A Dynamic Systems Theory Approach To The Development Of Formulaic Sequences In L2 Writing

By no means peripheral but ubiquitous in native and native-like language use,formulaic sequences(FSs)have drawn extensive attention in the field of second language acquisition(SLA).Existing studies have noted that advanced and fluent L2 writing is often characterized by appropriate and frequent use of various FSs.However,the majority of these studies have been cross-sectional,failing to track the longitudinal development of FSs in L2 written production.With their emphasis often laid on the description of frequency,a panoramic view of FS use is rarely presented.Very few of them has paid attention to the potential interactions between different aspects of FSs.Thus,the present study,drawing on the analytical framework proposed by Huang and Zhou(2016a),attempts to explore the development and interplay of fluency,accuracy and complexity of FSs in the context of L2 written production from the perspective of Dynamic Systems Theory(DST).Research subjects in this study are 15 third-year English majors from a comprehensive university in Jiangsu Province.They were assigned an argumentative writing task about every five weeks and a total of six over one academic year.After the manual extraction,error identification and structural classification of FSs in their compositions,a set of DST techniques,including poly-nominal trendline,moving min-max graph,and moving correlation,was used to analyze both developmental and interactional features.The major findings are as follows:(1)In terms of the development of fluency,accuracy and complexity of FSs used by the whole group,the results show that none of the three dimensions of FSs develop linearly over the academic year.Among the three dimensions,FS complexity may approach an "attractor state" at its later stage of development.Further analysis of phrasal and clausal FSs illustrates that there is a greater reliance on clausal than phrasal FSs on the group level.Possibly for this reason,the three trajectories of clausal FSs are more similar to those of the overall FSs.(2)Individual trajectories of fluency,accuracy and complexity of FSs also feature non-linearity.Inter-individual variability exists as each individual has their own distinctive developmental paths.Individuals relied more on clausal than phrasal FSs in their essay writing as well,which may explain why their developmental paths of clausal FSs in terms of the three dimensions bear more similarity to those of the overall FSs during the examined period.(3)Interactions exist between fluency,accuracy and complexity of FSs.On the group level,the relationship between fluency and complexity is supportive throughout the whole process,while the relationship between the other two pairs is asymmetric.Closer examination shows that the kinds of relationship between the three dimensions of clausal FSs correspond to what has been found between those of the overall FSs,whereas different kinds of relationship appear in the case of phrasal FSs.On the individual level,the relationships between the three dimensions of FSs are mostly asymmetric.Additional analysis of phrasal and clausal FSs used by individuals reveals that an asymmetric relationship still holds for most of the pairs.Based on the above findings,the study has some important implications.Theoretically,by focusing on FSs,it lends support to the DST viewpoint that second language development(SLD)is characterized by dynamism and non-linearity.Methodologically,researchers are advised to employ DST approach to present the developmental features of FSs and the potential interactions between different aspects of FSs.Pedagogically,it helps to inform language teachers of making focused attempts to improve their instruction on FSs so that learners’ use of FSs is more likely to be enhanced.