Michael Lewis' Lexical Approach attempted to turn the EFL world on its head by proposing that language acquisition comes from lexis rather than grammar. Lewis states that "language consists not of traditional grammar and vocabulary but often of multi-word prefabricated chunks" (1997:3). Lewis' 1997 handbook, "Implementing the…

This article focuses on the connection between the visual arts and language arts with the many teaching and learning possibilities that may arise from an art curriculum infused with language arts. As a K-5 art specialist in a rural Georgia public school, the author feels passionately about the importance of interdisciplinary art education for…

Writing verse is a learning experience. Arranging words, sounds and syllables can turn everyday language into metered language (language that can be measured), and metered language is the definition of verse. This article discusses the use of meter in helping students establish sets of syllables and lines that can be counted, enabling them to…

We report an investigation of 9-year-olds' ability to interpret idioms in relation to their reading comprehension level. We manipulated whether the idioms were transparent or opaque, whether they were real or novel, whether they were presented in isolation or in a supportive narrative context. As predicted, children were better able to explain the…