"It is our ability to use lexical phrases that helps us to speak with fluency. This prefabricated speech has both the advantages of more efficient retrieval and of permitting speakers (and learners) to direct their attention to the larger structure of the discourse, rather than keeping it narrowly focused on individual words as they are produced" (Nattinger and DeCarrico 1992).
The basic principle of the lexical approach, then, is: "Language is grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar" (Lewis 1993).
Michael Lewis recognized that one of the weaknesses of the natural methods and the more old fashioned grammar based approaches was not enough emphasis on the importance of vocabulary to achieve fluency.
But he didn't think of vocabulary in the traditional sense, and certainly not in the way it is taught in Chinese schools. (e.g. long lists of words grouped by theme, such as 'clothes' or 'things in the classroom'.)
Native speakers have a huge repetoire of chunks, stock phrases, collocations, etc. that free up "working memory" and allow for more meaningful and fluent use of language. (See above)
Lexis has 4 categories:
1) Vocabulary, individual words.
2) Collocations (words that are commonly found together, such as quick shower)
3) fixed and idiomatic expressions (make a promise, give a smile)
4) Formulaic sentences and sentence patterns (e.g. "The trouble with _____ is _____")
