An Experimental Study On The Application Of The Lexical Approach To English Writing Teaching In Senior High School

As one of the most important ways of language output,English writing is a complicated task,which reflects learners’ comprehensive language use ability.However,in the course of English teaching,teachers attach little attention to writing,and also most students are afraid of writing.At the same time,the new curriculum standards put forward more demanding requirements for writing in senior high school.Therefore,how to enhance students’ writing confidence and improve their writing ability is a thorny problem that teachers need to think about and solve urgently in the teaching process.Lewis’ s lexical approach aims at taking lexical chunks as the center of English teaching.Compared with the traditional and isolated words,lexical chunks integrate words,grammar and context,which plays an important role in language learning and using.In English writing,proper use of lexical chunks not only helps to overcome the barriers of negative transfer of the mother tongue,but also helps to increase the accuracy and fluency of writing.Therefore,the lexical approach is applied into the teaching of English writing in senior high school,aiming at exploring the impact of the lexical approach on students’ writing performances and their internal changes on writing.Specifically,the following three main research questions are raised.First,what effect does the writing teaching based on the lexical approach have on students’ writing performances?Second,what are students’ attitudes toward writing after the implementation of the lexical approach? Third,how can the lexical approach be effectively applied in writing teaching and learning?With the writing tests,questionnaires and interviews used as the research tools,an experimental study in two parallel classes of Grade 1 in Chuanxi Middle School was conducted for a total of 16 weeks.The lexical approach was applied into English writing teaching in the experimental class,with an emphasis on the input,internalization and output of lexical chunks.In the meantime,the traditional writing teaching was used in the control class,with no emphasis on lexical chunks.The result of the experiment proves that the lexical approach plays an active role in the teaching of English writing in senior high school.Compared with the control class,the composition scores of students in the experimental class have improved significantly,and the number of lexical chunks in students’ compositions has also increased a lot than before.Most importantly,they have mastered useful writing methods and strategies.Besides,under the guidance of lexical chunks,students are more confident in writing and hold a positive attitude towards writing.Lastly,it demonstrates that the input and internalization as well as proper retrial of lexical chunks are indispensable to English writing.