The Influence Of Planning Condition And Topic Familiarity On The Use Of Formulaic Sequences In Oral Speech By Chinese Learners

Recent years have seen a considerable amount of research into formulaic sequences which has posited an important role in second language acquisition. The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of different planning conditions as well as the degree of task topic familiarity on the quality and quantity of formulaic sequences, in the hope of exploring the factors that may promote or hinder the retrieval of sequences on the one hand, and presenting a comprehensive picture of Chinese EFL learners'use of formulaic sequences in oral speech on the other.An experiment was carried out. Fifty one second-year non-English majors were randomly assigned to three experimental groups to deliver two 3-minute-long speeches on two topics, one of which was fairly familiar while the other much less familiar. The lengths of pre-task planning time for these three groups were 0 minute,5 minutes and 10 minutes respectively. A pretest was administered a month before the present study to ensure the proficiency levels of these participants were similar. Analysis of the data yielded the findings as follows:1. An opportunity for pre-task planning had positive impact over the fluency, variety, and accuracy of formulaic sequences in oral speech. The planners deployed a greater number of and a wider range of formulaic sequences than the non-planners. Moreover, the percentage of error-free formulaic sequences was higher.2. Different amounts of planning time exerted different influence on formulaic sequences in terms of fluency, variety, and accuracy. A significant improvement in the fluency and variety of formulaic sequences could only occur with as much as 10 minutes. With regards to accuracy, no significant difference was found across the three planning conditions.3. The degree of topic familiarity greatly affected Chinese EFL learners'formulaic sequence use in oral speech. The more familiar the topic of the task was, the more formulaic sequences the learners might employ in speech. In addition, benefits of variety and accuracy of formulaic sequences were gained from performing a familiar task. The influence of topic familiarity on FS fluency and variety, however, was greater than that on FS accuracy.The present study has enriched the research on the impact of planning conditions on language fluency, complexity, and accuracy, lending support to the argument that human beings possess limited attentional resources and cannot attend to all three aspects at the same time. Results obtained indicate that Chinese EFL learners do experience difficulties producing correct formulaic sequences and tend to pay attention to the aspects of fluency and variety when planning is allowed, positing an important task for teacher of English to properly channel learners'attention to formulaic sequence accuracy during classroom instruction. In addition, teachers can set different teaching objectives at different stages and accordingly adjust the pre-planning time to achieve the teaching goal.