Just Run with It: The Nature of Lexis

Through a literature review and corpus investigation, the researcher highlights the polysemous nature of lexis, and argue the necessity of context in language learning and teaching to illustrate the range of uses, especially in an English as a Foreign Language setting such as South Korea, to enable language learners to conceptualize learning for effective and appropriate language use. First, through a literature review on the nature of lexis, polysemy in lexis is clarified as shown through contextualized usage, that is the role of context in language learning. Then, this is detailed through a corpus investigation of the word run to illustrate just how polysemous a lexical unit, even a simple one like run may be, and that meaning depends on the context of use, and that isolating units for teaching and learning purposes can only lead to confusion among students. In short, the researcher advocates for a shift from decontextualized language learning to contextualized language learning based on authentic use with a focus on polysemy.