| Formulaic language, which is a widespread linguistic phenomenon in the process of language acquisition, consists of fixed combinations of words that have a range of functions and uses in speech production and communication. It appears to be cognitively stored and retrieved by speakers as single word and lessens the cognitive load in language processing. Formulaic language can facilitate language proficiency by enabling faster utterances, making pauses shorter and less frequent, allowing longer runs of speech between pauses and reducing the errors occurred inside the formulaic language. The present study was designed to test the effectiveness of increasing awareness to formulaic language in the development of speech proficiency in spontaneous oral production of English as a second language.Two parallel groups of 60 second-year English majors participated in the study, which lasted for one academic semester, four months. Formulae-noticing, a methodology of language teaching and learning that encourages the noticing of formulaic language and directs the students' attention to the formulaic language, was adopted in the instruction of experimental group. Two oral tests were conducted before and after the experiment to check the effect of formulae-noticing. Recordings of the oral productions by ESL learners were analyzed for ways in which use of formulaic language may have facilitated fluency growth over a four-month period. According to the data analysis, in the post-test, the subjects in experimental group generally performed better than those in the controlled group by showing more improvement in speech fluency and accuracy. They spoke faster, produced less and shorter pauses and longer speech runs, and made less errors, which confirms that mastery of formulaic language can facilitate foreign language learning and that formulae-noticing is an effective teaching methodology and learning strategy.
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