Lexis overviews
These overviews indicate the types of lexis work that learners are expected to be
developing at each level. They give examples of productive and receptive
language in relation to ‘achieving the level’ for assessment purposes. The type of
lexis work indicated for a level does not limit what may be learnt or taught at that
level.
The examples used are to illustrate the type of lexis work at each level, but the
actual lexis work developed will be highly dependent on learners’ lives, individual
interests and goals, as well as the focus of any courses they are taking.
The lexis overviews are sub-divided into five categories: Word formation, Range,
Register, Words together and Non-literal use. These overviews can be accessed
by level or by category across levels:
E1
E2
E3
L1
L2
Word
formation
Range
Register
Words
together
Non-literal use
1
Lexis overviews
Word formation
Entry 1
Entry 2
Entry 3
Changing word endings,
e.g. making regular and
common irregular words
plural e.g. day/days,
woman/women.
Awareness of
common prefixes such
as un and re, and
suffixes such as er,
est, ly, e.g. unfit,
replay, smaller,
smallest, slowly.
Greater awareness of
range of prefixes and
suffixes, e.g. disappear
(prefix), happiness
(suffix).
Changing verb endings in
regular and common
irregular present tenses,
e.g. watch/watching,
go/goes.
Changing verb
endings in regular and
common irregular
simple past, e.g.
watch/watched,
go/went.
Growing awareness of
word families, e.g.
politics, politician,
political.
Level 1
Level 2
Growing ability to recognise word class
from suffix, such as words ending in
ness and tion are likely to be nouns,
words ending in tional and ous are
likely to be adjectives e.g.
• kindness, information (nouns)
• emotional, dangerous (adjectives).
Increased confidence and creativity in
using affixation to predict root, meaning
and use, e.g. identify the root noun in
expectation as expect.
Recognising and using greater range of
word families including irregular groups
such as anger, angered, angrily.
Using understanding of word families to
increase range, e.g. instruct,
instruction, instructional.
2
Lexis overviews
Range
N.B. The range of lexis that learners understand (receptive) usually exceeds
what they can use (productive).
Entry 1
Entry 2
Entry 3
Lexis linked to learners’ lives,
experience and aspirations, e.g.
• common countable and
uncountable nouns such as
roads, water, information
• lexical sets such as days of the
week, colours, common
adjectives
• common gradeable antonyms
such as hot/cold, big/small
• super-ordinates with appropriate
hyponyms such as
- parent (super-ordinate)/mother
and father (hyponyms)
- fruit (super-ordinate)/apple and
banana (hyponyms)
• common regular and irregular
verbs such as take, come, go
• simple adverbs of place, manner
and time, e.g. here, slowly, now.
Increasing range of lexis
in familiar contexts, e.g.
• common countable and
uncountable nouns
such as qualifications,
flour and oil
• wider range of topics
such as housing, jobs,
school curriculum
subjects
• regular and common
irregular comparatives
such as hot/hotter,
good/better
• possessive pronouns
such as mine, yours
• adverbs of frequency
such as always,
sometimes.
Increasing
range of lexis
for both
concrete and
abstract
concepts, such
as adjectives
for personal
qualities, e.g.
generous, shy,
talkative.
Level 1
Level 2
Increasing range of lexis and
contexts, e.g.
• increasing knowledge of, and
ability to select between, words
with apparently similar
meanings such as hit, punch,
smack
• lexis for more specialist topics
such as environmental issues,
local government
• a range of conjunctions with
different functions such as
whereas, therefore, since,
although
• a wide range of adverbs,
adverbial and prepositional
phrases including intensifiers
such as extremely, completely.
Growing confidence in dealing with lexis in
contexts which are less familiar.
Growing
confidence in
dealing with
unfamiliar
contexts, e.g.
reading a job
description for a
new area of
work.
Greater ability to use more specific lexis and
technical vocabulary for useful contexts
e.g. trees - oak, sycamore, ash.
Increasing knowledge of, and ability to select
between, words with apparently similar
meanings, including the ability to avoid repetition
by substitution, e.g. lack of/shortage of.
Increasing ability to recognise and use irony,
exaggeration and understatement, e.g.
• Are you fed up? Just a bit…
• She’s not exactly young.
3
Lexis overviews
Register
Entry 1
Entry 2
Entry 3
Recognising
difference in
forms of
greeting, e.g.
Hi, Hello.
Increasing awareness
of positive and
negative connotation
in choice of lexis, and
an awareness of
strategies for avoiding
negative connotation,
e.g. fat/quite large,
boring/not very
interesting.
Increasing awareness of register, e.g.
formal/informal lexis and ability to
choose the most appropriate lexis for
the context, e.g.
That cost five quid?
The value of the pound is dropping.
Increasing awareness of connotation,
e.g. a gang of teenagers / a group of
teenagers.
Level 1
Level 2
Growing ability to select
between apparent
synonyms according to
context and whether
spoken or written, e.g.
choosing between work,
job, employment when
writing a letter.
Greater appreciation of difference in meaning,
connotation and use of apparent synonyms and
antonyms, e.g.
• careful, thrifty, mean, stingy
• interesting, shocking, scandalous.
Increasing ability to
notice biased language,
e.g. he admitted being a
communist.
Consistency in lexical choices with regard to register
and ability to switch register as appropriate, such as
mixing social and business registers, e.g.
Hi Tom! I’d like to introduce you to...
Use of discourse markers, e.g. As I was saying…
4
Lexis overviews
Words together
Entry 1
Entry 2
Entry 3
Fixed expressions
treated as chunks
e.g. See you later,
Can I have (a)…
Increased range of fixed
expressions and
collocations including
phrasal verbs, e.g.
• see you later, do me a
favour (fixed
expressions)
• give advice
(collocation)
• look after, look for
(phrasal verbs).
Increasing range of fixed
expressions and collocations
including adjective +
preposition combinations,
e.g.
• round about, I’m afraid…
(fixed expressions)
• crime rates, bread and
butter (collocations)
• interested in, pleased
with (adjective +
preposition).
Very common
collocations such
as black coffee,
bed and breakfast.
Common phrasal
verbs such as get
up, turn off.
Common
prepositional
phrases of place,
e.g. at home, on
the left.
Adjective word order, e.g. a
large black horse, a new
red coat.
Adverbial and prepositional
phrases, e.g. after that, at
the bus stop, until
tomorrow, at once.
Awareness of fixed and
semi-fixed expression used
for giving emphasis, e.g.
• What I want to
know/do/say is…
• The (main/most
important) thing is…
Level 1
Level 2
Increasing ability to select appropriate
adjectives to collocate with nouns, e.g.
heavy rain, strong wind, (i.e. not strong
rain).
Ability to use a wide range of
collocations, fixed and semi-fixed
expressions fluently and flexibly.
Using a range of fixed and semi-fixed
expressions for giving emphasis, e.g.
What I want to know/do/say is…
The (main/most important) thing is…
Ability to recognise cliché, e.g.
At the end of the day…
The bottom line is…
5
Lexis overviews
Non-literal
Entry 1
Entry 2
Entry 3
Awareness of a few
common metaphors,
e.g. time is money.
Ability to recognise
metaphorical language,
e.g. She flew into the
room.
Growing awareness of
idiomatic language,
including exaggeration,
e.g. Have a go. This work
is driving me crazy.
Ability to recognise
exaggeration, e.g. I stood
at the bus stop for hours.
Growing ability to
recognise systematic
metaphors, e.g. time seen
as money - spend time,
invest time, waste time.
Level 1
Level 2
Increasing ability to recognise exaggeration and
understatement, e.g. I’ve got millions of emails
to answer.
Increasing ability to use
metaphorical language,
especially systematic
metaphors, e.g.
• Anger as heat - she was
boiling with rage, she
exploded
• Life as a journey - he
took a wrong turn, he lost
his way.
Increasing ability to recognise metaphorical
language, especially systematic metaphors, e.g.
• Up meaning good, healthy or happy - She’s
at the top of her game. I’m on top of the
world.
• Down meaning bad, unhealthy or depressed
- He hit rock bottom. She’s come down with
flu. He’s a bit low at the moment.
6
Lexis overviews
Entry 1
Word
formation
Changing word
endings, e.g. making
regular and common
irregular words
plural e.g. day/days,
woman/women.
Changing verb
endings in regular
and common
irregular present
tenses, e.g.
watch/watching,
go/goes.
Range
Register
Lexis linked to learners’ lives, experience
and aspirations, e.g.
• common countable and uncountable
nouns such as roads, water,
information
• lexical sets such as days of the week,
colours, common adjectives
• common gradeable antonyms such as
hot/cold, big/small
• super-ordinates with appropriate
hyponyms such as
- parent (super-ordinate)/mother and
father (hyponyms)
- fruit (super-ordinate)/apple and
banana (hyponyms)
• common regular verbs such as take,
come, go
• simple adverbs of place, manner and
time e.g. here, slowly, now.
Recognising
difference in
forms of
greeting, e.g.
Hi, Hello.
Words together
Non-literal use
Fixed expressions treated as chunks e.g. See
you later, Can I have (a)…
Awareness of a few common
metaphors, e.g. time is money.
Very common collocations such as black coffee,
bed and breakfast.
Common phrasal verbs such as get up, turn off.
Common prepositional phrases of place, e.g. at
home, on the left.
7
Lexis overviews
Entry 2
Word
formation
Awareness of
common prefixes
such as un and re,
and suffixes such as
er, est, ly, e.g. unfit,
replay, smaller,
smallest, slowly.
Changing verb
endings in regular
and common
irregular simple past,
e.g. watch/watched,
go/went.
Range
Register
Increasing range of lexis in familiar
contexts, e.g.
• common countable and
uncountable nouns such as
qualifications, flour and oil
• wider range of topics such as
housing and accommodation,
school curriculum subjects
• regular and common irregular
comparatives such as hot/hotter,
good/better
• simple adverbs of place, manner
and time e.g. here, slowly, now
• possessive pronouns such as
mine, yours
• adverbs of frequency such as
always, sometimes.
Increasing
awareness of
positive and
negative
connotation in
choice of lexis,
and an
awareness of
strategies for
avoiding
negative
connotation,
e.g. fat/quite
large,
boring/not very
interesting.
Words together
Non-literal use
Adjective word order, e.g. a large black horse, a new
red coat.
Ability to recognise
metaphorical language, e.g.
She flew into the room.
Adverbial and prepositional phrases, e.g. after that, at
the bus stop, until tomorrow, at once.
Increased range of fixed expressions and collocations
including phrasal verbs, e.g.
• see you later, do me a favour (fixed
expressions)
• give advice (collocation)
• look after, look for (phrasal verbs).
Ability to recognise
exaggeration, e.g. I stood
at the bus stop for hours.
8
Lexis overviews
Entry 3
Word formation
Range
Register
Greater awareness of
range of prefixes and
suffixes, e.g. disappear
(prefix), happiness
(suffix).
Increasing range of lexis
for both concrete and
abstract concepts, e.g.
adjectives for personal
qualities generous, shy,
talkative.
Increasing awareness of
register, e.g.
formal/informal lexis and
ability to choose the most
appropriate lexis for the
context, e.g.
That cost five quid?
The value of the pound is
dropping.
Growing awareness of
word families, e.g.
politics, politician,
political.
Growing confidence in
dealing with unfamiliar
contexts, e.g. reading a
job description for a new
area of work.
Increasing awareness of
connotation, e.g. a gang of
teenagers / a group of
teenagers.
Words together
Non-literal use
Increasing range of fixed expressions and
collocations including adjective + preposition
combinations, e.g.
• round about, I’m afraid… (fixed
expressions)
• crime rates, bread and butter (collocations)
• interested in, pleased with (adjective +
preposition).
Growing awareness of
idiomatic language, including
exaggeration, e.g. Have a go.
This work is driving me crazy.
Growing ability to recognise
systematic metaphors, e.g.
time seen as money - spend
time, invest time, waste time.
Awareness of fixed and semi-fixed expression
used for giving emphasis, e.g.
What I want to know/do/say is…
The (main/most important) thing is…
9
Lexis overviews
Level 1
Word formation
Range
Register
Growing ability to
recognise word class
from suffix, such as
words ending in ness and
tion are likely to be
nouns, words ending in
tional and ous are likely
to be adjectives e.g.
• kindness, information
(nouns)
• emotional, dangerous
(adjectives).
Increasing range of lexis and
contexts, e.g.
• increasing knowledge of,
and ability to select
between, words with
apparently similar meanings
such as hit, punch, smack
• lexis for more specialist
topics such as
environmental issues, local
government
• a range of conjunctions with
different functions such as
whereas, therefore, since,
although
• a wide range of adverbials
such as possibly, definitely.
Growing ability to
select between
apparent synonyms
according to
context and
whether spoken or
written, e.g.
choosing between
work, job,
employment when
writing a letter.
Using understanding of
word families to increase
range, e.g. instruct,
instruction, instructional.
Increasing ability to
notice biased
language, e.g. he
admitted being a
communist.
Words together
Non-literal use
Increasing ability to select
appropriate adjectives to collocate
with nouns, e.g.
heavy rain, strong wind, (i.e. not
strong rain).
Increasing ability to recognise exaggeration and
understatement, e.g. I’ve got millions of emails
to answer.
Using a range of fixed and semifixed expressions for giving
emphasis, e.g.
What I want to know/do/say is…
The (main/most important) thing
is…
Increasing ability to recognise metaphorical
language, especially systematic metaphors, e.g.
• Up meaning good, healthy or happy She’s at the top of her game. He’s in very
high spirits.
• Down meaning bad, unhealthy or sad He hit rock bottom. She’s come down
with flu. He’s a bit low at the moment.
10
Lexis overviews
Level 2
Word
formation
Increased
confidence and
creativity in using
affixation to
predict root,
meaning and
use, e.g. identify
the root noun in
expectation as
expect.
Recognising and
using greater
range of word
families including
irregular groups
such as anger,
angered, angrily.
Range
Register
Growing confidence in dealing with
lexis in contexts which are less
familiar.
Greater appreciation of
difference in meaning,
connotation and use of
apparent synonyms
and antonyms, e.g.
• careful, thrifty,
mean, stingy
• interesting,
shocking,
scandalous.
Greater ability to use more specific
lexis and technical vocabulary for
useful contexts e.g. trees - oak,
sycamore, ash.
Increasing knowledge of, and ability
to select between, words with
apparently similar meanings,
including the ability to avoid
repetition by substitution, e.g. lack
of/shortage of.
Increasing ability to recognise, and
use irony, exaggeration and
understatement, e.g.
• Are you fed up? Just a bit…
• She’s not exactly young.
Range of lexis that learners
understand (receptive) usually
exceeds what they can use
(productive).
Consistency in lexical
choices with regard to
register and ability to
switch register as
appropriate, such as
mixing social and
business registers, e.g.
Hi Tom! I’d like to
introduce you to...
Use of discourse
markers, e.g. As I was
saying…
Words together
Non-literal use
Ability to use a wide range
of collocations, fixed and
semi-fixed expressions
fluently and flexibly.
Increasing ability to use metaphorical language,
especially systematic metaphors, e.g.
• Anger as heat - she was boiling with rage, she
exploded
• Life as a journey- he took a wrong turn, he lost
his way.
Ability to recognise cliché,
e.g. At the end of the day…
The bottom line is…
11