Episode 76: Unpacking the Lexical Approach (with Erin O’Byrne)

In this episode of The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast, Shé and Anna discuss the importance of the Lexical Approach in teaching English, featuring insights from guest Erin O’Byrne ‪@everythingefl3054‬ . They explore how focusing on lexical chunks—common phrases and expressions—rather than isolated words or strict grammar rules can enhance both learner autonomy and teacher effectiveness. Erin shares her journey of adopting the Lexical Approach, practical strategies for classroom implementation, and the significance of allowing students to notice and internalize language patterns.

💡 Reflect with us:
How often do you teach words in isolation rather than as part of a chunk?
What “Matrix moment” have you had in noticing patterns of real-world English?
How might creating more space for emergent language shift your classroom dynamic?

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🧰 Resources & Tools:
Everything EFL Podcast by Erin O’Byrne: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
The No Nonsense Lexical Toolkit (Erin’s 4-week practical course): https://refreshyourteaching.com/
Google NGram Books Viewer – for exploring word frequency and corpus data: https://books.google.com/ngrams/
Eduling App - “The hub for task-based teaching and learning”: https://www.eduling.org/
   • Four Idioms with Tasks  
   • English Vocabulary with Eduling: Flourish  

🎙 This episode is sponsored by Ellii
Use code THINKALOUD for 15% off your first membership term.
Admins can also request a two-month free trial to pilot Ellii for your program.

📚 Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message
01:12 Welcome to the Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast
01:24 Exploring Teaching Strategies
02:32 Introducing the Lexical Approach with Erin O'Byrne
03:16 Icebreaker: Favorite English Phrase or Idiom
04:40 Teaching Idioms and Cross-Cultural Communication
05:14 Corpus Linguistics in Language Teaching
09:01 Empowering Teachers and Learners with the Lexical Approach
16:19 Embracing the Lexical Approach in Practice
18:55 Recognizing Lexical Patterns in Everyday Language
19:19 Practical Strategies for Teaching Lexical Chunks
20:40 The Importance of Noticing in Language Learning
22:22 Reusing Materials for Better Retention
22:59 Balancing Receptive and Productive Knowledge
28:21 Guiding Teachers to Shift from Rules to Real Language
34:30 Introducing the No Nonsense Lexical Toolkit
36:50 Building a Supportive Teaching Community
37:49 Reflecting on the Lexical Approach


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