A Longitudinal Case Study On The Acquisition Of Lexical Phrases In English Writing

Lexical phrases are both numerous and functionally important in written texts. Despite this, L2 learners often find their use problematic, typically overusing a limited number of well-known phrases, while at the same time lacking a diverse enough phrasal repertoire to employ lexical phrases in a native-like manner. While a number of studies have described learners'usage of lexical phrases, very few have explored how these phrases are acquired.This research reports on a longitudinal case study which followed a college student over the course of an academic year. All of his written assignments (14 essays) were analyzed for lexical phrase use, and he was interviewed after each assignment was submitted.The results show that the participant learned 103 new lexical phrases during his studies, and that he improved in his degree of appropriate usage. He also gained confidence in using the phrases. The participant successfully drew upon both explicit and implicit sources for this improvement, particularly benefiting from in-class learning and reading. However, he also tended to rely too heavily on a limited range of phrases, sometimes to the point where judges considered the usage non-nativelike. The research discusses the relevance of these findings for current knowledge of L2 writing.It is hoped that the present study will provide some insightful information for English teaching in college, especially the teaching of composition writing.