though it was proposed by Lewis in 1993 in his book The Lexical Approach.

The social projection of this research is the possible use of the practices implemented by the

researchers in the EFL classroom in the future. This approach also lets the teacher guide the

students to create a record of the new vocabulary and lexis through some lists, and the approach

also provides the students and teacher with the outline to learn and teach new lexis items through

the classes and activities. In addition, it helped the students to reinforce their lexis and

vocabulary, and to motivate the students in their vocabulary and lexis learning by using

meaningful and entertaining activities for them.

This study is important because the students enhanced their performance in their English

class since it was the purpose of the researchers; besides, researchers looked forward to provide

the teachers with the basis, resources and activities used by them to help students to increase

their lexis in a general aspect.

1.6. Scope of the research

This research looked forward to enhance ninth grade students’ English vocabulary and

lexis through the implementation of the lexical approach. The researchers worked with

MINED’s curriculum, unit 2: the neighborhood, by applying different presentation techniques

for enhancing lexis, and by using the listening, speaking and writing exercises that best suited

the students’ needs and context. The population of this research was the 32 students of the ninth

grade at Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán.

6
 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Learning a new language implies developing the four macro skills which are listening,

speaking, reading and writing. Among those, the listening and speaking skills are the ones

developed first in the first and second language acquisition:

“Children acquiring their first language go through a period of listening to the language

they are exposed to. During this period the child tries to discover what language is. In

the case of second language acquisition, learners opt for a silent period when immediate

production is not required from them. In general, however, many second language

learners - especially classroom learners- are urged to speak” Anadolu University (2009).

The macro skills are linked to the vocabulary teaching and learning, and to the use of

lexis in different contexts since the learner is exposed to the language. This research is about

The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to Enhance Ninth Grade Students’ English

Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, during the year

2018 since one of this approach’s key principles is that “language consists of grammaticalized

lexis, not lexicalized grammar” (Lewis, 1993). That means that the lexis and vocabulary are the

primary resource to communicate in the new language.

2.1. First and Second Language acquisition

First and second language acquisition is important when teaching and learning a new language

since it helps the teachers to be aware of the learning process and to find out the best approach

and methods to approach the student.

2.1.1 First Language Acquisition

The first language acquisition is equivalent to how people acquire the mother tongue

which happens in an early stage of life. Children are exposed to the language, and they try to

7
discover what the language is and what the words define. The characteristics it has are that it is

an instinct which is very rapid and complete, and it does not require instruction according to

Hickey (n.d.). Those characteristics are the ones that help the children to use their mother tongue

well, since they learn the language without forgetting it even if they do not use it for a long time

in the future. Also, it does not require the instruction of a teacher to learn it since they are

exposed to it which means that they acquire it by themselves. Moreover, there are some stages

in this process which begins from the babbling of the babies to the multi-word sentences.

2.1.2. Second Language Acquisition

Second language acquisition is referred to the learning of second language after having

acquired the mother tongue and in years after the first language acquisition had taken place.

According to Hickey (n.d.), the second language acquisition is a personal choice which requires

motivation; it takes longer to being acquired compared to the first language acquisition. Second

language acquisition is never as good as the first language acquisition, though good competence

can be achieved, and it is natural or guided.

“There is a critical period, that of puberty, around 12 or 13 years of age, after which it is

difficult, if not impossible to acquire a second language with the same degree of competence as

the first language.” Hickey (n.d).

Acquiring a second language is conscious compared to the first language; that means

that the person is aware of the grammar rules, vocabulary and lexis they have, and other features

such as intonation and stress.

2.1.3. Differences and Similarities of First and Second Language Acquisition

First and second language acquisition played an important role in this investigation since

the students that were part of the group had already a first language or mother tongue which is

Spanish.
8
 2.1.3.1. Differences

First language acquisition Second language acquisition

An instinct, triggered by birth A personal choice, required motivation

Very rapid Varies, but never as quick as FLA

Complete Never as good as native speaker, tough good

competence can be achieved

Natural (no instruction) Natural or guided (for synthetic languages

grammatical instruction is required.

Hickey (n.d) “A brief comparison of first and second language acquisition.”

2.1.3.2. The acquisition/learning process

Krashen (1982) claims that there are two ways for an adult to approach a second

language: "adults can (1) 'acquire,' which is the way children 'get' their first language,

subconsciously, through informal, implicit learning. Once you have acquired something you're

not always aware you have done it. It just feels natural; it feels as if it has always been there.

Quite distinct from acquisition is (2) conscious learning. This is knowing about language,

explicit, formal linguistic knowledge of the language." (p.17) (as cited in Anadolu Univeristy,

2009, p. 4).

2.1.3.3. The Critical Period Hypothesis

The Critical Period Hypothesis holds that there is "a biologically determined period of

life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly

difficult to acquire” (Brown 1994, p. 52). (as cited in Anadolu University, 2009, p. 4)

It has some considerations to take into account when using this hypothesis; those are:

9
  Neurological Considerations: There is an attempt to explain the difference between

first and second language acquisition through lateralization in the brain. Cognitively,

this lateralization enables the person to reach the capability of abstraction, of formal

thinking, and of direct perception which start from puberty on. This shows that adults

possess superior cognitive capacity due to left hemisphere dominance.

 Psychomotor Consideration: These considerations try to explain the reason why

adult second language learners cannot obtain native-like pronunciation in the second

language. Scientists argue that the flexibility of children's speech muscles is the

reason why they can easily acquire native-like pronunciation both in the first and in

the second language.

 Affective Considerations: Although the affective domain includes many factors

such as inhibition, attitudes, anxiety, and motivation. With the fear to make mistakes

the adult language learner can resist to speak in the classroom. A second affective

factor that can make second language acquisition difficult for an adult is attitude.

Adult or young adult language learners need to be relaxed and comfortable to create

positive attitudes to the language and the language learning process. In addition,

teachers need to free their students from inhibitions so that students can freely

interact and use the language. (Anadolu University, 2009)

2.1.3.4. Fossilization

The Anadolu University (2009) stated “Fossilization is used to label the process by

which non-target norms become fixed in Interlanguage. Fossilization is unique to L2

acquisition. It is hardly possible to see a child acquiring their first language to fossilize certain

forms of language”. (p.5)

10
 2.1.3.5. Similarities

2.1.3.5.1. Developmental stages

There are three stages which both first and second language acquisition share; those are:

 Silent period: first and second language learners pass through a similar initial stage,

the silent period. Children acquiring their first language go through a period of

listening to the language they are exposed to. During this period the child tries to

discover what language is. In the case of second language acquisition, learners opt

for a silent period when immediate production is not required from them.

 Krashen (1982) suggests that these expressions can have the form of routines (whole

utterances learned as memorized chunks - e.g. I don't know.), patterns (partially

unanalyzed utterances with one or more slots - e.g. Can I have a ____?), and Ellis

(1994) suggests that these expressions can consist of entire scripts such as greetings.

The literature points out that formulaic speech is not only present in both first and

second language acquisition but also present in the speech of adult native speakers.

 In the third stage the first and second language learners apply structural and semantic

simplifications to their language. Structural simplifications take the form of omitting

grammatical functors (e.g. articles, auxiliary verbs) and semantic simplifications take

the form of omitting content words (e. g. nouns, verbs). (Anadolu University, 2009)

2.1.3.5.2. Linguistic Universals and Markedness

“L1 and L2 acquisition is that some features in a language are marked and some are

unmarked. According to typological universals, unmarked features are those that are universal

or present in most languages and which the learners tend to transfer. Marked rules are language

specific features which the learner resists transferring.” (Anadolu University, 2009)

11
 2.1.3.5.3. Input

The Anadolu University (2009) explained that “behaviorist views hold that there is a direct

relationship between input and output. In order to obtain favorable habits, the language learner

must be given feedback, which constitutes the input. Interactionist views of language

acquisition also hold that verbal interaction, or input, is crucial for language acquisition.”

2.2. Importance of the Listening Skill

According to Nunan (2001: 23) listening is a six-staged process that consists of

hearing, attending, understanding, remembering, evaluating and responding. These stages

occur in sequence and rapid succession.

 The first one is hearing and has to do with the response caused by sound waves

stimulating the sensory receptors of the ear; hearing is the perception of sound, not

necessarily paying attention, you must hear to listen, but you need not listen to hear.

 For this, we have Attention. It refers to a selection that our brain focuses on. The

brain screens stimuli and permits only a select few to come into focus.

 The third stage is Understanding, which consists of analyzing the meaning of what

we have heard and understanding symbols we have seen and heard. We must analyze

the stimuli we have perceived. Symbolic stimuli are not only words, they can be

sounds like applause or even sights, like a blue uniform that have symbolic meanings

as well. To do this, we have to stay in the right context and understand the intended

meaning. The meaning attached to these symbols is a function of our past

associations and of the context in which the symbols occur for successful

interpersonal communication: the listener must understand the intended meaning and

the context assumed by the sender.

12
 After following with the next stage, it is necessary to make a remark: as it has

mentioned previously, the background knowledge is important, and people have to

take into account several points: general factual information, local factual

information, socio-cultural knowledge and knowledge of context. With these factors,

the information will be correctly received.

 The next step, Remembering, is an important Listening process because it means that

an individual, in addition to receiving and interpreting the message, has also added

it to the mind’s storage bank, which means that the information will be remembered

in our mind. But just as our attention is selective, so too is our memory, what is

remembered may be quite different from what was originally heard or seen.

 In the penultimate stage, Evaluating, the listener evaluates the message that has been

received. It is at this point when active listeners weigh evidence, sort fact from

opinion and determine the presence or absence of bias or prejudice in a message. The

effective listener makes sure that he or she does not begin this activity too soon, as

beginning this stage of the process before a message is completed results in no longer

hearing and attending to the incoming message and, as a result, the Listening process

ceases.

 Finally, we have Responding, a stage in which, according to the response, the speaker

checks if the message has been received correctly. This stage requires that the

receiver complete the process through verbal or non-verbal feedback, because the

speaker has no other way to determine if a message has been received. Therefore, it

is sometimes complicated as we do not have the opportunity to go back and check

comprehension (Nunan: 2001, 23)

13
 2.3. Importance of the Speaking Skill

The importance of the speaking skill for the learner of a foreign language relies on it

being fundamental to the human communication; besides, it is important to have motivation to

improve it.

The students of a foreign language may encounter some problems when trying to

improve the speaking skill, and those problems can lead them to lose the motivation to improve

it. Some of the problems are anxiety (for example, fear of committing mistakes, teachers’

reaction to students’ mistakes, activities’ level of difficulty), the assumption that the teacher is

the one in charge of motivating the students to improve their speaking skill, and not having the

‘need’ to communicate in the target language.

This skill is the most complicated due to the fact that speakers have to interpret not

only the message that other speakers try to express, but also take into account other possibilities

explained in the following quotation:

Speakers have a great range of expressive possibilities at their command. Apart from the

actual words they use they can vary their intonation and stress which helps them to show

which part of what they are saying is most important. By varying the pitch and intonation

in their voice they can clearly convey their attitude to what they are saying, too; they can

indicate interest or lack of it, for example, and they can show whether they wish to be taken

seriously. At any point in a speech event speakers can rephrase what they are saying; they

can speed up or slow down. This will often be done in response to the feedback they are

getting from their listeners who will show through a variety of gestures, expressions and

interruptions that they do not understand. And in a face to face interaction the speaker can

use a whole range of facial expressions, gestures and general body language to help to

convey the message (Harmer, 2007: 53).

14
 Apart from the formerly mentioned expressive possibilities, L1 speakers use some

mechanisms to facilitate their speech. These mechanisms are not too easy for L2 speakers and

consist of simplifying the language making simple structures: they usually omit parts of a

sentence and use idiomatic expressions to facilitate the oral fluency and fillers and hesitation

devices are also frequent. In order to compensate their difficulties, L1 speakers can correct

themselves, reformulate or rephrase sentences, a frequent kind of alteration accepted by the

community of speakers (Bueno, Madrid and McLaren (2006:325).

2.4 Importance of the writing skill in language learning

When learning a foreign language, students learn to manage their writing skill to

express their ideas if they are not comfortable when speaking at the beginning. To improve their

writing skill, they need to learn new vocabulary, so according to Bangor:“Writing as a support

skill focuses on using written mediums to review and practice certain sub-skills. Such narrative

and descriptive skills especially help to engrain newly learned lexis and concretize numerous

grammar points in different contexts, which can also lead to successful self-generated pre-

writing work. Devising various activities that involve written components are, therefore, not

only helpful in their own right, but also provide a plethora of material from which students can

draw on during the pre-writing stages. When moving on to an activity where writing is the main

skill, the L2 learner should be able to produce the base or initial content in preparation for

critical, persuasive, or expository writing tasks.Writing as a main skill can build from writing

as a support skill. Once the student has come in contact with the language regarding a certain

topic, they can begin to compose, think and apply their writing skills traditionally used in their

native language.” (2013)

Writing exercises help students to use the new vocabulary in different contexts, and

provide them with new examples for them to understand the meaning of the lexical items.
15
 2.5. Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

“Vocabulary typically refers mainly to single words (e.g. dog, green, wash) and sometimes

to very tightly linked two- or three-word combinations (e.g. stock market, compact disc, sky

blue, go off).” (Scrivener, 2011, 186)

2.5.1. Types of lexical units

As cited in Abdulqader, Murad, and Abdulghani, (2017)

“The role of lexical units has been stressed in both first and second language acquisition

research. Also, several linguists have suggested different taxonomies. For example,

Lewis (2002, pp. 91-94) suggests the following taxonomy of lexical items:

• Words (e.g. book, pen).

• Polywords (e.g. by the way, upside down).

• Collocations or word partnerships (e.g. community service, absolutely

convinced).

• Institutionalized utterances (e.g. I'll get it; we'll see; that'll do; If I were you...;

would you like a cup of coffee?)

• Sentence frames and heads (e.g. That is not as ... as you think; The fact is that/

The suggestion/ problem/ danger was ...) and even text frames (e.g. In this paper we

explore...; Firstly...; secondly...; Finally, ...)

Richards and Rodgers (2001, p. 133) add that many other lexical units also occur in

language. For example:

 Binomials: clean and tidy, back and forth, pros and cons, up and down.

 Trinomials: cool, calm and collected.

 Idioms: dead drunk, to run up a bill

16
  Similes: as old as the hills.

 Connectives: finally, to conclude.

 Conversational gambits: Guess what!

These and other types of lexical units are thought to play a central role in learning

and in communication.

2.5.2. Vocabulary acquisition

Vocabulary acquisition is important in language teaching because it provides the

teachers with the necessary knowledge to create the activities and to make the lessons in a

meaningful way for the students to learn the new vocabulary: Understanding key notions of how

vocabulary is acquired can help us deliver more realistic and effective vocabulary teaching.

Words can be learnt from explicit teaching, or they can be learnt incidentally while students’

attention is on the meaning of the discourse. In either case, words are learnt incrementally. This

means that they need to be met numerous times before the students acquire them, and so

repetition needs to be built into vocabulary learning. Expanding rehearsal is the most time-

effective way to manage the review of partially known vocabulary that has been explicitly

considered. Students need to take some responsibility of their own vocabulary learning, making

it necessary to introduce them to vocabulary learning strategies so that they can do this more

effectively. (Schmitt, 2000 p.138)

2.5.3. Teaching vocabulary

When teaching vocabulary, teachers need to have a program which helps them to create

an incidental learning.

“In any well-structured vocabulary program there needs to be the proper mix of explicit

teaching and activities from which incidental learning can occur. With rank beginners,

17
 it is probably necessary to explicit teach all words until students have enough vocabulary

to start making use of the unknown words they meet in contexts. But beyond this most

basic level, incidental learning should be structured into the program in a principled way.

It is important for at least two reasons: meeting a word in different contexts expands

what it is known about it (improving quality of knowledge), and the additional exposure

helps consolidate it in memory. (Schmitt, 2000, p. 146)

2.5.4. Vocabulary in listening and speaking skill

Nation (1990) recommends reading stories aloud, glossing new words when they occur,

and dictation exercises as way of improving listening vocabulary. For speaking, a number of

possibilities exist. Pair-work activities that have an information gap are often used to stimulate

oral communicative practice. (As cited in Schmitt, 2000, p. 156)

2.6. Lexical approach

According to Lewis (1993) who has studied deeply the topic, the lexical approach

presents the lexis as the basis of the language considering the fact that Native speakers have a

large inventory of lexical chunks that are vital for fluent production. Chunks include

collocations and fixed and semi-fixed expressions and idioms, Lewis (1993). This approach has

had a significant importance in the process of learning a new language presenting an awareness

of the importance of the use of lexis rather than vocabulary, Scrivener (2011). “A lexical

approach to language teaching is one that has chosen vocabulary (ie, lexis) as the main focus

for syllabus design and classroom teaching. This contrasts with traditional approaches, which

usually focus on grammar.” (Thornbury, 2006, p.119)

Richards & Rodgers (2006) state that:

“A lexical approach in language teaching refers to one derived from the belief that the

building blocks of language learning and communication are not grammar, functions,
18
 notions, or some other unit of planning and teaching but lexis, that is, words and word

combinations. Formal transformational/generative linguistics, which previously took

syntax as the primary focus, now gives more central attention to the lexicon and how

the lexicon is formatted, coded, and organized. Chomsky, the father of contemporary

studies in syntax, has recently adopted a “lexicon-is-prime” position in his Minimalist

Linguistic theory”. (p.132)

2.2.1. Lexical Approach Key Principles

According to Lewis (1993):

 Language consists of grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar.

 A central element of language teaching is raising students’ awareness of, and developing

their ability to “chunk” language successfully.

 Collocation is integrated as an organizing principle within syllabuses.

 Successful language is a wider concept than accurate language.

 Grammar as structure is subordinated to lexis.

 Receptive skills particularly listening are given enhanced status.

 Contemporary language teaching methods and material tend to be similar for students at

different levels of competence; within the lexical approach the materials and methods

appropriate to beginner or elementary students are radically different from those

employed for upper intermediate or advance students. Significant reordering of the

learning programme is implicit in the lexical approach.

2.2.2. Lexical approach in the syllabus

According to Lewis (1993), “The lexical approach proposes a fundamentally different

attitude to the treatment of a text.” As he continues “Text plays a role in introducing interesting

19
content, but also as a major linguistic resource from which students can extract lexical items to

study, expansion and recording in appropriate formats.”

Within the lexical approach different kinds of lexical items may be identified, or in

relation to traditional language teaching, re-identified. For example, teaching would be taught

as a word, not as the conditional: e.g. teaching “would you like…?” as an offering. Lewis also

advocates encouraging the learning of a comparatively large repertoire of high-meaning content

nouns, adjectives and verbs.

Lexis contributes as a syllabus component in the following ways:

• Certain words deserve lexical rather than grammatical treatment: there are

typically high-frequency, de-lexicalized items. Those items which enter into the widest

range of patterns, and are thus useful if not maximally generative, are words which

themselves carry least meaning.

• Increased attention to the base form of lexical verbs: the lexical approach

advocates the need for a large repertoire of verbs in their base or lexical form with

increased attention to the highly frequent present simple.

• De-contextualized teaching of semantically dense items: communicative power

is mostly rapidly increased by expanding students’ vocabularies, meaning their

repertoire of lexical items, but particularly simple high-content words.

• Collocations: When high-content nouns are introduced, it should be natural to

introduce with them verbs and adjectives which form powerful or relatively fixed

collocations. (Lewis, 1993)

2.2.3. Lexis in the classroom

Some of the key ideas to work with lexis in the classroom are:

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 1. When new words are introduced into the class, it will be appropriate not simply

to present and record the word but to explore the grammar of the word.

2. Lexis may be learned as well as acquired.

3. De-contextualized lexis carries meaning, so that items can be learned

decontextualized.

4. Ungrammaticalized or inadequately grammaticalized lexis carries meaning.

5. “Activities” as well as objects can be named – so that verbs as well as nouns may

be taught lexically. Verbs can be learned as vocabulary items, before they are mastered

as elements of the grammatical system.

6. Time is a lexical concept, and time expressions can and should be taught as such.

7. Early learning should ideally be centered on listening; early production should

be almost exclusively directed towards spoken rather than written English.

8. Archetypical examples should be introduced as un-analyzed wholes, and students

encouraged using them both before, and parallel with any analysis of them.

9. The generative power and collocation range of a word is approximately inversely

proportional to its informational content.

10. Learning vocabulary involves a great deal more than simple memorization.

(Lewis, 1993)

According to Lewis (1993) some of the appropriate formats to teach vocabulary are:

topics or semantic fields, collocations, institutionalized expressions or lexical phrases,

chunking, identifying exercises, and recording formats which contain the verb noun partnership,

keywords, collocation boxes, and pattern displays.

21
2.2.4. The use of new lexis and vocabulary

Lewis claims that the mature native speaker has an enormous repertoire of vocabulary;

moreover, native speakers recognize a large number of items which are part of the everyday

production, so it can be distinguished between passive and active vocabulary.

Michael Lewis expresses in his book: “An effective and balanced vocabulary involves

knowledge of a sufficient number of verbs (with their collocational ranges), adjectives and

adverbs.”

The use of new lexis and vocabulary implies “to plan lessons that allow students to

constantly meet the same items in use in different texts, recordings, conversations, etc. and

notice them in new combination with different surroundings with different uses, and then have

repeated opportunities to try using the items themselves” (Scrivener, 2011, p. 208)

2.2.5. Reinforcing new vocabulary

According to the British Council (2004) in order to reinforce the new vocabulary “the

students are asked to analyze and react personally to new information which will help them

process the language more deeply, facilitating their ability to retain it in their long-term

memory.” Also, the students are requested to use the new vocabulary in the following classes.

2.2.6. The efficiency of the Lexical Approach

The lexical approach is efficient when applied to the lessons and classes in the EFL

classroom:

“Contemporary language teaching methods and material tend to be similar for students at

different levels of competence; within the lexis approach the materials and methods appropriate

to beginner or elementary students are radically different from those employed for upper-

intermediate or advanced students. Significant re-ordering in the learning programme is implicit

in the Lexical Approach” (Lewis, 1993, p. 7)

22
2.2.7. Advantages and Disadvantages of using the lexical approach

2.2.7.1.Advantages

 Learner autonomy. According to Scrivener (2011), students need to be trained to use

English-English dictionaries, so as students get used to them, they will be more aware

of their learning.

 Meaningful learning. Scrivener (2011) mentions four stages of learning lexis: meeting

new lexical items and understanding them and their use, practicing using them,

memorizing them and recalling and using them. As teachers take into account the four

stages, learning will become meaningful for students.

 Adaptation of English material. Since there is not a set syllabus, teachers can use the

workbooks that best suit their students’ needs

2.2.7.2.Disadvantages

 “No coherent theory of learning”. Thornbury claims that the Lexical Approach is not an

approach.

 There is no methodology or syllabus

 Lewis offers no clear guidelines as to selection and grading, (Thornbury, 1998)

2.7. Motivation

Motivation is important in the language learning process since it is related to the

affective filter hypothesis in the second language acquisition.

2.7.1 What is motivation?

The Journal of Academic Social Science (2013) “…motivation is a process. It is not an

aim, like a product. On the contrary, it is a tool that helps us to reach our aim. First, we feel an

interest and set a goal and decide to take an action accordingly. Then, we try to maintain our

23
interest and struggle to realize our purpose. This process plays a big role especially in language

learning since it makes language learning more meaningful. Slavin as cited in the Journal of

Academic Social Science (2013) describes this process in a general sense: “...motivation is what

gets you going, keeps you going and determines where you are trying to go” (para. 4). Teachers

could definitely ask students, at the beginning of the course or year, to define what they would

like to achieve at the end of the course and to plan what they will do to achieve those plans. In

this way, teachers will not have to include so many activities in order to motivate their students.

2.7.2 Why motivation is important in the process of learning a new language

The motivation to improve the four macro skills is important when learning a new language,

but it is taken for granted in the classroom. According to Dörney (2009) “motivation has been

considered as both a factor internal to the learner (e.g., individual curiosity or interest) and a

factor externally determined by the sociopolitical setup of the learner's environment (e.g.,

language attitudes influenced by the relationships within language communities)”( p.519).

These are considered as the two principal sources of motivation which is “responsible for why

people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity, and how hard

they are going to pursue it” (Dörney. 2009, p.519).

2.8. Teaching teenagers

Teaching teenagers has some difficulties since they are energetic, but they might not be

participative in the EFL classroom. However, there are three strategies presented in the British

Council (2014) for the teachers to use in order to increase teenage student motivation in the

language classroom.

2.8.1. Make use of pop culture

Use pop culture whenever you can since it is related to their interests. Teachers might:

24
  Conduct some kind of survey at the start of a course asking about what the students

like.

 Be honest and say that they will try and incorporate their interests into classes

during the course.

 Allow the students to choose materials based on what they like.

 Go through this with them before a class when what they’ve chosen can be related

to whatever teaching objective it lends itself to.

2.8.2. Cater to their skills and exploit their talents.

All teens are talented at one thing or another. Indeed, in many cases they will be

better than you at a lot of things.

 Develop classroom activities that allow for these different skill sets to be utilized

naturally. For instance, a poster that displays what students have learned in class

that day is great for getting students who are artistically-inclined to contribute a

little bit more than they would normally.

 Use technology in much the same way: find out who is tech savvy and give them

the specific role as ‘tech-head’ when setting up tasks like PowerPoint presentations,

while other learners take on different roles.

2.8.3. Utilize video clips in lessons

 As with their pop culture interests, put the power in their hands. Explain what you

will be covering in the upcoming lesson and ask your teens to research YouTube

for a short clip on that subject. Trust me: this is homework that doesn’t feel like

homework.

 Length, or rather lack of it, is the key. To keep teens focused on the task, choose

short interviews, movie trailers, music videos, or how to videos on YouTube.

25
  If you can, download the video clip beforehand, so that you’re not overly reliant on

a constant Internet connection.

2.9. Exercises to record new vocabulary and lexis

It is important to mention that lexis is not just vocabulary, and rather than grammar plays

a primary role in language acquisition. According to Scrivener (2011), “The use of the word of

lexis reflects a fundamental shift in understanding, attitude, and approach.” This affirmation

involves that a learner can recognize the communicative power of lexis and acquire a large

number of words, by the combinations of words known as collocations, and by the longer

combinations of words commonly referred as chunks, Scrivener (2011).

o Lexical item lists

“The term ‘lexical item’ (or, more technically, lexeme) is used in order to get round the

fuzziness of the word word. For instance, are go, going, goes and went all different words,

or simply different forms of the same word? Likewise, is get up one word or two? And

of course, in case, and for example – are these single words or pairs of words? ‘Lexical

item’ means ‘any item that functions as a single meaning unit, regardless of its different

derived forms, or of the number of words that make it up’. So, go, get up and for example

are all lexical items (lexemes). So too, are idioms like spill the beans and hell for leather.

And go, went, been and gone are all forms of the same lexeme (go). As a rule of thumb,

dictionary entries are organized into lexemes, rather than words”. (Thornbury, 2006,

p.119)

Scrivener (2011) stated that “Encouraging students to keep a useful lexical item list is

one way to ensure that the teaching of lexis has a value after the lesson is over.”

26
 The chart is filled with two or three lexical items of the teacher’s choice based on

the students’ necessities, and it is created with various columns titles which help the

students to remember the word such as the tokens.

Lexical Item Translation Grammar Examples Idea

Motorcycle Motocicleta Noun She just bought (a drawing of it)

a motorcycle.

He rides a
motorcycle.

(Scrivener, 2011)

o Labelling

According to Scrivener (2011) “labelling involves grouping words so that a set is

learned together. This is often more effective than studying unrelated individual words”. (p.

201) “It involves grouping words so that a set is learned together. This is often more effective

than studying unrelated individual words.”

The teacher presents a set of words connected with a topic such as kitchen by using a

picture of it, and the students have to write the words on it as they learn them since it is more

effective than studying unrelated individual words.

o Word or topic webs

In word or topic webs (or memory map or mind map) “connections in meaning or use

between different words are visually indicated in the structure of the diagram” (Scrivener, 2011,

p. 201). In word or topic webs (or memory map or mind map) “connections in meaning or use

between different words are visually indicated in the structure of the diagram.”

27
 Creating a word or topic web or a mind map is probably more useful if the students

themselves think through the connections and decide where each new word fits; thus, the

learning of new words and the recording of them are part of the same activity. The topic goes in

the center of the box, and then the students write some useful sub-headings in the other boxes.

o Collocations

“Collocation refers to the tendency of two or more words to co-occur in discourse.”

(Schmitt, 2000, p. 76). “The page is for recording lexical items that typically go together in

patterns with a single key word.” The learner writes the key word in the center box and then

uses the columns before and after the box to write in phrases, sentences or chucks.

There was a terrible

Lights
Traffic Warden
The is really heavy today.
What is creating the ?
(Scrivener, 2011)

o Lexical item collectors

Scrivener (2011) says that the lexical item collector “can be used to record lexical

items and then collect and relate items, classified as different grammatical types” (p. 202).

28
 This page can be used to record lexical items and then collect the related items, classified

as different grammatical types. There is no need to fill in all columns, and the different lexical

items will let them fill in different columns.

NOUN NOUN ADJECTIVE VERB ADVERB PHRASES

(THING) (PERSON) (PRESENT –
PAST- PAST
PARTICIPLE)
HAPPINESS Happy Happily Happy
birthday!
I’m not happy.
REPORT Reporter Reported Report-
reported-
reported
(Scrivener, 2011)

2.10. Background of the Phenomenon

According to Brigham Young University in its article, methods of language teaching,

the Lexical Approach, for most of the twentieth century, second language instruction is

centered on the teaching of grammatical structure. With the Audiolingual Method, this

emphasis of teaching grammatical structure reached its tip at mid-century. Although Noam

Chomsky’s (1957) transformational grammar theory disfavored the behavioristic position of

Audiolingualism, it still focused its attention in teaching grammar structures and considered

vocabulary learning as secondary.

By the early 1980s, linguists became more conscious that the majority of language

that native speakers use consists not of original statements created by structural rules, but

rather of flawless “chunks” of language they learn as units.

At the beginning of the 1990s, a series of lexical-based approaches (The Lexical

Syllabus (Willis, 1990), Lexical Phrases and Language Teaching (Nattinger & DeCarrico,

1992), and The Lexical Approach (Lewis, 1993)) began to emerge. Correspondingly, since

Lewis in his book, the Lexical Approach basically states that “Language consists of

29
grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar”, researchers intended to use this approach in

this investigation.

As it can be inferred above, the application of the Lexical Approach indeed is intended

to focus on the enhancement of learners’ vocabulary and lexis because students will not be

required to fully understand grammar rules and structures. Thus, they will be more willing to

learn more and more “chunks” of language.

By using the lexical approach, the researchers could predict that as students are given

a considerable number of “chunks” of contextualized language, students’ lexis and vocabulary

will be enhanced, and this is what researchers intended to prove with this investigation.

2.10 Actual Situation of the Phenomenon

The situation of the ninth-grade students of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El

Refugio, Ahuachapán, was that they had problems in understanding and enhancing their

vocabulary and lexis that was used in the English class by the teacher as the class material; the

researchers found this out when they were observing the class and interviewing the teacher.

Indeed, some of them seemed not to be interested, and they did not understand the topic and

vocabulary presented in the class.

The teacher provides the students with different lexical items in the class since they are

learning a new language, studying new topics, and using a textbook. Moreover, according to the

Anadolu University:

“Acquiring a second language means also acquiring a new language ego which can be

very difficult for adults who have built up inhibitions to protect their ego. Mistakes can

be seen as threats to one's ego. With the fear to make mistakes the adult language learner

can resist speaking in the classroom.” (2009, p. 159)

30
 This was observed in the class since the students did not want to participate and give

their opinions about the topic studied.

The researchers had selected this set of exercises according to the problem observed in

the ninth grade English class, and by using them, the researchers intended to prove the

hypothesis of change which is if ninth grade students of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia,

El Refugio, Ahuachapán, are exposed to the lexical approach, they will enhance their

vocabulary. Also, this hypothesis goes along with the objectives the researchers had set; the

researchers looked forward to answer if ninth grade students will enhance their vocabulary

through the implementation of the lexical approach at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El

Refugio, Ahuachapán, during the year 2018.

31
 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN

To carry out the study “The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to Enhance the

Ninth Grade Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio,

Ahuachapán, During the Year 2018,” the researchers followed a series of steps which are

detailed in this chapter.

3.1. Paradigm and design

To carry out the investigation “The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to

Enhance the Ninth Grade Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco

Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, During the Year 2018,” the researchers used the qualitative

paradigm. Moreover, they used the action research design to help the students and the teachers

implement a new approach to give a different perspective to the solution to the problem since

they implemented the lexical approach in a series of lesson plans for the classes; they taught

taking into account the different exercises and activities that they consider applicable for the

students.

3.2. Sampling procedure

The sampling procedure the researchers used is the simple random sampling technique

for this qualitative research. The investigation required having a sample, so the researchers took

as the target population 32 students out of the 60 students of the ninth grade A and B of The

Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán. Since the whole population of the

ninth grade was too broad, the target population chosen was enough to answer the research

questions of this research study.

32
 The units of observation the researchers took into account were the ninth grade students

of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia in El Refugio, Ahuachapán, section A. The activities

were based on the lexical approach principles which were implemented; also, the students were

supposed to manage the basics of the English language since it is their third year studying it.

The English classes are implemented in the curriculum for the students of junior high school,

but it is not present in the elementary school.

3.3. Preliminary phase

In the preliminary phase, researchers present the process of approaching the field of

study. The diagnostic study was useful for the researchers to find out the possible problems the

students had in the EFL classroom and classes. After the diagnostic study, researchers were able

to define the problem, and they looked for a method to solve the problem. At the end, they

decided to use the lexical approach to help the ninth-grade students to enhance their English

vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán.

3.3.1.1. Approaching the field of study

The researchers found out about the problem when making some diagnostic observations

(Appendix A). The problem took place at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio,

Ahuachapán, so the researchers first asked the principal of the institution for permission to

implement the investigation in that school, and then they asked the English teacher who was in

charge of the group for permission to implement the action research, and the principal and

English teacher agreed to the proposal of implementing the Lexical Approach in some classes

for the curriculum taking into account the MINED’s curriculum while working with the ninth

grade students, so the students would be benefited. Then, researchers asked the teacher for

permission to inform the students about the action research, and to observe some classes.

33
 Moreover, the researches provided the students with the information about the lexical

approach. They also provided the students with some lexis and vocabulary practicums

(Appendixes F, G, H and I), for students to put into practice the lexical approach, and they used

some activities to record the new vocabulary and lexis in order to help the students reinforce the

new vocabulary and lexis. The researchers interacted with the ninth-grade students in the

execution phase to obtain better results.

3.3.1.2. Diagnostic study

On January 2018, the researchers scheduled and prepared an observation guide for them

to use in the investigation (Appendix A). They went to observe some classes and took notes on

the things they found important such as rapport, topics, participation and so on; also, they asked

the teacher of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia his opinion of what was happening in the

classroom.

The observation and interview were carried out on February 2018, and the researchers

were able to define the problem after having the results of the tools. The researchers structured

the tools to observe how motivated the students were, how their participation was, and what the

whole environment of the EFL classroom was; moreover, they were able to observe which

macro skills were most used in the class, and if they were according to the second language

acquisition theory.

After the observation, the researchers were able to define the problem of the ninth grade

students in their EFL class, and they decided to use the lexical approach in order to help them

enhance their English lexis and vocabulary since they were not able to participate in the class

because they did not understand part of the vocabulary the teacher used in the classes, so they

were not able to express their ideas. The teacher also answered that the students were not

34
motivated because they said the class was hard and difficult; besides, he said that they students

had problems when remembering the new vocabulary. For that reason, the researchers found

out that the lexical approach suited the students’ needs since it can be used in the class with

different exercises to help them enhance the vocabulary when using listening, speaking and

writing activities which are the bases to begin learning a second language as teenagers.

3.3.1.3. Definition of the problem

The environment of the problem took place in the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia in

El Refugio, Ahuachapán. It is an urban zone, and the population was the ninth-grade students

who are taking the English class. There are 32 students in the ninth-grade section A which is in

the morning shift.

Through the application of the tools designed to develop the diagnostic study, the

research team was able to identify and define the problem and its scope. At the beginning of the

phase, the researchers identified through an observation guide that ninth grade students of the

Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, presented hesitation in their

English learning process, and they seemed insecure about the pronunciation of some English

vocabulary used in their English classes. Moreover, they seemed confused when the teacher

used some commands or directions in English. The students were not motivated to learn English,

and they were just repeating words that were not meaningful to their interests, and the majority

of them did not participate actively in their English class.

Additionally, the results of the observation guide provided more information in order to

define the problem. The research team was able to define the problematic situation that ninth

grade students of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán were facing.

After defining the problem, the researchers formulated the research questions, and the

35
objectives, focusing on the implementation of the lexical approach to enhance ninth grade

students’ English vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán,

during the year 2018.

3.4. Planning phase

In the planning phase, researchers had a literature review that shows all the necessary

information to make the data collection instruments and the tools they used to carry out the

investigation. The instruments were validated in order to be efficient in the execution phase, and

the researchers took into account some ethical aspects in the complete process of the

investigation.

3.4.1.1. Literature review

The research team identified the phenomenon and defined the objectives of the study;

also, the research team started acquiring knowledge and important information from books, e-

books, internet and all the suitable information about the lexical approach to elaborate the

theoretical framework. All data gathered was essential and fundamental for the investigators to

get to know how to implement the lexical approach and how to identify the advantages and

disadvantages of using this approach. The researchers also included information about the first

and second language acquisition, the listening, speaking and writing skill, motivation, teaching

teenagers, and lexical approach in the classroom. Besides that, the researchers got reliable

information to apply this approach in a very efficient manner to help ninth grade students

enhance their speaking, listening and writing talents.

After the researchers had gathered all the necessary information about the problem, they

questioned themselves: if ninth grade students of the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El

36
Refugio, Ahuachapán are exposed to the lexical approach, the students will enhance their

vocabulary. After gathering all the information, the researchers decided to implement the lexical

approach and assess its efficiency at this school. Finally, the investigators took into

consideration the principles of the lexical approach and aspects related to learning new

vocabulary like first language acquisition, second language acquisition, advantages and

disadvantages of the lexical approach, and some activities to help ninth grade students enhance

their listening, speaking and writing skills.

3.4.1.2. Data collection instruments

Researchers used a series of activities to evaluate the students’ vocabulary enhancement

during the intervention process in order to collect evidence of the effectiveness of the lexical

approach. Also, they prepared a diary to collect the information of the process, and to observe

the usefulness of the activities used in the class. In order to make sure the students are acquiring

the new vocabulary, researchers provided them with a quiz (Appendix G) each week. Indeed,

the researchers used a diagnostic test (Appendix B) at the beginning of the implementation phase

to assess the English level the students have.

Researchers used a test (Appendix C) in the middle of the investigation to observe the

progress and final test (Appendix D) to evaluate the efficiency of the lexical approach for the

ninth-grade students’ English vocabulary and lexis enhancement at the Centro Escolar Francisco

Gavidia. Also, researchers had some interviews (Appendix K) for the students and one for the

teacher at the end of the implementation phase to gather more information about the usefulness

of the lexical approach.

37
 3.4.1.3. Validation of data collection instruments

Since researchers worked with the ninth-grade students of the Centro Escolar Francisco

Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, they asked an expert to validate the instruments to be used

with the students and the corresponding material researchers used in order to carry out the action

research. Researchers gave the corresponding instruments and material to the expert and

advisor, and he provided feedback; after that, researchers made the corrections and modified the

instruments as needed.

3.4.1.4. Validity and reliability

To make the instruments valid, the researchers took into account the objectives of the

investigation to create the tools they used; also, they looked for an expert in the linguistic field

to validate the tools since it helped them have a better understanding of the mistakes the tools

may have. The expert made the corresponding observations to the tools, so the results were

reliable. Also, the tools were made according to the objectives.

Regarding reliability researchers made use of the stability measurement or test-retest

reliability. This type of measurement allowed researchers to administer the test to the students

in order to prove the efficiency of the lexical approach at the end of the implementation phase.

3.4.1.5. Ethical aspects

The researchers took into account the basic Ethical Aspects during all the research

process, as the following:

• Confidentiality: the results are just part of the research. The instruments were

only used by the researchers.

• Anonymity: the researchers did not provide the students’ personal information.

38
 • Voluntary participation and non-discrimination: the students were not forced to

participate in the research.

• Avoiding plagiarism: the researchers did not present data provided by any source

without giving the proper credits.

• Honesty and objectivity: the researchers provided the data collected by the

instrument presented, and they did not change any result.

3.5. Execution phase

In the execution phase, the researchers proceeded with the lessons and classes, and they

processed, analyzed and interpreted the data of the investigation.

3.5.1.1. Data collection procedures

In this process, researchers collected the information by teaching the students for six

weeks (three times a week) and by administering a diagnostic test (Appendix B) at the beginning

of the implementation phase, a summative test (Appendix C) to observe the progress in the

middle of the execution phase, and a final test (Appendix D) and interviews (Appendix K) at

the end of the intervention process. All the activities the researchers used are focused on

vocabulary learning, and they asked the students to use the exercises to collect new vocabulary.

They covered the second unit of the MINED curriculum named “My neighborhood,” so all the

vocabulary was related to that. Since they took only one section at the Centro Escolar Francisco

Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, during the year 2018, the research team took turns to teach

students since they carried out the implementation phase during sixteen classes, and three more

for the tests (diagnostic and final). On a given day, one of the members taught and the other

ones observed, wrote a diary and provided help.

39
 3.5.1.2. Data processing

To process the data from the instruments, researchers used the program Microsoft Word

to create some charts in order to organize the results by variables with their indicators. Before

that, the researchers gathered all the information of the diaries they used to observe the classes

in the implementation phase, and they triangulated the information with what they had

experienced, what the results of the diagnostic, summative and final tests were, the results of

the quizzes were, and what the information of the diaries and final interviews were in order to

present an accurate analysis of the data. After organizing the information, the researchers

reflected upon the results obtained, and they explained better the results as the investigation is

a qualitative one.

3.5.1.3. Data analysis and interpretation

Researchers organized the qualitative data in some charts in order to facilitate its analysis

since they took into account the practices, quizzes, tests and interviews in order to see the

students’ enhancement of their vocabulary and lexis. Besides, researchers ordered the data by

variables and their indicators. They organized all the information gathered and triangulated in

the analysis taking into account all the information presented in the theorical framework; also,

they wrote down the results to interpret them. Finally, along with this process, they interpreted

the data after analyzing it to create the conclusions and recommendations.

40
 3.6. Operationalization of Variables
General Specific Objectives Units of Variables Definition of Indicators Instruments
Objective observation the variable
To enhance the - To enrich ninth grade Ninth grade Listening and Activities aimed ➢ Students’ capacity Diary
ninth-grade students’ vocabulary students speaking to have students to complete the
students’ vocabulary through listening and activities practice their listening and
and lexis at the speaking activities focused on the listening and speaking activities
Centro Escolar focused on the lexical lexical approach speaking skill. ➢ Student’s capacity
Francisco Gavidia approach Vocabulary and Vocabulary and to use their
through the lexis lexis: Set of vocabulary and lexis
implementation of words, in different contexts
the Lexical collocations,
Approach at El and phrases that
Refugio, students
Ahuachapán, during possess.
the year 2018. - To empower ninth Ninth grade Motivation Writing ➢ Student’s capacity Diary
grade students to use students writing skill activities that of completing the
their new vocabulary activities provide the writing activities
and lexis in their writing focused on the students with ➢ Student’s capacity
through motivating lexical approach chances to work of spelling the
writing activities with the new words correctly
focused on the lexical
vocabulary and ➢ Students’
approach
lexis willingness to
The process that participate in the
makes language class.
learning more ➢ Students’
meaningful, and willingness to
that awakens the complete the tasks
students’ assigned.
interest and
struggle to reach
their purpose
- To reinforce ninth Ninth grade Activities to Activities that ➢ Being able to record Diary
grade students’ students keep a record of are used to the new vocabulary
vocabulary and lexis the new record ➢ Being able to use
the new vocabulary

41
through lexical item vocabulary and vocabulary in in different
collector activities lexis the class. contexts.
Reinforce new Students’
vocabulary command the
new vocabulary
in different
contexts.
- To assess the Ninth grade Efficiency of Students’ ➢ Being able to use Oral and
efficiency of the students the lexical enhancement of the vocabulary in an written test
implementation of the approach their lexis and accurate way in
lexical approach vocabulary different contexts.
learning

42
 3.7. Time table

In the timeline, the researchers included the activities that were carried out as approaching the field of study, diagnostic study,

literature review, operationalization of variables, data collection instruments, validation of data collection instruments data collection

procedures, data processing, data analysis and interpretation, and presentation of results; the time in which the activities were carried

out and the person or persons in charge of developing each activity.

Responsible Month(2018)
Activity
Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep.

Preliminary Phase

Approaching the Field of Study Research Team

Diagnostic Study Research Team

Definition of the Problem Research Team

Planning Phase

Literature Review Research Team

Operationalization of Variables Research Team

Elaboration of the Research Project Research Team

43
Revision of the Research Project Advisor

Incorporation of the suggestions made by Research team

the advisor

Implementation phase

Implementation phase ResearchTeam

Elaboration of Data Collection ResearchTeam

Instruments

Validation of Data Collection Instruments Research Team

Execution Phase

Collection of data ResearchTeam

Treatment of data ResearchTeam

Analysis of data ResearchTeam

Writing the Final Report ResearchTeam

44
 3.8. Budget

The researchers provide two charts; one for the budget of the necessary supplies, and one

for the services needed.

3.8.1 Supplies

The researchers provide a chart presenting the supplies needed, and it contains the

type of supplies, the name of the item, the number of items and the total.

SUPPLIES

Type of supply Name Cost per ítem Number of items Total

Office supplies Bond paper $4.50 4 $18

Printer ink $8 1 $8

Pens $0.25 6 $1.50

Markers $1 4 $4

Erasers $2 3 $6

Copies $0.05 512 $25.60

Thesis cover $13 3 $39

Ringed $5 2 $10

Flashcards $0.50 40 $20

TOTAL: $132.10

45
3.8.2 Services

The researchers also provide a chart with the budget of the services needed to carry out

the research. This chart contains the service, the cost and the total.

SERVICES
Service Cost Total
Internet $32.00/month *4 $128.00
Other expenses $100 per month $400
(food, *4
transportation
and electricity)
TOTAL: $528.00

Total budget expenses: $660.10

46
 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The data collected in the implementation phase was triangulated by the results of the

tests, the diaries the researchers kept, the final interviews of the students and teacher, and the

information obtained from the experts; indeed, the researchers present the analysis by variables.

Researchers worked with the MINED’s curriculum for the ninth grade, and they worked

with the second unit named “My Neighborhood.” They looked for activities that suited both the

lexical approach principles and the topics the MINED’s curriculum asked to work with. Also,

the activities used were adapted to the students’ context and needs, and they were focused on

working with the speaking, listening and writing skills. Researchers intended the activities to

motivate the students, so they were according to their interests’, and to their practical use in

daily life to ease the leaning process of the contents for the students. Moreover, researchers

worked with some activities to record the new vocabulary with the students, so they would

remember it easily. Not all these activities were useful since the students’ English level was

basic, but researchers used the ones that worked well such as lexical item collectors, labelling,

and collocation charts.

Researchers modified the activities and tools used in the classes to help the students

enhance their vocabulary and lexis, so the students were exposed to the new vocabulary, and

they participated in the class. The plan of action was aimed to make the students encounter with

the new vocabulary through the execution phase during the 16 classes. Also, the grammar points

were taught as collocations, so the students could change the parts of the sentences with different

vocabulary and form other sentences that were grammatically correct but using and learning

new vocabulary.

47
Unit/ Contents Contents asked by
MINED’s curriculum
Unit 2: My neighborhood Contents:
(Unit taught by the ■ Locations in the
researchers) neighborhood
■ Directions in the
neighborhood
■ Locations in a building
Grammar in context:
■ Prepositions of place
■ Review of ordinal
numbers
■ Possessive of names
■Imperatives
■ Adverbs of location
Vocabulary:
■ Across from, next to, on
the corner of, in front of, at
the corner of, behind, first
floor, second floor, Luis’s,
Adriana’s, turn right, turn
left, go/walk/drive straight
ahead, near, far, here, there.
■ Post office, supermarket,
basketball court, soccer,
gym, clinic, drugstore.
Useful expressions:
■ Excuse me, where is the
library?
It’s…. Where can I find a
store?
How do I get to the post
office?
It’s not far from here. You
can’t miss it.
Contents taught by the
research team
-Places in my neighborhood
-Directions
-Parts of a building
-Prepositions of place
-Ordinal numbers until 10th
-Possessive case
-Imperatives
-Adverbs of location
-across from, next to, on the
corner of, in front of, at the
corner of, behind, first,
second, third, fourth, fifth,
sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth,
tenth, Luis’, Adriana’s, turn
right, turn left,
go/walk/drive straight
ahead, near, far, here, there,
post office, supermarket,
basketball, soccer, clinic,
school, floor, roof, wall,
windows, ceiling, door,
stairs, handicapped parking,
traffic lights, one way, bike
route, yield, no parking, do
not enter, stop, wrong way,
cafeteria, library,
auditorium, offices
-excuse me, where is the
____?
-It is _____
-How do I get to the _____?
-It’s not far from here.
48
Results of the tests:

1. Diagnostic test:
Diagnostic Test
Problematic Topics Managed Topics
prepositions of place common verbs
possessive pronouns places in my neighborhood
possessive case common nouns
house chores
adverbs of location

Words that were mostly correct Words that were mostly incorrect
Guys buddy
basketball barbecue
Picnic mine
go to church mop and sweep
Drive across from
super market Mario’s
Clinic far
here

For the diagnostic test, there were 15 points in the test related to the vocabulary they had

previously studied in classes. It was a multiple-choice test, and the students had to choose the

correct word for the sentence to be meaningful. The students presented problems mostly with

the sentences containing some prepositions, and possessive pronouns and the possessive case.

Some of them got confused by near and far, and they did not know what the house chores were.

However, they knew some basic verbs, places and nouns.

2. Summative test:
Summative test
Problematic topics Managed topics
prepositions of place (mind map) parts of a building (labelling)
collocations of the word “school”

49
 For the summative test, there were 10 points. It was about the parts of the building, some

prepositions, and a collocation chart. Students had problems with some of the prepositions

because not all of them could complete the mind map, and they managed the parts of the building

which was a labelling exercise. Also, they managed to complete the part of the collocations with

some basic phrases.

3. Final test:
Final test
Problematic topics Managed topics
creation of sentences with behind (spelling) completing sentences with the correct
and study (using it instead of student). word:
-places in the neighborhood
-possessive case
-parts of a building
-prepositions of place
completing sentences with the correct word: traffic signals (drawing)
problems with two prepositions of place:
-behind (they forgot the meaning because of
its spelling)
-on (it was mistaken with the spelling of in)
creation of sentences:
-parts of a building
-places in the neighborhood
-possessive case

results/parts first part (completing second part (creating

sentences) sentences)
mostly correct words school wall
market park
Carlos’ Katti’s
between
where
door
roof
Mirna’s
mostly wrong words on behind
behind study

50
 For the final test, students had 20 points to solve which were valued on 0.5 points each

for the final grade, and it contained 10 points in which the students had to choose the correct

word, 5 to create sentences, and 5 to draw 5 traffic signs. Students got correctly most of the part

of completing the sentences according to the topics they had studied, and they got the traffic

signals completed. They still presented some problems when creating the sentences, but some

of them wrote them down.

4.1.Listening and speaking activities

Variable Indicators

Listening, and speaking activities ➢ Students’ capacity to complete the

listening and speaking activities

Date Significant aspects observed Indicators

CL-1: June 26th Since it was the first class, students had to
introduce themselves. Some of them did not know
how to do it, so researchers taught them. However,
not all of them wanted to say: “My name is
______” and they would just say their name.
During the class, they expressed excitement when
the researcher in charge presented the new
vocabulary since she used appealing flashcards to
teach the street signals. Some of them even said it Students’ capacity to
was easier for them to remember the words in this complete the
way. listening, speaking
CL-2: June 26th Students learned some commands with the and activities
implementation of the ‘Simon says’ activity. The
researcher in charge did not translate the meaning
of the commands but mimicked them. And
students were able to understand. They seemed
surprised because they could understand the
instructions in English.
CL-3: June 29th The researcher in charge of class dictated the
words students had learned the previous class. She

51
 asked them to write them as they heard them.
Only a few students could spell the words
correctly. The rest seemed a little frustrated
because they could not remember the spelling of
the words, but the researcher wrote the words
down on the board for students to correct them.
Students could complete the previous listening
exercise and the writing task they were assigned in
which they had to write a sentence using the street
signals. However, when the researcher in charge
asked them to say some phrases to the class,
students were not willing to do it
CL-4: July 3rd The researcher in charge of the class brought
flashcards to explain the parts of a house. Then
she had students label the parts of a house on a
worksheet. Students completed the activity with
little difficulties. And when they had doubts, they
asked for help.
At this point, students were able to understand
simple instructions in English. However, they did
not feel so confident to speak.
CL-5: July 3rd The researcher in charge presented a chart
showing the parts of a building and reviewed the
ordinal numbers.
After giving a brief explanation of how to express
the location of places in a building, the researcher
in charge of the class asked for some volunteers to
say some examples to the class, and
approximately two students participated.
CL-6: July 6th Students were given a worksheet with pictures and
a fill-in-the-blanks exercise for them to understand
the meaning of the prepositions.
In order to make sure students understand the
prepositions, the researcher in charge had some
students mimic the meaning to the rest of the
class. The majority understood because when the
researcher in charge asked for the meaning of a
preposition, a lot of students answered.
CL-7: July 10th The researcher in charge started the class by
asking some short questions about the previous
classes. They asked first in English, and if
students did not understand the question, they
translated the questions. Just a few students were
able to understand the questions the first time.
Also, when answering the questions, not all the
students felt comfortable participating.

52
CL-8: July10h The researcher in charge presented the song
‘lemon tree’ which contains some prepositions.
They prepared a worksheet with the lyrics for
students to fill in the blanks with the
corresponding preposition they heard in the song.
The majority of them could complete the exercise.
Besides, they were very excited to review the
prepositions in this new way for them. The
researcher played the song several times for
students to sing along. They all sang.
CL-9: July 13th The researcher in charge administered a test, and
students were able to complete it. They did not get
everything right, but they finished all the parts.
CL-10: July Students were asked to listen to some songs at the
20th beginning of the class for them to guess which
song it was. They were very excited and willing to
participate in the activity; the researcher in charge
gave some of the instructions in English to test
students capacity to understand them. Just a few of
them understood.
Researchers gave a brief explanation of the
possessive case and asked students to say some
examples. However, they felt more comfortable
with the writing activities, so the researcher had
some volunteers to write the examples on the
board.
CL-11: July The researcher in charge had students complete a
29th worksheet containing exercises of the possessive
case. They had to write if it was the possessive
case or the verb to be. It took them some time to
understand what to do because they did not
remember the verb to be, so researchers gave them
a short explanation of the verb to be.
CL-12: July The researcher in charge asked some students to
29th share what their favorite song is and if it contains
vocabulary studied in the previous classes.
Students were also asked to complete a collocation
chart. They had to use the phrases about asking for
directions. Just a few students had difficulties
completing the exercise.
CL-13: July 31st Students enjoyed sharing their favorite song
among them. Students had taken out the simplest
phrases that they could use in daily life. Most of
them wrote down meaningful phrases.
A lot of students participated in the activity and
were asking questions about the new vocabulary

53
 CL-14: July 31st The researcher in charge explained the present
perfect and had students complete a worksheet to
make sure students understood.
Students had some difficulties completing the
tasks but asked for help when needed. The
researcher asked students to say the answers
orally, but they were not so comfortable. So, they
allowed them to read the answers when asked.
CL-15: August Review of the present perfect. Students were
14th asked to complete a collocation chart with some
phrases in the present perfect. They were able to
recall the vocabulary learned and the grammar
part too.
CL-16: August Students were given a worksheet with a review of
17th all the contents studied.
They were able to give answers by using some
responses.
Table A

Speaking English has become a need for so many people for different reasons. For

example, a lot of people want to have better job opportunities, earn more money at their current

job, and more. This has provoked the rise of a lot of academies that offer people to learn English

in a very fast way. However, many people do not have any knowledge about the limitations of

learning a new language, especially, the biological ones. One of those biological limitations is

the one mentioned by Hickey. He states, “There is a critical period, that of puberty, around 12

or 13 years of age, after which it is difficult, if not impossible to acquire a second language with

the same degree of competence as the first language.” Hickey (n.d). On the other hand, “Babies

and very young children form neural connections at a rapid pace. As the brain develops, it

becomes more specialized, reinforcing the neural pathways that are regularly used. This is a

good thing because it makes the brain more efficient, but it also makes learning new things more

challenging.” Galatro, 2018. Children also spend a relatively large amount of time listening to

the language before they actually speak. Taking the mentioned facts into account, researchers

gave simple instructions in English, and when students did not understand what they had to do,

54
researchers decided to translate the instructions and teach them short phrases that were easy for

students to remember. Researchers also encouraged students to use such phrases in the

classroom. They did this because the lexical approach focuses mainly on chunks of language

rather than grammatical explanations as it is stated in the following quotation:

According to Lewis (1993) who has studied deeply the topic, the lexical approach

presents the lexis as the basis of the language considering the fact that Native speakers

have a large inventory of lexical chunks that are vital for fluent production. Chunks

include collocations and fixed and semi-fixed expressions and idioms Lewis (1993). “A

lexical approach to language teaching is one that has chosen vocabulary (ie, lexis) as the

main focus for syllabus design and classroom teaching. This contrasts with traditional

approaches, which usually focus on grammar.” (Thornbury, 2006, p.119)

Researchers also focused on teaching collocations and expressions or chunks. This kept

students interested in the class since they did not feel overwhelmed by grammatical

explanations. Researchers made sure students understood one topic before moving to the next.

For example, in the first class, they learned about street signals. They learned expressions like

“This is a (stop) sign.” And they used this phrase to talk about the rest of the signs. When they

did not understand a phrase or did not know how to use it, they asked questions, and researchers

provided the proper explanation.

In addition, when developing the listening activities, the researcher in charge taught the

correct pronunciation and gave a brief explanation of the meaning of the unknown words. The

majority of students heard the explanation given, paid attention and understood the message of

the conversation. After that, researchers asked some comprehension questions in Spanish in

order to make sure that students knew what was going on. As students answered the questions,

55
researchers could notice that students completed the two last stages of the listening process

which are evaluating and responding. Thus, the six stages stated by Nunan (2001: 23) took place.

Such stages are presented in the following illustration:

The importance of the speaking skill for the learner of a foreign language relies on it

being fundamental to the human communication. And as it has been stated before, nowadays

students have an urgent need to speak English because of the abundant job opportunities they

can get. In this research investigation, researchers included as many opportunities as possible

for students to speak. Even though students did not feel comfortable speaking, researchers asked

for short answers so that students would gradually get used to expressing their thoughts.

However, it was a little hard because students did not want to participate when they had to speak.

This is one of the reasons researchers decided to focus on students’ writing skill.

Finally, the English teacher at the school expressed the change he could perceive in the

students’ learning process after the execution phase in the interview; he said that the students

were more willing to learn after the classes with the researchers. On the other hand, students

56
expressed that the listening and speaking activities were useful for them to understand more

aspects of the language, despite some of them were confused because of the pronunciation of

the new words. Some students asked the researchers to speak a little slower sometimes for them

to understand better the ideas.

4.2. Vocabulary and lexis

Variable Indicators

Vocabulary and lexis ➢ Student’s capacity to use their vocabulary and lexis in

different contexts

Date Significant aspects observed Indicators

CL-1: June 26th Students were taught the street signals and some
collocations.
Students wrote down the names of the street signals
and some phrases, and they also created their own
examples
CL-2: June 26th Students were given a map of the important places
in El Refugio and could recognize the places.
The researcher in charge taught some basic phrases
to give directions and had students practice using
them
Student’s capacity
CL-3: June 29th The researcher in charge gave a quick review of the
to use their
contents studied the previous class.
vocabulary and
Students were also given a conversation containing
lexis in different
some imperatives and the vocabulary learned in
contexts
previous classes
CL-4: July 3rd Students were taught the parts of the building.
The researcher in charge asked students to say
some examples using the words they learned. They
hesitated a little bit.
CL-5: July 3rd Students reviewed the ordinal numbers from first to
tenth, the parts of a building and phrases such as
“the cafeteria is on the third floor.”
The researcher in charge asked some students for
some examples.

57
CL-6: July 6th Students were given a worksheet with pictures for
them to understand the meaning of the prepositions.
The researcher in charge asked some students to
give some examples using prepositions.
CL-7: July 10th The researcher in charge had students review the
prepositions.
Students were asked to create some simple
sentences they can use in everyday life.
CL-8: July10h Students were excited to learn with a song.
Students looked up the meaning of the words they
did not know. They used the new vocabulary and
lexis.
CL-9: July 13th The researcher in charge administered a test, and
students were able to complete it. They did not get
everything right, but they finished all the parts.
CL-10: July The researcher in charge taught the possessive case.
20th She provided students with a brief explanation of
the topic and a practice on that, and students
completed the practice.
CL-11: July The researcher in charge had a review of the
29th possessive case.
Students were given a worksheet for them to
identify the possessive case and the verb to be.
They had troubles with the verb to be.
CL-12: July The researcher in charge led a review of all the
29th topics studied. Students were asked to complete a
collocation chart.
CL-13: July 31st Students worked with their favorite song. They
used the vocabulary and lexis learned through the
activity during the class.
CL-14: July 31st Students were taught the present perfect tense.
Students completed a chart about the present
perfect tense, and researchers also gave them a list
of verbs (appendix I)
CL-15: August Review of the present perfect.
14th Students were asked to complete a collocation chart
with some phrases in the present perfect. They were
able to recall the vocabulary learned and the
grammar part too.
CL-16: August Students were given a worksheet with a review of
17th all the contents studied.
They were able to give answers by using some
responses.
Table B

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 Understanding key notions of how vocabulary is acquired can help us deliver more

realistic and effective vocabulary teaching. Words can be learnt from explicit teaching, or they

can be learnt incidentally while students’ attention is on the meaning of the discourse. In either

case, words are learnt incrementally. This means that they need to meet numerous times before

the students acquire them, and so repetition needs to be built into vocabulary learning.

As it was stated before, there are two ways to acquire vocabulary, explicit teaching and

incidentally. When students acquire the vocabulary incidentally, they learn it from context

because they focus on understanding the main idea rather than knowing every single word. In

the case of ninth grade students at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, vocabulary was mainly

learned from explicit teaching, and it can be observed in the Table B that students were always

reviewing the vocabulary and lexis. Researchers made sure to include the vocabulary and lexis

in different contexts. Students elaborated collocation charts, completed worksheets and quizzes.

All of these activities helped students grasp the contents taught during the intervention process.

It is relevant to mention that after administering the diagnostic test to ninth grade

students, researchers realized that students’ level of English was basic since they had difficulties

with the topics they had studied. Taking this into account, researchers did not include complex

activities during the classes. Instead, researchers implemented the most suitable activities related

to the lexical approach which were collocations and lexical item collectors. As students

completed the activities to record the new vocabulary they were able to remember the

vocabulary and lexis in the next classes since researchers emphasized the use of the vocabulary

and lexis in every class.

Indeed, students showed a big improvement in the summative test in the middle of the

execution phase since they could use and remember most of the vocabulary they had studied in

59
the previous classes. At the end of the intervention process, students were able to use the new

vocabulary and lexis in different contexts as the results in the final test showed. Some of the

students were able to complete some sentences on their own, and most of them were able to get

the correct word in the contexts presented.

It is also relevant to mention that students expressed how helpful it was for them to

record the new vocabulary the way they did in the intervention process with the researchers.

The teacher at the school said that he agreed to use an activity to record the new vocabulary for

the students to use later, and the students considered that the activities were fun to work with,

and they could learn more vocabulary in the classes. They were pleased with the classes and

said that they had learned useful things.

4.3. Motivating writing skill activities

Variable Indicators

Motivating writing skill  Student’s capacity to complete the writing activities

activities focused on the  Student’s capacity to spell the words correctly

lexical approach

Motivation  Students’ willingness to participate in the class.

 Students’ willingness to complete the tasks assigned.

Date Significant aspects observed Indicators

CL-1: June Students were writing down the words only after Student’s capacity
26th having them written in the whiteboard since they to complete the
got the meaning by the mimics, but were confused writing activities
about the spelling of some words

60
 They filled up the blanks with the words they
studied in the class, and they paid attention to the
new vocabulary Student’s capacity
to spell the words
Students asked when they had doubts correctly
CL-2: June Students participated in the Simon Says activity Students’
26th with enthusiasm, and they were willing to complete willingness to
the writing tasks since they felt more comfortable participate in the
but not the speaking ones. class.
Students knew some of the important places of El Students’
Refugio, and they used the collocations to willingness to
complete the exercises. Students completed the complete the tasks
exercises after reviewing what they knew, so they assigned.
were motivated.
CL-3: June Students completed the dictation
29th
p practice, but they asked about the spelling of the
words, and did not remember some of the new
vocabulary.
Students were enthusiastic to complete the tasks
since researchers provided them with the correct
spelling at the end, so they learned after making
their mistakes.
CL-4: July 3rd Students labeled the parts of a building after
studying them with the flashcards, and they
finished the labelling task without having much
trouble.
Students completed the quiz and were more
confident when participating since the flashcards
and the labeling exercise were new for them.
CL-5: July 3rd Students used the collocations without having
many doubts, and they used the new vocabulary
about the places of the building and ordinal
numbers. Researchers used flashcards and a poster
to show them the new vocabulary.
Students were more motivated to write than to talk,
but they participated when asked.
CL-6: July 6th Students participated willingly in the prepositions
activity since they were mimicking the meaning of
the prepositions, and they completed the tasks after
understanding the meaning of them.

61
 Students were capable of completing the
preposition sheet, and they asked for help when in
doubt.
CL-7: July 10th Students were able to complete the task with the
record of new vocabulary they had about the
prepositions, and they created sentences to use in
daily life.
Students focused on the tasks since they were using
collocations, so it was easy for them to change the
words to create new sentences, and they paid
attention to the new vocabulary.
CL-8: July10h Students had some trouble to use the prepositions
because they mixed some of the meanings without
looking at their record.
Students were excited to use a song to practice the
new vocabulary, and they asked to play the song
more times to sing it.
CL-9: July 13th Students were able to complete the task with good
spelling, but they checked constantly with the
teachers.
Students were focused and completed the exam.
The test was presented as the activities to record
the new vocabulary.
CL-10: July Students completed the exercise with names and
20th things, and they passed to the front to write some
examples.
Students had trouble with the new topic but were
paying attention.
CL-11: July They had trouble completing the task about the
29th possessive case because they were confused with
the similarity to write it down with the present
tense in third person singular of the verb to be.
Students were a bit discouraged, but the task talked
about a famous person, so they tried to complete it.
CL-12: July Students did not presented problems when using
29th the collocation charts and their record of new
vocabulary.

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 Students managed to complete the tasks with more
enthusiasm than the previous class since they had
already studied that topic.
CL-13: July Students learned new vocabulary and its spelling
31st when working with their favorite song, so they
were excited to do it in groups.
They were able to look for phrases they can use in
daily life in a fun way.
CL-14: July Students learned the present perfect as collocation,
31st so it was easier for them to know how they can
change the vocabulary.
Students used new verbs and looked up for new
vocabulary to complete the task. They also asked
for more vocabulary to complete the task.
CL-15: August Students knew how to use the regular verbs in
14th present perfect, and they asked for new vocabulary.
Students worked by themselves and looked for new
vocabulary since they were trying to create
meaningful sentences.
CL-16: August Students were able to complete the worksheet and
17th reviewed with the teacher to check if they had the
spelling correctly.
Some of them passed to the front to write the
answers on the board, and they asked questions and
gave answers to the ones asked by the teachers.
Table C

Motivation is important in the language learning process since it is related to the affective

filter hypothesis in the second language acquisition. As students were motivated to participate

in the class and to complete the tasks assigned, they were able to practice and enhance their

English vocabulary and lexis. Also, motivation helped the students to complete the writing

exercises the researchers gave them in the classes and tried to improve their writing skill because

they felt more comfortable when writing.

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 According to Bangor, “writing as a main skill can build from writing as a support skill.

Once the student has come in contact with the language regarding a certain topic, they can begin

to compose, think and apply their writing skills traditionally used in their native language.”

(2013). As presented, researchers worked with some writing exercises with the students in order

to help them manage the new vocabulary and provide them with different contexts in which the

new words and collocations can occur.

The Journal of Academic Social Science (2013) “…motivation is a process. It is not an

aim, like a product. On the contrary, it is a tool that helps us to reach our aim. First, we feel an

interest and set a goal and decide to take an action accordingly. Then, we try to maintain our

interest and struggle to realize our purpose.” Researchers could observe the importance of the

motivation in the students’ learning process by applying the lexical approach in the English

curriculum at Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia in El Refugio, as they used this approach with

the ninth-grade students for them to complete the speaking, listening and writing tasks through

motivation. In the first week, students were confused with the directions, the exercises, and the

different way of working in class; however, they paid attention to the teachers as they were

being respectful. The students were participating more in the activities such as Simon Says while

time was passing by, and they felt more comfortable with the researchers. They did not have

problems with repeating after the teacher, but they were not so enthusiastic when they had to

say it by themselves. Students wanted to complete the writing tasks when working as they were

more confident when writing after having studied the new vocabulary. Indeed, they were afraid

of participating, but tried their best to complete the tasks.

In the second week, they understood how collocations work, so they were motivated to

use them, and they were a little more confident when participating in class since the activities

64
were used accordingly to their level of knowledge, and their interests. They were asking when

they did not understand a word or when they could not use it in a sentence, so they were more

confident with their work. Besides, they were willing to participate in the mimics, and they

provided some examples when the researchers were reviewing their work; also, students used

the writing exercises to have more examples on how to use some of the new vocabulary and

lexis. Week three was the time when researchers observed a big improvement in the students’

motivation since they were practicing the prepositions by using a song called “Lemon tree”

which was attractive for them since they asked the researchers to play it once after finishing the

activity for them to sing it. Also, students got excited when they were able to recall the

vocabulary in classes because they were able to use some collocations to give examples with

them and completed the song lyrics.

In week four, students studied the possessive case, so they were paying attention to the

explanation since they were confused with the contracted form of the verb “to be” in the third

person singular. Indeed, they had problems when completing the task, so they were a little

frustrated. They were also reviewing the prepositions, street signals, and parts of the building in

each class, so they were able to enhance their English vocabulary and lexis related to those

topics in each class, since they were working with the collocations they have studied; they were

participating when asked, and they were completing the tasks.

At the end, the students were taught the present perfect with a chart that marked the parts

of the sentences they need to create simple sentences in that tense. As they already knew how

collocations work, and they used a list of common verbs conjugated for them to use to complete

the tasks. Students were working quietly, and they asked when they had doubts or when they

wanted to check their work. In the last days, they were able to give short answers to the

65
questions, and they were looking up for new vocabulary to complete the tasks. Furthermore,

they were motivated since they were able to work by themselves, and they did a good job when

completing the quizzes, and activities.

While the researchers worked with the students, they observed the development of the

students’ enhancement in their English vocabulary and lexis through the motivation they had.

According to Dörney (2009) “motivation has been considered as both a factor internal to the

learner (e.g., individual curiosity or interest) and a factor externally determined by the

sociopolitical setup of the learner's environment (e.g., language attitudes influenced by the

relationships within language communities)” (p.519). The way students were getting motivated

was different from person to person since some of them were motivated when they saw the

results of their hard work, and others were excited because of the activities used in the classes

and the approach the researchers were using. Since the researchers created their plan of action

by taking into account the lexical approach principles such as modifying the material for the

level of the students, the age of the students, and the curriculum provided by MINED, they were

able to work with the students without getting a lot of information at once because that might

confuse them more, and make them lose their motivation to continue working hard.

To have students motivated, researchers worked with the three strategies the British

Council (2014) presents for the teachers to use in the language classroom which are:

 Make use of pop culture whenever you can since it is related to their

interests.

Researchers worked with songs, and examples the students could use in daily life such

as asking and giving directions, and the use of the new vocabulary in contexts they can easily

recognize. The students were also using things from their home such as map and the important

66
places they have in El Refugio to use the vocabulary in context, and to improve their learning

process regarding their English vocabulary and lexis.

 Cater to their skills and exploit their talents.

Students were able to explore their talents and skills in the different tasks the researchers

provided them with; moreover, some of them were good at creating sentences, while others

understood better with simple explanations.

 Utilize video clips in lessons

Students were provided with examples of the things, and activities with which they could

relate easily. Researchers did not use video clips since the school only has one LCD projector,

and the kids from first to third grade were using it at the same hour that the ninth-grade students

have their English class. However, they guided the students to look for some videos and songs

that may help them to understand better the topics, and for them to get more vocabulary.

As the students’ motivation increased, the results of the investigation were more visible,

and they were enhancing their English vocabulary and lexis. They learned some fun ways to

extend their vocabulary, and they were able to identify phrases and sentences they can use to

express their thoughts. Indeed, they had two more tests apart from the diagnostic test that were

aimed to observe the progress students had in the implementation phase; the students increased

their motivation when they were able to complete the tasks without doubting so much of their

work. In the second tests, researchers used some of the exercises to collect vocabulary, so the

students were comfortable with it, and in the last one, researchers challenged more the students’

progress since it was created to observe how much vocabulary the students were able to recall.

At the end, the students were still motivated to complete the tasks and the exams.

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 Finally, the teacher in charge of the students’ English class was pleased with the results

since he said that the students had a change in their attitude towards the class, and there was an

enhancement of the students’ performance. Students considered that the writing activities were

motivating for them since they could see their improvement, and they learned new vocabulary

through them. They thought the classes were more dynamic and fun, so they were not

overwhelmed with the topics. Indeed, they changed their attitude towards the language after

trying new activities.

4.4. The use of new lexis and vocabulary

Variable Indicators

Activities that are used

to record vocabulary in
 Being able to use the new vocabulary in different contexts.
the class.

Date Significant aspects observed Indicators

CL-1: June 26th Students showed interested in the warm-up activity
and participated with enthusiasm, also they paid Being able to
attention to the new vocabulary. record the new
vocabulary
Students practiced the new vocabulary by repeating
it during the activities. They seemed confused
sometimes but managed to complete the tasks.
CL-2: June 26th Students liked dynamic activities and participate in
class, but some of the students felt ashamed when
playing the activity “Simon Says”. The research
team created a good rapport with students in order
to involve them in the class.
CL-3: June 29th Researches started the class with enthusiasm and
asked students how they felt. During the activity,
students practiced a conversation with the

68
 imperatives and vocabulary related to the previous
class.
CL-4: July 3rd Researchers presented colorful flash cards to
students and caught their attention. Students paid
attention at the new vocabulary. Researchers notice
that some students had struggles with the
pronunciation.
CL-5: July 3rd Students were willing to complete the writing
activities but were afraid to speak. Even though
they did not feel confident when speaking, students
participated when the teacher asked for help.
Teacher’s attitude was always smiling.
CL-6: July 6th Students were given a worksheet with pictures in
for them to understand the meaning of the
prepositions.The teacher in charge asked some
students to go to the front and mimic the
prepositions, and students were willing to
participate.
They had a clear idea about the pronunciation and
meaning of the vocabulary.
CL-7: July 10th Researchers had students review he prepositions.
Students paid attention to the new vocabulary and
repeated the words.
CL-8: July10h Researchers brought a song to the class, and
students were excited to learn the vocabulary
Students completed the song with difficulties
because they were not accustomed to this type of
activity
They checked the answers and sang in order to
learn pronunciation. They sang a few times
CL-9: July 13th Researchers administer a test, and students were
able to complete it. They did not get everything
right, but they finished all the parts. Research team
encouraged them to complete the test making their
best.
CL-10: July Researchers taught the possessive case
20th
Students paid attention to the new vocabulary and
repeated the words when researchers asked them to

69
 CL-11: July At the beginning, students had some troubles when
29th completing the task because they did not
understand the verb to be. However, they were
given an explanation and then were able to
understand.
Students repeated the words when necessary and
paid attention to the words.
CL-12: July Researchers had students create a collocation chart.
29th
Students had some difficulties, but they asked how
to complete the chart.
Students repeated vocabulary when asked.
CL-13: July 31st Students worked with their favorite song.
They told the teacher what the song is about and
marked the phrases they could use in daily life.
Students practiced one of the songs they brought to
the class.
CL-14: July 31st Students were taught the present perfect tense.
Researchers encouraged students to repeat the
vocabulary and they were willing to do so.
CL-15: August Researchers reviewed how to form the present
14th perfect tense. Students could remember what to add
to the regular verbs.
They asked for new vocabulary and repeated the
words when necessary.
CL-16: August Students were given a worksheet with a review of
17th all the contents studied.
They were able to give answers by using some
responses.
Table D

The use of new lexis and vocabulary implies “to plan lessons that allow students to

constantly meet the same items in use in different texts, recordings, conversations, and others,

and notice them in new combination with different surroundings with different uses, and then

have repeated opportunities to try using the items themselves” (Scrivener, 2011, p. 208), but it

70
also implies to pay attention to the previous knowledge students have in order to extend it and

improve it.

Michael Lewis expresses in his book: “An effective and balanced vocabulary involves

knowledge of a sufficient number of verbs (with their collocational ranges), adjectives and

adverbs.”

At the beginning, the research team observed in the first class that students seemed

confused with some pronunciations and some words even though they had already worked with

the topic in the previous class. Researchers proceeded with the class and implemented the lesson

1 which was about street signs and researchers made use of some collocations. The students

wrote down the names and phrases and they asked when in doubt. In spite of their apparent

confusion, they completed the tasks.

In the second week, students understood how collocations work and they were

participating more in class since the activities were used according to their level of knowledge,

and their interests. They were asking when they did not understand a word or when they could

not use it in a sentence, so they were more confident with their work. Despite they were willing

to participate in the mimics and they provided some examples when the researchers were

reviewing their work, they still committed some grammar mistakes, but they corrected them

immediately with the researchers help. In week three researchers observed improvements in the

students’ participation since they were excited talking about their favorite songs so, researchers

used a song to introduce the new vocabulary by practicing the prepositions using a song called

“Lemon tree” which was attractive for them. Even though they did not know the complete

meaning of the song, they completed the task. For that reason, the researchers provided them

help by telling them what the song was about and asking them to mark the phrases they thought

71
could be helpful in their daily life conversations. Also, students got excited when they were able

to remember the vocabulary in classes because they were able to use some collocations to give

examples with them, and they worked with their favorite song as a homework assignment to get

new vocabulary and phrases.

In week four, the researchers presented to students the possessive case. Students were

paying attention to the explanation because it was a new topic for them. Also, they were

confused with the contracted form of the verb “to be” in the third person singular. Indeed, they

had problems when completing the task, so they were frustrated but always paying attentive.

Also, the researchers made a review of the prepositions, street signals, and parts of the building

in each class, so students were able to enhance their English vocabulary and lexis related to

those topics, since they were working with the collocations they had studied; students were

participating when asked, and when they committed a mistake, they corrected themselves

immediately with one of the researchers’ help, and finally they were completing the tasks

presented in the lesson plan.

Subsequently, the researchers observed improvements in students’ vocabulary. Making

a comparison between the first class and the last one, students presented a positive attitude when

practicing the new vocabulary in class and presenting homework assignments. In the final

classes, the teacher in charge introduced the present perfect tense with a chart which was filled

with the correct form of the verb. The present perfect tense chart was created to show them the

correct order of the pronouns and the correct form of the verb that belongs to each of them. Even

though it was the first time that some of the students had studied the present perfect tense, they

showed confidence when making the practice in class. Some students had some doubts, but

researchers immediately guided them for a correct response.

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 At the end, students could remember the new vocabulary in the summative and final test

as compared to the diagnostic test in which they could not use some of the previously studied

vocabulary. They presented problems in the prepositions in the summative test, but most of them

got them correct in the final test since they were getting used to work with them in context and

in the presentation of them in examples in the classes. Researchers could observe that using

examples related with their context was the best form to get students understand the meaning of

some words, and it helped them to enhance the vocabulary in the classes. Additionally, some

students affirmed that they had a considerable improvement in their English language, and they

mentioned how useful and entertaining the information was.

4.5. Reinforcing the new vocabulary

Variable Indicators

Reinforcing new
 Being able to use the new vocabulary in different
vocabulary
contexts.

Date Significant aspects observed Indicators

CL-1: June 26th They seemed confused sometimes but managed to
complete the tasks.
They filled the blanks with collocations Being able to use
CL-2: June 26th Students identified places on the map. the new vocabulary
in different
Students showed interest in following up the Simon contexts.
says activity.
CL-3: June 29th Some students did not remember some vocabulary;
however, they were enthusiastic when practicing in
class
CL-4: July 3rd Students were confused at the moment of making
the quiz, but they did their best.

73
 Students repeated the words related to the parts of
the building
CL-5: July 3rd Students were willing to complete the writing
activities but were afraid to speak. They just
repeated the words after the teacher.
CL-6: July 6th Students used the collocation chart to create
sentences.
Researchers asked some students to go to the front
and mimic the prepositions, and students were
willing to participate.
CL-7: July 10th Researchers had students review the prepositions.
Students created sentences they could use in their
daily routine.
CL-8: July10h Students completed the song with difficulties
because they were not accustomed to this type of
activity but enjoyed the activity because it was
something different for them.
They checked the answers and sang in order to
learn pronunciation. They sang a few times
CL-9: July 13th The teacher in charge administered a test.
Students presented some difficulties in
remembering the correct writing of the vocabulary,
but the majority did it very well.
CL-10: July Researchers taught the possessive case
20th
Students paid attention to the new vocabulary and
repeated the words when researchers asked them to
CL-11: July At the beginning, students had some troubles when
29th completing the task because they did not
understand the verb to be. However, they were
given an explanation and then they understood.
Students repeated the words when necessary and
paid attention to the words.
CL-12: July Researchers had students create a collocation chart.
29th Students had some difficulties, but they asked how
to complete the chart.
Researchers continued with the practice and
students used the vocabulary when asked.

74
 CL-13: July 31st Students worked with their favorite song.
They told the teacher what the song was about and
marked the phrases they could use in daily life.
Students practiced one of the songs they brought to
the class. They really enjoyed participating in this
activity.
CL-14: July 31st Students were taught the present perfect tense.
Researchers encouraged students to repeat the
vocabulary and they were willing to do so.
CL-15: August Researchers reviewed how to form the present
14th perfect tense.
Students were given a regular verb list and a chart
with more vocabulary.
They asked for new vocabulary and repeated the
words when necessary.
CL-16: August Researchers always smiled when giving
17th instructions. Students were given a worksheet with
a review of all the contents studied.
They were able to give answers by using some
responses.
Table E

According to the British Council (2004) in order to recall the new vocabulary, “The

students are asked to analyze and react personally to new information which will help them

process the language more deeply, facilitating their ability to retain it in their long-term

memory.” Also, the students were requested to use the new vocabulary during the classes of the

execution phase.

Researchers created lesson plans taking into consideration the context in which ninth

grade students at Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia in El Refugio, Ahuachapán, are involved,

so that helped researchers to lead a meaningful work with the students. Also, researchers made

75
observations of the target population and concluded that the ninth-grade students’ English level

required starting from a beginner level.

Researchers were aware about some limitations the investigation presented at the

moment of introducing the lexical approach. One of the limitations was the level of English of

the ninth-grade students at Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia in El Refugio, Ahuachapán. This

situation led researchers to adapt lesson plans according to the students’ English level, so the

vocabulary researchers used in this implantation process was based in the second unit of the

MINED’s curriculum, and the activities used were aimed to be comprehensible for the basic

level of the language the students had.

Investigators made use of techniques to apply and obtain positive results when

teaching teenagers, so they focused on listening, speaking, and writing skills. According to

Nunan (2001: 23) listening is a six-staged process that consists of hearing, attending,

understanding, remembering, evaluating and responding. These stages occur in sequence and

rapid succession. In the first stage (hearing), the teacher in charge presented several flashcards

with street sign vocabulary and repeated thrice and spoke aloud and slowly in order to give a

clear pronunciation of the words. Students were paying attention but some of them were afraid

of knowing a new word. At the end of the class, students seemed interested in learning new

vocabulary because researchers presented the new words and lexis units to them in a different

way.

For the second stage (attention), researchers presented material with bright colors

and forms. According to the information presented in this investigation, attention refers to a

selection that the brain focuses on. The brain screens stimuli and permits only a few information

to come into focus. Researchers took this into account when creating the flashcards, and the

76
posters they used in the different classes, as well as when choosing the activities, they used in

the classes.

The third stage was understanding, which consists of analyzing the meaning of what

they have heard and understanding symbols they have seen and heard. They analyzed the stimuli

they perceived. Indeed, they solved some writing and speaking activities after analyzing what

they had heard, and after understanding the meaning of the new words, they were able to do it

correctly.

For applying the fourth stage (remembering), researchers asked questions related with

the vocabulary studied in class and students seemed confused and committed some grammar

mistakes, but they participated, and did their best. The teacher in charge made a review from the

vocabulary studied in the previous classes.

Finally, the two last stages: evaluating and responding were implied in the

development of the class and students participated even if they were afraid of committing

mistakes in pronunciation. According to the information presented in this investigation, in

evaluating, the listener analyzes the message that has been received. It is at this point when

active listeners weigh evidence, sort fact from opinion and determine the presence or absence

of bias or prejudice in a message. The effective listener makes sure that he or she does not begin

this activity too soon, as beginning this stage of the process before a message is completed

results in no longer hearing and attending to the incoming message and, as a result, the listening

process ceases. Otherwise, responding is a stage in which the speaker checks if the message has

been received correctly by getting an answer. This stage requires that the receiver complete the

process through verbal or non-verbal feedback, because the speaker has no other way to

77
determine if a message has been received. Therefore, it is sometimes complicated as we do not

have the opportunity to go back and check comprehension (Nunan: 2001, 23)

The importance of the speaking skill for the learner of a foreign language relies on it,

being fundamental to the human communication; besides, it is important to have motivation to

improve it.

The students of a foreign language may encounter some problems when trying to

improve the speaking skill and those problems can lead them to lose the motivation to improve

it. Some of the problems are anxiety (for example, fear of committing mistakes, teachers’

reaction to students’ mistakes, activities’ level of difficulty), the assumption that the teacher is

the one in charge of motivating the students to improve their speaking skill, and not having the

‘need’ to communicate in the target language.

This skill is the most complicated due to the fact that speakers have to interpret not

only the message that other speakers try to express, but also take into account other possibilities

explained in the following quotation:

Speakers have a great range of expressive possibilities at their command. Apart

from the actual words they use, they can vary their intonation and stress which helps them

to show which part of what they are saying is most important. By varying the pitch and

intonation in their voice they can clearly convey their attitude to what they are saying, too;

they can indicate interest or lack of it, for example, and they can show whether they wish

to be taken seriously. At any point in a speech event, speakers can rephrase what they are

saying; they can speed up or slow down. This will often be done in response to the feedback

they are getting from their listeners who will show through a variety of gestures,

expressions and interruptions that they do not understand. And in a face to face interaction

78
 the speaker can use a whole range of facial expressions, gestures and general body language

to help to convey the message (Harmer, 2007: 53).

The ninth-grade students’ English level required start from the beginner level. The

teacher in charge must repeat thrice every single word and speak out loud and slowly in order

to show students the correct way to move the lips. It was difficult at the very beginning:

however, some students paid attention to the pronunciation of the vocabulary and pronounced

them correctly. Researchers took into consideration voice modulation because of the noise of

the environment. The teacher in charge must modulate her voice every time she was presenting

a new word.

Reinforcing the new vocabulary with the students was useful and planned as they

encountered with the new vocabulary over and over through the classes. The students completed

speaking, listening and writing activities that were aimed to be understood and to enhance their

lexis and vocabulary, so they reinforced their knowledge. Indeed, researchers could observe the

students’ enhancement of their vocabulary and lexis in the tests presented since students learned

more words, collocations, phrases and so in the classes. During the diagnostic test, students

understood part of the vocabulary they had studied, and in the summative test they took in the

middle of the execution phase, they were able to remember the old vocabulary and the new one

because they had reinforced it with the activities they did in the classes. For the final test, most

of the students understood the meaning of the words and could remember the vocabulary to

complete the tasks, so they only asked when the sentence had a word they did not know or if

they got it correct through looking for the meaning in context of the sentence. Finally, the teacher

in charge of the students’ English class observed a considerable change in the students’ attitude

and a visible improvement in their grades.

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 4.6. Efficiency of the lexical approach

Variable Indicators

Efficiency of the lexical  Students’ enhancement of their lexis and vocabulary

approach learning

 Being able to use the vocabulary in an accurate way in

different contexts.

Date Significant aspects observed Indicators

CL-1: June Students were paying attention to understand the
26th meaning of the new vocabulary and lexis.
Students did not have previous knowledge of the
topic besides the stop and one-way signs.
CL-2: June Students identified some of the places in the map.
26th
Students were able to complete the collocation
tasks to give directions but were confused since
they had never used them.
CL-3: June Students forgot some of the new vocabulary but
29th remembered most of it.
Students had a review of the vocabulary studied in
the previous classes.
CL-4: July 3rd Students understood the meaning of the words after
seeing the examples and using the flashcards.
Students repeated the words in order to remember
them later, and they wrote them down to have a
record of them to look after if needed.
CL-5: July 3rd Students understood the collocations better, and Students’
they used the new vocabulary to complete the enhancement of
tasks. Researchers used a chart to provide them their lexis and
with a visual of the topic. vocabulary learning

CL-6: July 6th Students understood the prepositions through Being able to use
mimics and completed the task with them. the vocabulary in an

80
 Students asked when in doubt about the meaning accurate way in
of them in different contexts. different contexts.
CL-7: July Students participated in the activities to remember
10th the new vocabulary; however, they had forgotten
some of the prepositions.
Students created sentences that they could use in
daily life with the new lexis and vocabulary
studied.
CL-8: July10h Students completed the tasks willingly and used
the new vocabulary in the song activity despite
having difficulties on the use of some prepositions
in different contexts.
CL-9: July Students completed the test without having
13th troubles since it was presented as the exercises they
had done in class, and they asked about their work
in class.
CL-10: July Students completed the examples by using names
20th and objects but had trouble because it was a new
grammar point.
The students were confused with the use of it.
CL-11: July Students were confused because of the possessive
29th case and the simple present of the verb to be in the
third person singular.
Students worked with a text about a famous
person, and they could see the difference between
them after working along with the teacher.
CL-12: July Students were able to remember the vocabulary
29th studied before to complete the tasks and managed
better the possessive case.
Students worked with a song that was according to
their interest, and they worked with collocations to
create more phrases.
CL-13: July Students had trouble completing the song lyrics
31st because of the different contexts, but they were
able to finish the task because of the activity that
motivated them.
CL-14: July Students did not have trouble to understand the
31st topic because it was taught as a collocation with

81
 some parts that they could easily change into other
words and had a list of regular verbs to use.
Students asked for new vocabulary to complete the
tasks.
CL-15: August Students remembered how to use the present
14th perfect tense.
Students looked up for new words to complete the
sentences and activities in class.
CL-16: August Students could give short answers.
17th
Students were able to complete the worksheet and
asked when in doubt.
Table F

The efficiency of the lexical approach depends on the use of it in the classroom since it

has its principles, and there is no method to use it. Researchers took into account those principles

and the students’ needs regarding their English vocabulary and lexis and their use in contexts.

“Contemporary language teaching methods and material tend to be similar for students at

different levels of competence; within the lexis approach the materials and methods appropriate

to beginner or elementary level students are radically different from those employed for upper-

intermediate or advanced students. Significant re-ordering in the learning programme is implicit

in the Lexical Approach.” (Lewis, 1993, p. 7). As Lewis stated, the researchers adapted the

material they used because the level the students presented in the diagnostic test was beginner.

The students did not manage some of the topics they had already studied with the teacher, but

they knew a good amount of vocabulary from the previous topics.

Regarding the efficiency of the lexical approach, the students were exposed to it in the

first week by getting new vocabulary and collocations about the street labels and signals. They

were taught to ask for directions and to give them by using some phrases and material that is

related to their environment such as the map of El Refugio and its important places. The lessons

82
were adapted to match the students’ needs, and the curriculum provided by MINED since the

students are in the Basic English level.

The labelling exercise was introduced in the second week as the students were learning

the parts of the buildings, and it was helpful for them to have flashcards that showed them the

meaning of each word; they learned those words easily despite confusing them at the beginning.

Also, they learned about the prepositions, and the mimicking technique was used to explain

them to the students since researchers wanted the students to figure out the meaning of the words

without having to translate them. Working with a song was useful for the researchers since it

kept the students motivated, and they were recalling the prepositions; also, the students were

taught how to use the songs to learn more vocabulary, and the researchers asked the students to

identify the phrases and sentences they can use in daily life from their favorite song. That

showed the students how the vocabulary may appear in different contexts, and how it is used.

Students were able to identify the use of the possessive case because of the vocabulary

they had learned previously, since they learned that it is used to say that something belongs to

someone in the third week. Despite having trouble at the beginning, they worked well when

completing the task in the class, and they could use their notes to recall some words that they

did not remember because they had several chances to use the same vocabulary in different

contexts during this phase. In week four and five, they worked hard to learn as much vocabulary

given by the researchers, and they worked with the present perfect tense.

During the last classes, researchers gave the students many practices and exercises that

they could complete because of the format the researchers used such as collocations, and pre-

fixed phrases. They learned some verbs in order to complete the tasks about the present perfect,

and they could create their own sentences because they looked up for words by themselves to

83
do so. Students were able to give short answers at the end of the execution phase, and they

participated more during the classes as they felt more comfortable with the language.

Researchers were able to observe its efficiency while the students were working in the

tasks, completing the quizzes, and completing the exams because at the beginning, they were

confused with the directions and use of the words while they were moving on from the lessons,

but as the researchers made sure the students were always recalling and using the new

vocabulary in the following classes, the students showed more confidence. By being exposed to

the lexical approach, the students were able to enhance their English vocabulary and lexis.

Advantages

• Learner autonomy. According to Scrivener (2011), students need to be trained to

use English-English dictionaries, so as students get used to them, they will be more aware of

their learning.

While the investigation was being developed with the ninth grade students from Centro

Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, researchers noticed that they were getting comfortable

with the language at the point that they were asking for new vocabulary and looking up new

vocabulary to work with in the classes, and they wanted to complete the tasks correctly, so they

were constantly asking the researchers to check their work.

• Meaningful learning. Scrivener (2011) mentions four stages of learning lexis:

meeting new lexical items and understanding them and their use, practicing using them,

memorizing them and recalling and using them. As teachers take into account the four stages,

learning will become meaningful for students.

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 Students were exposed to the lexical approach in each class without being forced to learn

the vocabulary at once. First, they were getting new lexical items for the class, and they were

able to collect them in collocation charts, labeling drawings, and lists of lexical items. They

were also recalling the vocabulary in the next classes and using them in different moments

during the class, so they were able to store most of them in their long-term memory.

• Adaptation of English material. Since there is not a set syllabus, teachers can use

the workbooks that best suit their students’ needs.

Researchers based their lesson plans and activities in the lexical approach principles, and

the MINED’s curriculum to get the topics they require the students to learn in that level. They

also looked for some material that could be easy for the students to understand the topics and to

complete the tasks they were given; the activities were simple to complete, but they were used

to see the progress in the students’ understanding of the topics and the enhancement of their

English vocabulary and lexis.

Disadvantages

• “No coherent theory of learning,” Thornbury claims that the Lexical Approach

is not an approach.

As the lexical approach does not have a method to be implemented, it can be confusing

for the teachers and students at the beginning because they have to check its principles to adjust

the activities they will use and work with. Researchers had to work consciously through all the

planning phase since they did not want to divert from the principles the lexical approach has,

and they wanted to make each lesson meaningful for the students learning process.

• There is no methodology or syllabus

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 As previously said, researchers looked up for games to recall the new vocabulary and

lexis with the students, and they also worked with simple activities aiming to help the students

to work comfortably motivated and creating a good environment for them to learn. They used

different activities in each class, so the students were getting the new vocabulary without having

to force themselves and being overwhelmed with the new topics.

• Lewis offers no clear guidelines as to selection and grading (Thornbury, 1998)

During the execution and planning phase, researchers were adjusting the materials,

quizzes and exams to fit with the principles of the lexical approach, and the students’ needs for

the development of the topics. They also were able to use different activities since the students

felt more comfortable with the written exercises than the speaking ones. They were practicing

their four macro skills in different proportions since the researchers tried to let students develop

them without having to force them to speak because it was their biggest fear. The students began

to express their opinions and use the new vocabulary after some classes when they felt more

comfortable with it as the second language acquisition theory states.

The results of the quizzes and tests were positive after the practices and classes because

they showed that the students understood the material since the lower grade was seven in both

tests, and the quizzes were completed. The students enhanced their English vocabulary and lexis

because they learned new ways to get more vocabulary and to use it in different contexts.

At the end, the teacher said in the final interview that the students had enhanced their

vocabulary, and he thought the activities were well developed in the class. He said that the

students had changed their attitude towards the language since they are more willing to

participate in the class. Also, students said that the activities they worked with in the classes

86
were helpful for them to understand the things better, and to learn more since they felt motivated

to learn with this approach. Students also believe that having a record of the new vocabulary

helped them to remember it later and used it to check it later to use in the different activities.

They admitted that they had changed their attitude since they learned more in a different way,

since they understood better, they were eager to participate and learn in the classes. Their

opinion about the classes was that they were more dynamic and creative, and they said they had

fun, so it was not boring for them to pay attention and work with the tasks.

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 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1. Conclusions

After collecting and analyzing the data from the investigation, “The Implementation of

the Lexical Approach to Enhance the Ninth-Grade Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro

Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, during the year 2018, researchers

conclude:

1. The implementation of the lexical approach in the MINED’s curriculum for the

ninth-grade lessons from unit two “My Neighborhood” was important since it

focused more on the lexis than on the grammar points. Indeed, the development

of the curriculum was based on motivating activities; also, students developed

their enthusiasm for the English language as they recognized some frequent

collocations. It may be confusing for the students at the beginning of the class,

but students need constant validation for their work.

2. Students’ main focus was on new words and collocations as well as on fixed

patterns for them to use as part of their English vocabulary and lexis. They were

exposed to them in the classes through the speaking and listening activities and

used them in different contexts. As the students were exposed to the lexical

approach, they were motivated to continue studying by themselves later and to

participate in the classes; also, students learned the pronunciation of the new

words.

3. The use of motivating activities in the investigation was crucial since the students

are teenagers, and they felt they were improving their English learning process.

Students were getting along with the instructions after recognizing them;

88
 furthermore, they showed their motivation when working alone as well as their

creativity when using the language in different collocations. The use of writing

activities helped the students to work with the new vocabulary in different

contexts; besides, they could have a record of the new vocabulary to use later.

4. Using the exercises to collect the new lexical items and focusing on the lexical

approach when creating the lesson plans was a key for the researchers to help

students enhance their vocabulary and lexis. This approach let the researchers

create a good environment for the classes to happen without getting mayor

problems. Students got the new vocabulary by bits.

5. With the lexical approach, students were in constant exposure to the new

vocabulary and lexis to enhance their vocabulary; besides, they showed their

progress by sharing their work with the class. The lexical approach

implementation is important, but teachers need to be careful since the students’

attention may disappear after working for a long time in the same activity.

89
5.2. Recommendations

Teachers should…

1. Create a curriculum taking into consideration the MINED’s requirements and

focusing more in the lexis and vocabulary based on the lexical approach

principles.

2. Take into consideration the students’ interests to create the lessons and the

activities focusing more on the vocabulary in contexts.

3. Create opportunities for the students to recall the vocabulary studied in the

previous classes, as well as giving feedback to the students.

4. Modify the activities, methods and techniques to suit the students’ needs in their

English learning process, so they could acquire the new vocabulary.

MINED should…

1. Provide the public schools with LCD projectors, radios, CDs and workbooks

for the students to immerse in the language learning process using activities

based on the lexical approach.

2. Implement teaching English since kindergarten because children can acquire

the new vocabulary easily, and vocabulary is the focus of the lexical

approach.

3. Modify the curriculum which will allow the teachers to modify the activities

basing them in the lexical approach to suit the students’ interests and needs.

4. Reevaluate the topics, units, and vocabulary the curriculum has by taking into

account the environment in which the students’ learning process occurs.

90
 Future researchers should…

1. Provide the teachers with guidance about the lexical approach, so they could adapt the

activities, techniques and methodologies to improve the students’ learning process.

2. Base the activities that will be used on the lexical approach considering the context of

the students.

3. Take into consideration the students’ needs and interests when creating the lesson plans

and base the activities on the lexical approach principles.

4. Provide the students with opportunities to find the new vocabulary in the different

classes.

91
 REFERENCES

Abdulqader, H., Murad, I., Abdulghani, M. (2017). The Impact of the Application of Lexical Approach
on Developing Students’ Writing Skills at a University Level. Kurdistan Region, Iraq. European
Scientific Journal

Anadolu University. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition:
Implications for Language Teachers. Turkey: Canadian Center of Science and Education.

Bangor, K. (2013). The Importance of Writing in the L2 classroom. Vanderbilt University. Nashville,
Tennessee. Retrieved from https://my.vanderbilt.edu/kaleighbangor/2013/10/the-importance-of-
writing-in-the-l2-classroom/

Galatro, T. (2018). Why Do Children Learn Languages Faster than Adults? Hoboken, New Jersey,
United States of America. Retrieved from https://tessais.org/children-learn-languages-faster-
adults/

Hickey, R. (n.d) Language acquisition. University of Duisburg and Essen, Institute for Anglophone
Studies, Campus Essen. Retrieved from https://www.uni-due.de/ELE/LanguageAcquisition.htm

Lewis, M. (1993). The lexical approach: the state of ELT and a way forward. London, England:
Language Teaching Publications.

Richards J.C. & Rodgers T. S. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge,
United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in Language Teaching. New York, United States of America:
Cambridge.

Scrivener, J. (2011). Learning teaching. Oxford, United Kingdom: Macmillan.

Thornbury, S. (2006). An A-Z of ELT A dictionary of terms and concepts used in English Language
Teaching. Oxford, United Kingdom: Macmillan

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 APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A

University of El Salvador
Western Multidisciplinary Campus
Licenciatura en Idioma Inglés, opción enseñanza
Foreign Languages Department

OBSERVATION GUIDE USED BY RESEARCHERS

The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to Enhance the Ninth Grade Students’
English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán,
during the year 2018.
Objective: to diagnose if ninth grade students at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia have
problems regarding vocabulary during the development of the classes.
Directions: answer each question according to what you observe during the class.
1. Do the Students seem to understand the topic?

2. Do the students participate in class?

3. Do they complete the tasks the teacher gives them?

4. Does the teacher explain the topic more than one time?

5. Are the students able to express their ideas about the topic?

6. Are they able to understand the new vocabulary?

7. Does the teacher provide them with the meaning of the new vocabulary?

8. Is there a good rapport in the classroom?

93
 APPENDIX B

Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente
Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros
Examen diagnóstico para los alumnos de noveno grado sección A del Centro
Escolar Francisco Gavidia en El Refugio, Ahuachapán.
Objetivo: Examinar los conocimientos del idioma inglés de los alumnos del noveno grado sección A del
Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia según los temas estudiados de la unidad uno y dos del programa
presentado por el Ministerio de Educación antes de llevar a cabo la investigación “THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEXICAL APPROACH TO ENHANCE THE NINTH GRADE
STUDENTS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT THE CENTRO ESCOLAR FRANCISCO GAVIDIA,
EL REFUGIO, AHUACHAPÁN, DURING THE YEAR 2018.”
Indicaciones: Elegir la respuesta que considere correcta para completar las oraciones.
1. He is my ____________.
a. Buddy b. car c. eraser
2. ______! This is amazing!
a. Guys b. pencils c. barbecue
3. Mario is a friend of ___________.
a. They b. mine c. we
4. My mom wants to have a __________.
a. picnic b. left c. cry
5. The meat is for the __________.
a. bottle b. barbecue c. paper
6. The basket is for the _____________ game.
a. soccer b. basketball c. tennis
7. The house chores are to _____________.
a. run and jump b. mop and sweep c. erase and write
8. My grandmother told me to _____________.
a. Write b. towel c. go to church
9. The church is ______________ the park.
a. Right b. across from c. left
10. This pencil is _________.
a. Mario’s b. Adriana c. my
11. My mom will ___________ the car straight ahead.
a. Go b. walk c. drive
12. San Salvador is _________ from El Refugio.
a. near b. far
13. I am ________ at the school.
a. Here b. there
14. I will buy the vegetables at the ______________.
a. post office b. supermarket c. basketball court
15. The doctor works in a __________.
a. Gym b. clinic c. drugstore

94
 APPENDIX C

Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente
Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros
Examen sumativo para la comprobación de asimilación de contenidos orientado
a los alumnos de noveno grado sección A del Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia en El Refugio,
Ahuachapán.
Objetivo: Identificar los conocimientos y mejora del idioma inglés de los alumnos del noveno grado
sección A del Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia según los temas estudiados de la unidad dos del
programa presentado por el Ministerio de Educación después de llevar a cabo la fase de implementación
de la investigación “THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEXICAL APPROACH TO ENHANCE THE
NINTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT THE CENTRO ESCOLAR
FRANCISCO GAVIDIA, EL REFUGIO, AHUACHAPÁN, DURING THE YEAR 2018.”
Indicaciones: Completar los ejercicios relacionados al enfoque lexical aplicado en las clases.
1. Escribir la palabra correcta en la imagen.
Roof Walls Stairs
Windows Door Floor

2. Completar el mapa conceptual.

afnja

dfasdf Preposiciones fadsf

3. Completar el cuadro con las colocaciones de la palabra escogida.

School

95
 APPENDIX D

Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente
Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros
Examen final para la comprobación de asimilación de contenidos orientado a los
alumnos de noveno grado sección A del Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia en El Refugio,
Ahuachapán.
Objetivo: Identificar los conocimientos y mejora del idioma inglés de los alumnos del noveno grado
sección A del Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia según los temas estudiados de la unidad dos del
programa presentado por el Ministerio de Educación después de llevar a cabo la fase de implementación
de la investigación “THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEXICAL APPROACH TO ENHANCE THE
NINTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT THE CENTRO ESCOLAR
FRANCISCO GAVIDIA, EL REFUGIO, AHUACHAPÁN, DURING THE YEAR 2018.”
Nombre:
Indicaciones: Completar los ítems según sea correcto.
1. Complete las oraciones con la palabra correcta. (50 %)
1. I go to the ___________. ( Carlos’/ door/ school)
2. My mom buys the vegetables at the __________. (market/ clinic/ building)
3. The cat is ______ the roof. (in/on/between)
4. My dog is _________ the table. ( under/ between/among)
5. _________ car is blue. (Maria/ Carlos’ / Mine)
6. The English book is __________ the math book and the Science book. (between/ school/
stop)
7. _________ is the store? (Is / I / where)
8. The _______ of the classroom is black. (window / park/ door)
9. The bird is on the ________. (roof/ bottle /lake)
10. That is _________ notebook. ( ours / Mirna’s/ cook)

2. Escriba cinco oraciones o frases utilizando el vocabulario presentado a continuación. (25%)

Wall Behind Park Katti’s Study

1. ____________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________

Dibuje cinco señales de tránsito estudiadas en clase con su nombre en inglés. (25%)

96
LESSON PLANS (APPENDIX E)

Topic: class 1 Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
charge observer
To create a Ice breaker -Introduce yourself to the students and write White
good rapport activity: your name on the board, board
Introductions -Give them the instructions for the game. Markers
(10 mins) -Give the students name tags and two candies, Name tags
so they will introduce themselves to the class
(One candy is for them to say their names, and
the other one is for them to say what they like
the most about themselves)
To verify the Listening -The teacher will ask the students if they have Flashcards
My
students’ and speaking previous knowledge about the topic. of the
neighborhood/
previous activity )15 -The teacher will provide the students with the street
Directions in Sonia Diary
knowledge mins) street signs and labels through mimicking the signs and
the
of the topic meaning of them. labels
neighborhood
-Ask the students the name of the street signs
and labels after they have listened to them with
pictures of them.
To have Oral activity -Have Students identify some street labels Notebook
students (20 mins) -Ask the students to record the new vocabulary Poster of
identify they observe by using the lexis item collectors the lexis
street signs -Check the answers by asking the students their item
or labels results collector
example

97
Topic: class 2 Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
charge observer
To motivate Warm up -The teacher will give the instructions for the None
the students activity: students.
to participate Simon Says -The teacher will ask the students to do things
in the class (10 mins) by using the command “Simon says: …”
-The teacher will ask the students if the know
what imperatives are.
To have Conversation -The teacher will write a conversation on the -Poster
students (asking and board. with an
My
interpret the giving -The teacher will ask the students to write down example
Neighborhood/
meaning of directions) the new vocabulary they find in the conversation of the
Imperatives:
the new (20 mins) by using the lexical items lists. lexical Karen Diary
Indentifying
vocabulary - The teacher will ask the students for the items
imperatives for
by context meaning of the new vocabulary by the context. lists.
directions
To have the Speaking -Ask the students if they know some of the Map of
students give activity: important places of El Refugio (such as the the
directions of Give school, church, police office, etc.) important
the important directions -Ask the students for directions of those places, places of
places in El (15 mins) and if there is any street sign or label near it. El
Refugio -Ask the students for doubts in order to clarify Refugio
everything.

98
Topic: class 3 Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
charge observer
To review Lead in -Have students practice the new vocabulary None Flor de
the previous activity: presented in the previous class by dictating them Luz
classes Dictation some words. Morán
My practice (15 -Let students know that spelling doesn’t matter
Neighborhood/ mins) in this activity and that the researcher will give
Excuse me, the correct spelling after they finish writing
where is the To practice Conversation -Have students review the conversation studied
library?: imperatives (15 mins) previously
Diary
Following oral -Ask them to record new vocabulary by using
directions in the lexical item collectors
the To verify Quiz (15 -Hand copies of the quiz -copies of
neighborhood students’ mins) -Explain to students what they have to do the
assimilation -Clarify any doubts quizzes
of the
vocabulary
taught

Topic: class 4 Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
charge observer
To present Picture -Show the flashcards to students and ask them Flashcards
new sharing (15 what they see with the
vocabulary of mins) -As students understand the meaning of the parts of a
My
the parts of a words, paste the pictures on the board and write house
Neighborhood/
house the names in English
Talking about
To verify Labelling -Hand copies of the picture of a house to Copies of
places in a
students’ the different students the picture
building: Karen Diary
understanding parts of a -Have students label the different parts they of a house
Identifying
of the new house (15 just saw in the flashcards
places in a
vocabulary mins) -Clarify any doubts
building
To check Quiz (15 -Ask students if they solved the quiz Quiz/pieces
students’ mins) -If students have not completed the exercises, of paper
work on the have them work on them in class
quiz -Provide any help as necessary

99
Topic: class 5 Objective Activity Description Materials Person Tools for the
in observer
charge
To present Chart (10 -Paste the chart on the board Chart with
vocabulary mins) -Ask students about the meaning of the a drawing
about places words of a
in a building building
and its
parts
Locating places in
To provide Oral -Explain to students that, in order to talk Markers
building/
students with explanation about the places in a building, they can use Whiteboard
Talking about
some (20 mins) “there is, there are, that is” Sonia Diary
places in a
“chunks” of -Review ordinal numbers with students
building/Reviewing
language -Solve any doubts
ordinal numbers
To assign a Writing (15 -Ask students to write, on a separate sheet Paper
writing task mins) of paper, at least three sentences using the Pen
for students vocabulary learned
to practice
the chunks of
language

Topic: class 6 Objective Activity Description Materials Person Tools for the
in charge observer
To present Worksheet -Hand copies of the worksheet to practice Prepositions
vocabulary (writing prepositions worksheet
about activity) (25 -Explain to students about the prepositions and
prepositions mins) clarify doubts
Identifying Flor de
of place
prepositions of Luz Diary
To assess Writing -Ask students to write five sentences, on a Paper
a place Morán
students’ exercises (20 separate sheet of paper Pen
understanding mins) -Tell students to write about the position of
of objects that are close to them
prepositions -Provide help as necessary

100
Topic: class 7 Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
charge observer
To verify if Speaking -Ask students for the vocabulary they -White
students are activity (20 remember about the previous classes. board
able to recall mins) -Give the students some sentences for them to -Markers
the previous place the prepositions orally:
Prepositions
studied e.g. “The pen is __ the desk.”
of place in
vocabulary “There is music ___ the classroom.”
different Karen Diary
To have Writing -Ask the students to write down ten sentences -notebook
contexts
students use activity (25 using the vocabulary they had studied before. -pen
the mins) -Check the sentences by asking them to share
prepositions what they had done with the class.
in different -Clarify any doubt
sentences

Topic: class 8 Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
charge observer
To have -Lead in -Ask the students what their favorite song in -Audio
students activity: English is. -Speakers
motivated to presenting -Play the song “lemon tree” once for them to
participate in the song (10 listen to it.
the class mins)
To have Listening -Ask them to write down the prepositions in the -Copies of
students place activity: worksheet in the correct place as they listen to the song
Studying
the Song (20 the song. worksheet.
prepositions Karen Diary
prepositions mins) -Play the song twice for them to be able to
with songs
in the correct finish the worksheet.
place -Check the answers with them
To have Wrap up: -Ask the students to sing along.
students learn singing the -Clarify any doubt
the song (15
pronunciation mins)
of the words

101
Topic: class 9 Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
charge observer
To review the Speaking -Ask the students for the meaning of the -Speaker
vocabulary activity: vocabulary.
Song (15 -Ask them to sing the song once more.
mins)
Assessment of
To assess the Writing -Give the students the instructions for them to -Copies of Flor Diary
the topics
students’ activity (30 complete the test. the test
learning of mins) -Clarify the doubts, and provide help if
the new necessary.
vocabulary

Topic: class Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
10 charge observer
To motivate Warm up -Tell the students the instructions of the game. -Speakers
the students activity: -Make two groups
to participate guess the -Play a song, and ask the students to guess the
song. (15 name of it.
mins) -The group with more points wins.
Possessive
To help Grammar -Give the students the rules for the possessive - White Flor Diary
case
students point (30 case. board
understand mins) -Give them the uses of it. -markers
the use of the -Ask some them to pass to the front to give an
possessive example.
case.

102
Topic: class Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
11 charge observer
To verify the Speaking -Ask the students what the use of the possessive -Marker
students’ activity (25 case is, and how it is formed. -
understanding mins) -Ask them for examples. Whiteboard
of the -Explain the difference between the possessive
possessive case and the third person singular of the verb to
Possessive case be
Sonia Diary
case To assess the Writing -Give them the possessive case worksheet. -Copies of
student’s activity (20 -Ask them to complete it by writing P if it is the
understanding mins) possessive case or is if it is the verb to be. possessive
of the -Check the answers and clarify the doubts. case
possessive worksheet
case

Topic: class Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
12 charge observer
To motivate Speaking -Ask the students for their favorite song in
the students activity: English.
to participateAsking for -Ask them to share with the class what the song
their favorite is about.
song (20 -Ask them if the song has vocabulary that they
Review of the
mins) had studied in the class. Karen Diary
topics
To assess the Writing -Ask the students to complete the collocation -Copies of
students’ activity: chart with the phrases provided about asking for the quizzes
understanding Quiz (25 directions.
of the mins) -Explain how the collocation charts work.
collocations -Clarify doubts

103
Topic: class Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
13 charge observer
To motivate Speaking -Ask the students to bring the lyrics of their -Speakers
the students and listening favorite songs in advance.
to use more activity: -Ask them to underline the new vocabulary and
resources to Favorite the phrases they can use in daily life.
study English songs (25 -Play the most famous song among them for the
Creating by their own mins) students to sing
collocation to have Writing -Ask the students to make groups of four. -Notebook
Flor Diary
lists with the students activity: -Ask them to share with the other members of
students write down collocation the group the phrases they found out.
the phrases list (20 mins) -Ask them to write them down in a list.
they use in -Check them with the class.
daily life in a
collocation
list

104
Topic: class Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for
14 charge the
observer
Present To present Warm up: -ask students to work in pair -Bingo
perfect the past Bingo (5 worksheet
participle of minutes) -give them photocopies of a Bingo chart
the regular -photocopies
-explain to them the indications of the game
verbs -markers
-ask them to complete correctly the activity
-board
- give rapport to the winner
To introduce Appendix A - ask students for activities they have done in -photocopies
Karen Diary
the present the past but still doing them in the present. of Appendix
perfect tense (15 minutes) A
-give each student a photocopy of Appendix A.
Activity 1 -markers
-ask for a volunteer to read aloud
(15 minutes) -board
-ask them if they have questions about the
correct usage of the present perfect tense.
-encourage them to complete correctly Activity
1 in appendix A
-give feedback
Homework -ask for 3 sentences for each personal pronoun
(5 minutes) using different regular verbs

105
Topic: class Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
15 charge observer
To verify Speaking -Ask the students the uses of the present perfect.
students’ activity: I -Ask the students how they form the present
understanding have… (15 perfect.
of the present mins) -Ask the students some irregular verbs for them
perfect to tell the past participle of them.
Present
To assess Writing -Ask the students to complete the collocation -copies of Sonia Diary
perfect review
students’ activity: quiz chart with some phrases or sentences in the the quizzes
enhancement (30 mins) present perfect.
of the use of -Ask them to complete a list of 10 lexical items
the present with different verbs and their form in past
perfect. participle

Topic: class Objective Activity Description Materials Person in Tools for the
16 charge observer
To motivate Warm up -Ask the students some questions using “have
the students activity (10 you ever…?”
to participate mins): have e.g. “Have you ever watched “The Lion King”?
you ever…? -Ask them to stand up if they have.

To have Writing (20 -Give the students copies of the worksheet. -Copies of
Review students mins) and -Ask them to complete the activities with the the Flor Diary
complete a speaking (15 previous vocabulary. worksheet
series of mins)activity -Check the answers with them by asking them
tasks with the to give you their answers
vocabulary
they have
studied

106
APPENDIX F

LEMON-TREE by Fools Garden

Fill in the gaps with the prepositions in the box

I'm sitting here (1) _____a boring

about around
room
down for
it's just another rainy Sunday
afternoon in into
I'm wasting my time of on
I got nothing (2) _____ do to up
I'm hanging (3) ______
I'm waiting (4) ______ you
But nothing ever happens- and I
wonder And all that I can see is just another
lemon-tree
I'm driving (5) _____ (6) _____ my
car I'm sitting here
I'm driving too fast, I miss the power
I'm driving too far I'd like (14) ______ go (15) ______
I'd like (7) __ change my point (8) __ taking a shower but there's a heavy
view cloud
I feel so lonely, I'm waiting (9) _____ (16) _______ side my head
you I feel so tired
But nothing ever happens- and I put myself (17) ______ bed
wonder where nothing ever happens- and I
wonder
CHORUS
I wonder how, I wonder why, Isolation - is not good (18) _____ me
yesterday you told me (10) ____ the Isolation - I don't want (19) ____ sit
blue blue sky (20) ______ a lemon-tree
I'm stepping (21) _______
and all that I can see is just a yellow
(22) _______ a desert joy
lemon-tree
Baby anyhow
I'm turning my head (11) _____ and
I'll get another toy and
(12) _____
everything will happen-
I'm turning turning turning turning and you'll wonder why
turning (13) _____
CHORUS

ANSWERS

107
I'm sitting here in the boring room I'm sitting here
It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon I miss the power
I'm wasting my time I'd like to go out taking a shower
I got nothing to do But there's a heavy cloud inside my head
I'm hanging around I feel so tired
I'm waiting for you Put myself into bed
But nothing ever happens and I wonder Well, nothing ever happens and I wonder

I'm driving around in my car Isolation is not good for me

I'm driving too fast Isolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-
I'm driving too far tree
I'd like to change my point of view
I feel so lonely I'm steppin' around in the desert of joy
I'm waiting for you Baby anyhow I'll get another toy
But nothing ever happens and I wonder And everything will happen and you wonder

I wonder how I wonder how

I wonder why I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue
sky sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon- And all that I can see is just another lemon-
tree tree
I'm turning my head up and down I'm turning my head up and down
I'm turning turning turning turning turning I'm turning turning turning turning turning
around around
And all that I can see is just another lemon- And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-
tree tree
And I wonder, wonder

108
What is ‘s – possessive or is?
Write P or is.
Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor. ¹He’s
American. ²Leonardo’s ³mother’s
Irmelin and his ⁴father’s George.
⁵Irmelin’s a secretary and ⁶George’s
an artist. ⁷George’s ⁸mother’s
German and his ⁹father’s Italian.
¹°Leonardo’s ¹¹ex-girlfriend’s Toni
Garrn. ¹²Toni’s a German model
1. ______ 7. ______
2. ______ 8. ______
3. ______ 9. ______
4. ______ 10. ______
5. ______ 11. ______
6. ______ 12. ______

What is ‘s – possessive or is?

Write P or is.
Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor. ¹He’s
American. ²Leonardo’s ³mother’s
Irmelin and his ⁴father’s George.
⁵Irmelin’s a secretary and ⁶George’s
an artist. ⁷George’s ⁸mother’s
German and his ⁹father’s Italian.
¹°Leonardo’s ¹¹ex-girlfriend’s Toni
Garrn. ¹²Toni’s a German model
1. ______ 7. ______
2. ______ 8. ______
3. ______ 9. ______
4. ______ 10. ______
5. ______ 11. ______
6. ______ 12. ______

109
APPENDIX G
Quiz #1
Write down five words about the street sings or labels and the imperative for directions, their
meaning and a sentence or phrase.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Quiz #2
Fill the collocation box with the phrases or words provided
Straight ahead Not far Avenue It has
Store How do I get Building Houses

Turn right on the

Go
From here
To the post office?
Where can I find a
are expensive
The roof of a
Four walls

Quiz #3
Write down five sentences using the ordinal numbers and using the places of a building.
Example: The cafeteria of the school is in the third floor.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

110
Quiz #4
Complete the worksheet with the correct prepositions of place.

111
 APPENDIX H
Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente
Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros
Contenidos orientados a los alumnos de noveno grado sección A del Centro Escolar
Francisco Gavidia en El Refugio, Ahuachapán

Present perfect tense

Name: ______________________________________________ Date: ________________
Usamos el presente perfecto (present perfect) para mostrar una acción o estado en el
pasado que aún continúa en el presente. Ejemplo/ example:
Personal Have/Has Past participle Complement
Pronouns

1st person sing I/yo accepted the job.

2nd person sing You/tú have closed the door.
He/él cleaned the house.
3rd person sing has
She/ella cleaned the house.
It/eso cleaned the house.
st
1 person plural We/nosotros cooked a cake.
nd
2 person plural You/ustedes have copied the homework.
rd
3 person plural They/ellos enjoyed the class.

Actividad 1 / activity 1 : completar el siguiente cuadro utilizando las formas correctas (utlizar lista de
verbos)

Personal Have/Has Past participle Complement

Pronouns

1st person sing

2nd person sing

3rd person sing

1st person plural

2nd person plural

3rd person plural

112
 APPENDIX I

Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán

Noveno grado, sección “A”

Worksheet to review the contents studied in class.

Student’s name: ______________________________________________________

Indications: Write down the correct answer to each exercise.

1. Complete the collocation box with the words in the chart.

Stop sign Right School

Avenue Where Mario’s

Turn on that
My Is big.
Car is blue.
It’s on your
Is the store?
Where is the ?

2. Write down the correct prepositions.

1. The pen is _____ the desk. (on/in/behind)
2. Cesar is _________ Ana and Maria. (on/ under / between)
3. The tree is _____ the classroom. (in/ on /next to)
4. I am ______ the classroom. ( under / on / in)

3. Complete the following sentences in present perfect tense.

1. I have ________ English. (study)
2. My mom has _________ lunch. (cook)
3. My sister ______ cleaned her room.
4. We _____ drunk water.
5. I have _________ the book. (finish)

113
APPENDIX J

Los 100 verbos regulares más usados en inglés

Infinitivo Pasado Simple Pasado Participio Significado

1. Accept Accepted Accepted Aceptar

2. Add Added Added Agregar

3. Admit Admitted Admitted Admitir

4. Agree Agreed Agreed Acordar

5. Allow Allowed Allowed Permitir

6. Answer Answered Answered Contestar / Responder

7. Arrive Arrived Arrived Llegar

8. Ask Asked Asked Preguntar

9. Believe Believed Believed Creer

10. Belong Belonged Belonged Pertenecer

11. Brush Brushed Brushed Cepillar

12. Burn Burned Burned Quemar

13. Call Called Called Llamar

14. Cancel Cancelled Cancelled Cancelar

15. Change Changed Changed Cambiar

16. Clean Cleaned Cleaned Limpiar

17. Close Closed Closed Cerrar

18. Complain Complained Complained Quejar

19. Complete Completed Completed Completar

20. Cook Cooked Cooked Cocinar

21. Copy Copied Copied Copiar

22. Count Counted Counted Contar

23. Cry Cried Cried Llorar

114
24. Dance Danced Danced Bailar

25. Decide Decided Decided Decidir

26. Decorate Decorated Decorated Decorar

27. Destroy Destroyed Destroyed Destruir

28. Drop Dropped Dropped Dejar caer

29. Dry Dried Dried Secar

30. Enjoy Enjoyed Enjoyed Disfrutar

31. Escape Escaped Escaped Escapar

32. Explain Explained Explained Explicar

33. Fill Filled Filled Llenar

34. Finish Finished Finished Terminar

35. Fix Fixed Fixed Arreglar / Reparar

36. Follow Followed Followed Seguir

37. Guess Guessed Guessed Adivinar

38. Happen Happened Happened Suceder

39. Hate Hated Hated Odiar

40. Help Helped Helped Ayudar

41. Imagine Imagined Imagined Imaginar

42. Improve Improved Improved Mejorar

43. Increase Increased Increased Incrementar

44. Invent Invented Invented Inventar

45. Invite Invited Invited Invitar

46. Join Joined Joined Unir

47. Jump Jumped Jumped Saltar

48. Kill Killed Killed Matar / Asesinar

49. Kiss Kissed Kissed Besar

115
50. Laugh Laughed Laughed Reir

51. Learn Learned Learned Aprender

52. Like Liked Liked Gustar

53. Listen Listened Listened Escuchar

54. Live Lived Lived Vivir

55. Look Looked Looked Mirar

56. Love Loved Loved Amar

57. Measure Measured Measured Medir

58. Mention Mentioned Mentioned Mencionar

59. Need Needed Needed Necesitar

60. Notice Noticed Noticed Notar

61. Offer Offered Offered Ofrecer

62. Open Opened Opened Abrir

63. Order Ordered Ordered Ordenar

64. Organize Organized Organized Organizar

65. Paint Painted Painted Pintar

66. Place Placed Placed Colocar

67. Play Played Played Jugar / Tocar

68. Please Pleased Pleased Agradar

69. Practice Praticed Praticed Practicar

70. Prepare Prepared Prepared Preparar

71. Qualify Qualified Qualified Calificar

72. Rain Rained Rained Llorar

73. Receive Received Received Recibir

74. Remember Remembered Remembered Acordarse de

75. Remind Reminded Reminded Recordar

116
76. Repeat Repeated Repeated Repetir

77. Report Reported Reported Reportar

78. Require Required Required Requerir

79. Return Returned Returned Regresar

80. Search Searched Searched Buscar

81. Sign Signed Signed Firmar

82. Sit Sitted Sitted Sentar

83. Smile Smiled Smiled Sonreir

84. Start Started Started Empezar / Comenzar

85. Stop Stopped Stopped Parar / Detener

86. Study Studied Studied Estudiar

87. Talk Talked Talked Hablar

88. Touch Touched Touched Tocar

89. Translate Translated Translated Traducir

90. Travel Travelled Travelled Viajar

91. Try Tried Tried Intentar / Probar

92. Use Used Used Usar

93. Visit Visited Visited Visitar

94. Wait Waited Waited Esperar

95. Walk Walked Walked Caminar

96. Want Wanted Wanted Querer

97. Watch Watched Watched Ver

98. Wish Wished Wished Desear

99. Work Worked Worked Trabajar

100. Worry Worried Worried Preocupar

117
APPENDIX K

Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente
Licenciatura en Idioma Inglés, opción enseñanza
Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros

Entrevista dirigida al docente de inglés del Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El

Refugio, Ahuachapán.
Objetivo: Obtener información sobre la observación del docente de inglés sobre la
investigación “The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to Enhance the Ninth Grade
Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio,
Ahuachapán, during the year 2018.”

1. ¿Considera usted que existió una mejoría en cuanto a la adquisición de vocabulario en

los estudiantes?
Con mucho acierto, pues fue palpable la mejoría.

2. ¿Cuál es su opinión respecto a las actividades desarrolladas por el grupo de investigación

en las clases para el enriquecimiento de vocabulario en los estudiantes?
Excelente desarrollo, agudo sentido del orden.

3. ¿Considera que hubo un cambio favorable en la motivación de los estudiantes mediante

la aplicación de actividades de escucha, habla y escritura basados en el enfoque léxico?
Así es, se nota la buena disposición de los jóvenes.

4. ¿Considera importante el uso de actividades para llevar un record del nuevo vocabulario
por los estudiantes para su refuerzo?
Me parece bien.

5. ¿Observó un cambio respecto a la actitud de los estudiantes en la clase de Ingles?

Mejor disposición al aprendizaje.

118
 Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente
Licenciatura en Idioma Inglés, opción enseñanza
Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros

Entrevista dirigida a los estudiantes de noveno grado sección A del Centro Escolar
Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán.

Objetivo: Obtener información sobre la participación de los alumnos de noveno grado sección
A en la clase de inglés sobre la investigación “The Implementation of the Lexical Approach to
Enhance the Ninth Grade Students’ English Vocabulary at the Centro Escolar Francisco
Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán, during the year 2018.”

1. ¿Considera usted que las actividades de escucha y habla presentadas por el grupo
de investigación fueron útiles para el enriquecimiento de su vocabulario en
inglés?

1 Si, fue muy útil

2 Si, aprendí muchas cosas
3 Claro que sí
4 La verdad sí, bastante
5 Sí
6 Sí, fue de mucha ayuda
7 Sí
8 Sí
9 Sí
10 No mucho
11 Sí porque mejoré el habla en inglés, a pronunciar bien las palabras, etc.
12 Sí porque aprendimos un poco más
13 Sí nos ayuda bastante
14 Sí porque entendimos mucho, antes no entendía nada y con ellas entendí mucho
15 No mucho, hablan muy rápido
16 Sí, me parecen muy bien, fueron útiles para aprender un poco más
17 La verdad sí porque nos sirvió mucho
18 Sí porque aprendimos nuevas palabras por ejemplo los verbos
19 La verdad sí nos sirvió bastante
20 Sí porque yo al igual que todos aprendí al estar con ellas
21 Sí tanto como el habla y el escucha se desarrollaron más
22 Sí porque han tenido muchas ideas para que entendamos mucho mejor
23 Yes

119
24 La verdad que sí, porque puya yo siento que aprendí mucho, hay algunas palabras que
antes no las podía decir y tipo hoy sí. Thanks por eso
25 Sí, fueron de mucha ayuda porque aprendí nuevas palabras
26 Sí, me ayudaron mucho en como pronunciar, a cómo escribir algunas palabras o conocer
palabras nuevas que no conocía.

2. ¿Considera usted que las actividades escritas presentadas en clase lo motivaron

para aprender nuevo vocabulario?

1 Sí, me motivaron mucho

2 Sí, el idioma inglés es muy importante y ellas nos enseñaron lo bonito que es el idioma
3 Si me motivaron
4 Sí porque motiva mucho, ya que las personas que lo imparten tienen paciencia en
enseñar y eso hace que uno tenga más ganas de motivarse
5 Sí porque cada vez que nos daban clase aprendíamos más vocabulario de inglés
6 Sí
7 Sí
8 Sí, bastante
9 Sí
10 Sí
11 Sí porque hemos aprendido un poco más
12 En realidad sí porque me demostraron que el inglés es súper fácil
13 Sí porque es bueno aprender otros vocabularios
14 Sí porque quiero ser maestra de inglés
15 Sí me motivaron
16 Un poco
17 Sí porque motiva a aprender nuevo vocabulario
18 Sí
19 Sí porque motiva a conocer nuevo vocabulario
20 Sí porque fueron muy dinámicas y tuvieron mucha paciencia para enseñarnos las clases
21 Sí, me enseñó que no se escribe como se oyen las frases o palabras en inglés
22 Sí porque después de la explicación en clase nos han hecho pruebas y ha sido divertido
23 Sí porque solo con ellas entendíamos inglés
24 Sí, es más fíjate que hasta me metí a una escuela de inglés y eso y lo que aprendí de sus
clases me está ayudando
25 Sí porque fueron muy específicas y nos ayudaron a aprender mucho más
26 Sí, me ayudaron mucho para escribir correctamente unas palabras

120
 3. ¿Considera que es importante el uso de un record de nuevo vocabulario para
reforzar su aprendizaje en la clase de inglés?

1 Sí, es muy importante

2 Sí, siempre necesitamos aprender más y para nosotros sería bonito poder saber inglés
3 Sí
4 Sí porque ayudaría bastante para mejorar
5 Sí mucho
6 Sí
7 Sí porque el inglés es súper importante
8 Sí es importante
9 Sí
10 Sí
11 No porque no tienen iniciativa a dar clases de nuevo (Not related to the question)
12 Sí, porque al tener un record en nuestro cuaderno nos facilita aprender las palabras
13 Sí, sería bueno
14 Sí
15 Sí para tener más fluidez en el idioma
16 Sí porque entendieras un poco más con más iniciativa
17 Sí porque nos sirve de mucho
18 Sí para someternos más sobre el inglés
19 Sí porque nos sirve
20 Sí para poder aprender más el inglés
21 Sería bueno para mejorar nuestro vocabulario
22 Sí
23 Sí porque si en algún momento se nos dificulta un poco el inglés podemos observar el
record para acordarnos de la palabra y la pronunciación
24 Sí porque ir anotando las palabras en el cuaderno me ayuda
25 Sí
26 Sí porque cuando se olvida algo como se escribe o como se pronuncia o que significa,
es bueno un recordatorio

4. ¿Considera que tuvo un cambio respecto a su actitud en la clase de inglés luego

de las clases impartidas por el grupo de investigación?

1 Sí tuve un cambio
2 Sí, la verdad me gustó más el idioma inglés
3 Sí, siento un cambio, antes no sabía casi nada
4 Sí, uno aprender a poner más atención y a poner más interés
5 Sí porque tuve porcentaje más alto de nota

121
6 Sí
7 Sí, muchísimo, he mejorado mi inglés gracias a las clases que nos dieron
8 Sí, hubo un gran cambio
9 Sí
10 Sí
11 Un poco bien
12 Sí porque me gustó más el inglés
13 Sí porque para los que nos costaba, nos ayudó mucho
14 Sí
15 Un poco porque me enseñaron más que las clases que normalmente recibimos dentro
del aula
16 No porque tendría que tener muchas más y creatividad al brindar la clase
17 Sí porque participaba más
18 Sí porque hoy podemos pronunciar las palabras en inglés
19 Sí, el cambio fue notable porque el aprendizaje fue explicito
20 Sí, porque ellas explicaban bien las cosas
21 Sí, un gran cambio en la clase; fue súper esas clases
22 Mucho cambió, la verdad, porque han sido más dinámicas que nuestro maestro
23 Sí porque aprendí nuevas palabras y de manera entretenida
24 Quizá un poco fíjate, pero sí
25 Sí, mucho, al principio no entendía y luego vinieron ellas y como que aprendí un poco
más. Fueron de muchísima ayuda.
26 Sí, poner más atención, no aburrirse o no hablar en clase y poner más atención

5. ¿Cuál es su opinión sobre las clases impartidas por el grupo de investigación?

1 Que fue muy divertido e interesante porque aprendí mucho más sobre el idioma
2 Pues nos enseñaron mucho, nos tuvieron paciencia y son personas capaces que nos han
hecho saber la importancia del inglés
3 Que explican muy bien, se les entiende bastante
4 Pues muy buena porque se aprendió bastante y son personas agradables
5 Eran clases muy interesantes
6 Me ayudó mucho, me enseñaron a decir algunas palabras que me costaban un poco, que
se me dificultaban
7 Pues estuvieron muy bonitas, bien explicadas y se entendieron bien para mí
8 Que estaban entretenidas y las dieron con mucha amabilidad
9 Me resultaron muy útiles, aprendí más sobre inglés gracias a las clases que ellas nos
impartieron
10 Que estuvieron bien bonitas las clases que impartieron, las hacían muy dinámicas y muy
divertidas y explicaban bien
11 Que estuvo bien porque mejoré mi vocabulario

122
12 Que estuvieron súper divertidas
13 Que trabajan bonito en la manera que enseñan inglés, se expresan bonito, ayudan a los
demás, a los que les cuesta, ellas estaban ahí ayudándoles
14 Que las clases de ellas eran muy bonitas y las entendíamos muy bien
15 Mi opinión es que fueron buenas clases porque son pacientes en la forma de enseñar
16 Un poco buenas, no son del todo buenas
17 Que me gustaron y quiero que nos den clase otra vez porque si nos enseñan mucho
18 Estuvo bien porque nos impartieron lo necesario y nos prepararon para el próximo año
19 Fue una excelente información que nos dieron y si quiero volver a recibir clases con
ellas
20 Que fueron muy bonitas e interesantes y que las vamos a extrañar mucho, gracias
21 Que me enseñaron bastante inglés y pues ojalá sigan viniendo
22 Si saben impartir súper bien las clases
23 Que en todas las clases nos podíamos divertir un poco y aprender inglés a la vez
24 Simplemente me gustaron mucho
25 Bueno, ellas fueron muy amables y muy enseñadoras porque nos ayudaron a entender
más las clases de inglés y además muy simpáticas
26 Que me ayudaron mucho y ojalá que fueran siempre así

123
APPENDIX L

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEXICAL APPROACH TO

ENHANCE THE NINTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY
AT THE CENTRO ESCOLAR FRANCISCO GAVIDIA, EL REFUGIO,
AHUACHAPÁN, DURING THE YEAR 2018.

La implementación del enfoque léxico para mejorar el

vocabulario inglés de los estudiantes de noveno grado en el
Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán
durante el año 2018.
Presentado por:

Albanés Alvarado, Karen Lisseth

Escobar Rodriguez, Sonia Maribel

Morán Villanueva, Flor de Luz

124
 ¿Qué es el enfoque léxico?

“A lexical approach to language teaching is one that has chosen vocabulary (ie,
lexis) as the main focus for syllabus design and classroom teaching. This contrasts with
traditional approaches, which usually focus on grammar.” (Thornbury, 2006, p.119)
“Un enfoque léxico en la enseñanza del lenguaje es uno que ha
escogido el vocabulario (léxico) como el punto principal en el diseño del
currículo escolar y la enseñanza en el aula. Esto contrasta con los
enfoques tradicionales que usualmente se enfocan en gramática.”
(Thornbury, 2006, p.119)

Native speakers have a large inventory of lexical chunks that are vital for fluent
production. Chunks include collocations and fixed and semi-fixed expressions and
idioms Lewis (1993).
Los hablantes nativos tienen un extenso inventario de frases léxicas
que son vitales para la producción fluida. Estas frases incluyen
colocaciones y expresiones fijas y semi fijas y expresiones idiomáticas.
(Lewis, 1993)

125
 ¿Cómo se implementa el enfoque léxico en el
currículo?

Within the lexical approach different kinds of lexical items may be identified, or
in relation to traditional language teaching, re-identified. For example, teaching would
be taught as a word, not as the conditional: e.g. teaching “would you like…?” as an
offering. Lewis also advocates encouraging the learning of a comparatively large
repertoire of high-meaning content nouns, adjectives and verbs.
Con el enfoque léxico diferentes tipos de artículos lexicales pueden
ser identificados, o en relación a la enseñanza tradicional de un lenguaje,
re-identificadas. Por ejemplo, la enseñanza de would sería como una
palabra, no como el condicional: enseñar “Would you like…?” como una
oferta. Lewis también menciona motivar al aprendizaje de un repertorio
comparativamente extenso de sustantivos con gran significado, adjetivos
y verbos.

126
 ¿Vocabulario nuevo en la clase?

According to Lewis (1993) some of the appropriate formats to teach vocabulary

are: topics or semantic fields, collocations, institutionalized expressions or lexical
phrases, chunking, identifying exercises, and recording formats which contain the verb
noun partnership, keywords, collocation boxes, and pattern displays.
Según Lewis (1993) algunos de los formatos para enseñar
vocabulario son: temas o campos semánticos, colocaciones, expresiones
institucionalizadas o frases lexicales, frases, ejercicios de identificación, y
formas de registro que contengan la relación de sustantivo y verbo,
palabras claves, listas de colocaciones y formatos de oraciones.

127
 Uso del nuevo vocabulario

The use of new lexis and vocabulary implies “to plan lessons that allow students
to constantly meet the same items in use in different texts, recordings, conversations,
etc. and notice them in new combination with different surroundings with different uses,
and then have repeated opportunities to try using the items themselves” (Scrivener,
2011, p. 208)
El uso del nuevo léxico y vocabulario implica “planear lecciones que
le permitan a los estudiantes encontrar constantemente los mismos
artículos léxicos en uso en diferentes textos, grabaciones,
conversaciones, etc. y notarlos en nuevas combinaciones con diferentes
usos y contextos, y luego hacerlos tener nuevas oportunidades para tratar
de usarlos por si mismos” (Scrivener, 2011, p.208)

128
 Recordar el nuevo vocabulario

According to the British Council (2004), in order to recall the new vocabulary,
“the students are asked to analyze and react personally to new information which will
help them process the language more deeply, facilitating their ability to retain it in their
long-term memory.” Also, the students are requested to use the new vocabulary in the
following classes.
Según el British Council (2004), para recordar el nuevo vocabulario
“se les pide a los estudiantes analizar y reaccionar personalmente a la
nueva información la cual les ayuda a procesar el lenguaje
profundamente, facilitándoles la habilidad de mantenerla en su memoria a
largo plazo.” También, se les pide a los estudiantes usar el nuevo
vocabulario en las siguientes clases.

129
 La eficiencia del enfoque léxico

The lexical approach is efficient when applied to the lessons and classes in the EFL
classroom:
“Contemporary language teaching methods and material tend to be similar for
students at different levels of competence; within the lexis approach the materials and
methods appropriate to beginner or elementary students are radically different from those
employed for upper-intermediate or advanced students. Significant re-ordering in the learning
programme is implicit in the Lexical Approach” (Lewis, 1993, p. 7)
El enfoque léxico es eficiente cuando se aplica a las lecciones y clases en el
salón de clases de inglés como lengua extranjera:
“Los métodos de enseñanza modernos del lenguaje y el material tiende a
ser igual para los estudiantes en diferentes niveles del lenguaje; con el enfoque
léxico los materiales y métodos apropiados para los principiantes son
radicalmente diferentes de esos usados para los intermedios altos o estudiantes
avanzados. La reorganización significante en el programa de aprendizaje está
implícita en el enfoque léxico” (Lewis, 1993, p.7)

130
 Ejercicios para reunir el nuevo vocabulario
Los ejercicios aplicables para el nivel de los estudiantes son:
Listas de artículos léxicos
En ella se presenta el artículo léxico, la traducción, clasificación gramatical, ejemplos
e ideas de las palabras.
Artículo léxico Traducción Clasificación Ejemplos Idea
grammatical

Motorcycle Motocicleta Sustantivo She just (dibujo de una

bought a motocicleta)
motorcycle.

He rides a
motorcycle.

Etiquetas
El maestro presenta una serie de palabras conectadas con un tema; por ejemplo,
cocina usando una foto de ella, y los estudiantes tienen que escribir las palabras en
ella mientras las aprenden ya que es más efectivo que estudiar palabras individuales
sin ninguna relación.

Colocaciones
En ellas se presenta la palabra principal al centro del cuadro, mientras se van
agregando frases y oraciones las cuales pueden utilizarse fácil y constantemente en
el idioma.
There was a terrible
Lights
Traffic Warden
The is really heavy today.
What is creating the ?

131
 Ejemplos del uso del enfoque léxico en clases usadas
en la fase de implementación
LEMON-TREE by Fools Garden

Fill in the gaps with the prepositions in the box

about Around down For To I'm turning my head (11) _____ and
In Into of On up (12) _____
I'm turning turning turning turning
I'm sitting here (1) _____a boring turning (13) _____
room
it's just another rainy Sunday
afternoon And all that I can see is just another
I'm wasting my time lemon-tree
I got nothing (2) _____ do
I'm sitting here
I'm hanging (3) ______
I miss the power
I'm waiting (4) ______ you
I'd like (14) ______ go (15) ______
But nothing ever happens- and I
taking a shower but there's a heavy
wonder
cloud
(16) _______ side my head
I'm driving (5) _____ (6) _____ my
I feel so tired
car
put myself (17) ______ bed
I'm driving too fast,
where nothing ever happens- and I
I'm driving too far
wonder
I'd like (7) __ change my point (8) __
view
Isolation - is not good (18) _____ me
I feel so lonely, I'm waiting (9) _____
Isolation - I don't want (19) ____ sit
you
(20) ______ a lemon-tree
But nothing ever happens- and I
I'm stepping (21) _______
wonder
(22) _______ a desert joy
Baby anyhow
CHORUS
I'll get another toy and
I wonder how, I wonder why,
everything will happen-
yesterday you told me (10) ____ the
and you'll wonder why
blue blue sky
and all that I can see is just a yellow CHORUS
lemon-tree

132
ANSWERS

I'm sitting here in the boring room I'm sitting here

It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon I miss the power
I'm wasting my time I'd like to go out taking a shower
I got nothing to do But there's a heavy cloud inside my head
I'm hanging around I feel so tired
I'm waiting for you Put myself into bed
But nothing ever happens and I wonder Well, nothing ever happens and I wonder

I'm driving around in my car Isolation is not good for me

I'm driving too fast Isolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-
I'm driving too far tree
I'd like to change my point of view
I feel so lonely I'm steppin' around in the desert of joy
I'm waiting for you Baby anyhow I'll get another toy
But nothing ever happens and I wonder And everything will happen and you wonder

I wonder how I wonder how

I wonder why I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue
sky sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon- And all that I can see is just another lemon-
tree tree
I'm turning my head up and down I'm turning my head up and down
I'm turning turning turning turning turning I'm turning turning turning turning turning
around around
And all that I can see is just another lemon- And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-
tree tree
And I wonder, wonder

133
What is ‘s – possessive or is?
Write P or is.
Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor. ¹He’s
American. ²Leonardo’s ³mother’s
Irmelin and his ⁴father’s George.
⁵Irmelin’s a secretary and ⁶George’s
an artist. ⁷George’s ⁸mother’s
German and his ⁹father’s Italian.
¹°Leonardo’s ¹¹ex-girlfriend’s Toni
Garrn. ¹²Toni’s a German model
7. ______ 7. ______
8. ______ 8. ______
9. ______ 9. ______
10. ______ 10. ______
11. ______ 11. ______
12. ______ 12. ______

4. Escribir la palabra correcta en la imagen.

Roof Walls Stairs
Windows Door Floor

134
Quiz #1
Write down five words about the street signs or labels and the imperative for directions, their
meaning and a sentence or phrase.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Quiz #2
Fill the collocation box with the phrases or words provided.
Straight ahead Not far Avenue It has
Store How do I get Building Houses

Turn right on the

Go
From here
To the post office?
Where can I find a
are expensive
The roof of a
Four walls

Quiz #3
Write down five sentences using the ordinal numbers and using the places of a building.
Example: The cafeteria of the school is in the third floor.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

135
Quiz #4
Complete the worksheet with the correct prepositions of place.

136
 Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente
Departamento de Idiomas Extranjeros
Contenidos orientados a los alumnos de noveno grado sección A del Centro Escolar
Francisco Gavidia en El Refugio, Ahuachapán

Appendix A: Present perfect tense

Name: ______________________________________________ Date: ________________
Usamos el presente perfecto (present perfect) para mostrar una acción o estado en el
pasado que aún continúa en el presente. Ejemplo/ example:
Personal Have/Has Past participle Complement
Pronouns

1st person sing I/yo accepted the job.

nd
2 person sing You/tú Have closed the door.
He/él cleaned the house.
3rd person sing Has
She/ella cleaned the house.
It/eso cleaned the house.
st
1 person plural We/nosotros cooked a cake.
2nd person plural You/ustedes have copied the homework.
rd
3 person plural They/ellos enjoyed the class.

Actividad 1 / activity 1 : completar el siguiente cuadro utilizando las formas correctas (utlizar lista de
verbos)

Personal Have/Has Past participle Complement

Pronouns

1st person sing

2nd person sing

3rd person sing

1st person plural

2nd person plural
3rd person plural

137
Centro Escolar Francisco Gavidia, El Refugio, Ahuachapán

Noveno grado, sección “A”

Worksheet to review the contents studied in class.

Student’s name: ______________________________________________________

Indications: Write down the correct answer to each exercise.

4. Complete the collocation box with the words in the chart.

Stop sign Right School
Avenue Where Mario’s

Turn on that
My Is big.
Car is blue.
It’s on your
Is the store?
Where is the ?

5. Write down the correct prepositions.

5. The pen is _____ the desk. (on/in/behind)
6. Cesar is _________ Ana and Maria. (on/ under / between)
7. The tree is _____ the classroom. (in/ on /next to)
8. I am ______ the classroom. ( under / on / in)

6. Complete the following sentences in present perfect tense.

6. I have ________ English. (study)
7. My mom has _________ lunch. (cook)
8. My sister ______ cleaned her room.
9. We _____ drunk water.
10. I have _________ the book. (finish)

138
139
140
141
142
 Appendix M:
Plan of action per week

WEEK 1

DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To create a Ice breaker -White board Observing
good activity: -Markers students’
rapport Introductions -Name tags reaction to the
(10 mins) first class
To verify Listening and -Flashcards of Observing
the speaking the street signs students’
CLASS 1
students’ activity (15 and labels knowledge of
Karen Albanés Tuesday, July 26rd,
previous mins) Sonia Escobar the topic Diary
Flor Morán 2018 from 10:00-
knowledge presented
10:50
of the topic
To have Oral activity Flashcards of Observing
students (20 mins) the street signs students’
identify and labels performance
street signs during the
or labels activity

143
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To Warm up None Observing
motivate activity: Simon students’
the Says (10 mins) behavior
students to during activity
participate
in the class
To have Conversation None Observing
students (asking and students’
interpret giving ability to
the directions) (20 complete the
CLASS 2
meaning of mins) task
Sonia Escobar Tuesday, July 26rd,
the new Karen Albanés Diary
Flor Morán 2018 from 11:05-
vocabulary
11:55
by context
To have Speaking Map of the Observing
the activity: important students’
students Giving places in el performance
give directions (15 refugio
directions mins)
of the
important
places in El
Refugio

144
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To review Lead in None
the activity:
previous Dictation
classes practice (15
mins)
CLASS 3
To practice Conversation None Observing
Flor de Luz Sonia Escobar Friday , July 29th ,
imperatives (15 mins) students’ Diary
Morán Karen Albanés 2018 from 8:15-
To verify Quiz (15 mins) Copies of the performance
9:00
students’ quiz
assimilation
of the
vocabulary
taught

145
 WEEK 2

DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To present Picture sharing Pictures
new (15 mins)
vocabulary of
the parts of a
house
CLASS 4
To verify Labelling the Worksheet Observing
Sonia Escobar Tuesday, July 3rd,
students’ different parts Karen Albanés students’ Diary
Flor Morán 2018 from 10:00-
understanding of a house (15 performance
10:50
of the new mins)
vocabulary
To check Quiz (15 mins) Copies of the
students work quiz
on the quiz

146
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To present Chart (10 Chart
vocabulary mins)
about
places in a
building
To provide Oral None
students explanation (20
with some mins) CLASS 5
Observing
“chunks” Karen Albanés Tuesday, July 3rd,
Sonia Escobar students’ Diary
of Flor Morán 2018 from 11:05-
performance
language 11:55
To assign a Writing (15 Paper, pen
writing mins)
task for
students to
practice the
chunks of
language

147
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To present Writing Copies of the
vocabulary activity worksheet
about the (worksheet)
prepositions (25 mins) CLASS 3
Observing
of place Flor de Luz Sonia Escobar Friday , July 6th ,
students’ Diary
To assess Writing Paper, pen Morán Karen Albanés 2018 from 8:15-
performance
students’ exercises (20 9:00
understanding mins)
of
prepositions

148
 WEEK 3

DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To verify if Speaking White board
students are activity (20 Markers
able to mins)
recall the
previous
CLASS 7
studied Observing
Sonia Escobar Tuesday, July 10th,
vocabulary Karen Albanés students’ Diary
Flor Morán 2018 from 10:00-
To have Writing Notebook performance
10:50
students use activity (25
the mins)
prepositions
in different
sentences

149
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To have Lead in activity -Audio
students (10 mins) -Speakers
motivated to
participate in
the class
To have Listening -Copies of the
students activity (20 song CLASS 8
Observing
place the mins) worksheet. Karen Albanés Tuesday, July
Sonia Escobar students’ Diary
prepositions Flor Morán 10th, 2018 from
performance
in the correct 11:05-11:55
place
To have Wrap up
students learn activity (15
the mins)
pronunciation
of the words

150
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To review Speaking -Speaker
the activity (15
vocabulary mins)
CLASS 9
To assess Writing -Copies of the Observing
Flor de Luz Sonia Escobar Friday , July 13th ,
the activity (30 test students’ Diary
Morán Karen Albanés 2018 from 8:15-
students’ mins) performance
9:00
learning of
the new
vocabulary

151
 WEEK 4

DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To Warm up -Speakers
motivate activity: guess
the the song. (15
students to mins)
participate
CLASS 10
in the class Observing
Sonia Escobar Friday, July 20th,
To help Grammar point - White board Flor Morán students’ Diary
Karen Albanés 2018 from 8:15-
students (30 mins) -markers performance
9:00
understand
the use of
the
possessive
case.

152
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To verify the Speaking -Marker
students’ activity (25 -Whiteboard
understanding mins)
of the
possessive CLASS 11
Observing
case Karen Albanés Tuesday, July
Sonia Escobar students’ Diary
To assess the Writing -Copies of the Flor Morán 24th, 2018 from
performance
student’s activity (20 possessive 10:00-10:50
understanding mins) case worksheet
of the
possessive
case

153
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To motivate Speaking
the students activity:
to participate Asking for
their favorite CLASS 12
Observing
song (20 mins) Sonia Escobar Tuesday, July 24th
Karen Albanés students’ Diary
To assess the Writing -Copies of the Flor Morán , 2018 from
performance
students’ activity: Quiz quizzes 11:05-11:55
understanding (25 mins)
of the
collocations

154
 WEEK 5

DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To Speaking and -Speakers
motivate listening
the activity:
students to Favorite songs
use more (25 mins)
resources
to study
English by CLASS 13
Observing
their own Sonia Escobar Friday, July 27th,
Flor Morán students’ Diary
to have Writing -Notebook Karen Albanés 2018 from 8:15-
performance
students activity: 9:00
write down collocation list
the phrases (20 mins)
they use in
daily life in
a
collocation
list

155
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To present Warm up: -Bingo
the past Bingo (5 worksheet
participle minutes)
-photocopies
of the
regular -markers
verbs
-board CLASS 14
Observing
Karen Albanés Tuesday, July 31th,
To Appendix A -photocopies of Sonia Escobar students’ Diary
Flor Morán 2018 from 10:00-
introduce Appendix A performance
(15 minutes) 10:50
the present
-markers
perfect Activity 1
tense -board
(15 minutes)
Homework
(5 minutes)

156
 DATA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES GATHERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To verify Speaking
students’ activity: I
understanding have… (15
of the present mins)
CLASS 15
perfect Observing
Sonia Escobar Tuesday, July 31th
To assess Writing Copies of the Karen Albanés students’ Diary
Flor Morán , 2018 from
students’ activity: quiz quizzes performance
11:05-11:55
enhancement (30 mins)
of the use of
the present
perfect.

157
 WEEK 6

DATA GA TIMELINE
IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE
PURPOSE RESOURCES THERING BEGINNING
ACTIVITY PERSON TOOL PERSON
ACTIVITY /ENDING
To Warm up
motivate activity (10
the mins): have
students to you ever…?
participate
CLASS 16
To have Writing (20 Copies of the
Observing Friday, August 3rd,
students mins) and worksheet Sonia Escobar
Flor Morán students’ Diary 2018 from 8:15-
complete a speaking (15 Karen Albanés
performance 9:00
series of mins)activity
tasks with
the
vocabulary
they have
studied

158
Appendix N: Plan of action

COMMENTS
FIRST VARIABLES DESCRIPTION OR
ACTION OR TOOLS OR RESEARCH
STAGE OF DATE OBJECTIVE OR OF THE REFLEXION
STRATEGIES RESOURCES QUESTION
ACTION INDICATORS OBSERVATIONS
To collect the From To observe the Lexical Researchers Observation Will ninth Students’ inability They are not
data needed to February problem in a approach: is will observe the by the grade students to understand the so interested in
find and define 19 to 23 deeper way by one that has classes and researchers enhance their teacher’s the class as
the problem asking the chosen make sure there vocabulary instructions expected, and
from the units teacher about vocabulary is a problem, through the Students’ inability they do not
of analysis and the problems (i.e., lexis) as and they will implementation to produce their seem to
the teacher. he has the main focus ask the teacher of the lexical own ideas when understand the
observed, and for syllabus to see if it has approach at the asked for their class because
by observing design and been Centro Escolar opinions of the
some classes classroom happening. Francisco Students’ inability vocabulary
to make sure if teaching Gavidia, El to understand the used at their
the problem Vocabulary and Refugio, new vocabulary’s level.
existed. lexis: Ahuachapán, and lexis’ meaning
Vocabulary during the year
typically refers 2018?
mainly to
single words
and sometimes
to very tightly
linked two- or
three-word
combinations

159
 COMMENTS
SECOND VARIABLES DESCRIPTION OR
ACTION OR TOOLS OR RESEARCH
STAGE OF DATE OBJECTIVE OR OF THE REFLEXION
STRATEGIES RESOURCES QUESTION
ACTION INDICATORS OBSERVATIONS
To create a From To Enhance the Lexical To give the Practicum Will the The researcher will The
plan to help March 5 ninth grade approach students some related to the exercises to create the tools researchers
ninth grade to April students’ activities based lexical record new they will use in the will ask the
students of 6 vocabulary and Vocabulary and on the Lexical approach and vocabulary implementation teacher for
Centro Escolar lexis at the lexis: Approach in Handouts with help the phase permission to
Francisco Centro Escolar order to help speaking, students to do the
Gavidia to Francisco them enhance listening and practice their implementation
enhance their Gavidia their writing lexis and phase, and they
vocabulary and through the vocabulary and activities to vocabulary? will teach and
lexis through implementation lexis use in the provide the
the of the Lexical classes students with
implementation Approach the activities,
of the Lexical practices and
Approach tests.

160
 COMMENTS
THIRD VARIABLES DESCRIPTION OR
ACTION OR TOOLS OR RESEARCH
STAGE OF DATE OBJECTIVE OR OF THE REFLEXION
STRATEGIES RESOURCES QUESTION
ACTION INDICATORS OBSERVATIONS
The From To have Lexical The researchers Practices and Will the During this stage, Researchers
researchers April 9 students work approach will interact activities students be researchers will will find out
will start to June with activities with the based on the able to implement the which
developing the 29 based on the Vocabulary and students with Lexical remember the activities that best activities
action plan Lexical lexis classes, Approach new suit the needs of helped the
with the ninth approach in the activities and Worksheets vocabulary the students which students to
grade students classes practices in Handouts with the are based on the enhance their
order to Vocabulary speaking, Lexical Approach English
implement the posters listening and for them to vocabulary and
lexical writing enhance their lexis
approach in the activities in the English vocabulary
curriculum they classes? and lexis.
will use such as
labelling,
lexical items
lists, word of
topic webs,
collocations
and lexical item
collectors.

161
162