In this work we have measured the electronic stopping powers of 4 He and 7 Li ions for channeling and random directions in Si as a function of the incident ion energy. The channeling (͗100͘ for Li, ͗110͘ and ͗111͘for Li and He͒ and the random ͑Li only͒ measurements cover a wide energy range between 200 keV and 9 MeV. The Rutherford backscattering technique together with different multilayer targets has been employed in the present experiments. The results are compared to calculations carried out in the framework of the unitary convolution approximation, which takes into account the impact-parameter-dependent energy loss for each projectile charge state, with further refinements including screening effects in close collisions between the electrons of the target and the screened projectile.