A Study Of The Application Of Lexical-chunk Approach To English Writing Teaching In Senior High School

Lexical chunk, as a language structure which containing the characteristics of patterns and functions, combining with the advantages of grammar, semantics and context, is the ideal unit in language teaching. Writing, as the basic skill among four English comprehensive skills, is widely regarded as the weakness among senior high school students English writing learning. What’s more, the current English writing teaching situation is not satisfactory.Based on the analysis of current situation of English writing among senior high school students, the author relies on the lexical-chunk approach advocated by Lewis and refers to the classifications of lexical chunks proposed by Nattinger and De Carrico in order to apply the lexical-chunk approach to English writing teaching. This thesis aims at investigating: 1) the effects of lexical-chunk approach on the quantity and categories of lexical chunks in students’ composition; 2) the effects of lexical-chunk approach on students’ writing proficiency.The author conducted an experiment in two parallel liberal art classes in XX senior high school for 12 weeks. Before the experiment, 40 students in the experimental class and 40 students in the controlled class take part in a writing test. The quantity and categories of lexical chunks and composition scores are collected by the author to make analysis by SPSS 22.0. The results of the pre-test show the quantity and categories of lexical chunks used by two classes students are at the same level. Besides, the students from two classes have the same writing proficiency. During the experiment, the control class received traditional teaching methods for writing teaching, while the experimental class was taught English writing under the lexical-chunk approach. Students in two classes were tested again to examine the effects of lexical-chunk approach on English writing after the experiment. When all the quantity and categories of lexical chunks and writing scores are collected, they are analyzed by SPSS 22.0. The results demonstrate that either the quantity of lexical chunks or the writing proficiency of students in the experimental class is superior to that of students in the controlled class after the experiment.Through the experiment, the author finds out: the application of lexical-chunk approach have enhanced the quantity of lexical chunks used in writing compositions and strengthen their mastering of lexical chunks. What’s more, the lexical-chunk approach exerts different levels of influence on different categories of lexical chunks in students’ writing compositions. Besides, students writing proficiency have been enhanced under the guidance of lexical-chunk approach.