The Effects Of Formulaic Language On Senior High School Students' English Writing Quality

Linguists have found that "language consists not of traditional grammar and vocabulary but often of multi-word prefabricated chunks" (Lewis,1993). Formulaic languages (there are more than forty different terms for this concept) are ready-made memorized combinations in the language. They are form/function composites. Once acquired and stored in the human brain, they are easily retrievable and accessible. In addition, they are context-bound and occur frequently, which makes formulaic languages highly memorable for language learners. "Language production is not a syntactic rule-governed process but is instead the retrieval of larger phrasal units from memory" (Zimmerman,1997). Language learners cannot achieve proficiency until they have had enough formulaic languages in their mental lexis. Lewis (1993) puts forward that language is grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalized grammar and he focuses on developing learners' proficiency with lexical chunks.In recent years, linguists and foreign language teachers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of formulaic language in language learning and teaching, especially in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language acquisition (FLA). Many linguists, such as Becker, Payley& Syder, Nattinger& DeCarrico, Willis and Lewis, have made intensive studies on formulaic language. Nevertheless, most of the studies still rest on theoretical discussions. Some empirical studies, which have been done with the SLA of either adults or children, are concerned with oral or writing ability development. In China, though there are a few empirical studies on formulaic language, they are conducted with either English or non-English majors. Previous research proves that the application of formulaic language in SLA exercise positive influence on learners' L2 development.This thesis holds that the application of formulaic language could raise senior high school students'capability in English writing. To verify this proposition, following research questions are advanced:(1) Can memorizing and employing formulaic language in writing exert any influence on the quality of English writing by Chinese senior high school students?(2) If yes, what are the possible influences?The present paper sets out to investigate the effects of training of formulaic language on the quality of senior high school students'writing by quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative approach focuses upon the relationship between the application of formulaic language and the quality of students'writing and upon three major variables:the amount of formulaic language, writing accuracy and writing fluency, while the qualitative approach explores how students memorize and employ formulaic languages in their English writing.The study in the thesis involves 109 senior high school students from two natural classes of Grade 2012 in Wusheng Middle School, Sichuan Province. The two classes are designated as one Experimental Group and one Control Group at random. During the fifteen weeks, the Control Group is instructed with common teaching method, while the Experimental Group is trained with the training of noticing and memorizing of formulaic language. In quantitative analysis, the data from the Independent Samples Test of the compositions written by all the subjects of the two groups are collected. The formulaic language used in their compositions suggests that formulaic language improves the writing proficiency of the Experiment Group effectively. Pearson correlation coefficient shows further that the employment of formulaic languages has positive correlation with the subjects'composition scores.Major findings are advanced in two points. Firstly, the training of formulaic language is feasible and effective, which contributes to fluency and accuracy in the students'writing. Secondly, learning and employing formulaic language is a significant and effective strategy for the students in improving their English writing quality. However, learning and memorizing formulaic language alone does not resolve the complex problems they encounter in writing. The full development of English proficiency demands the employment of various strategies, and the strategy of memorizing and employing formulaic language is only one of them.These research findings may help senior high school teachers and students master the structure of English formulaic languages better. Therefore, it is possible for them to try some alternative teaching methodologies in English teaching and learning.This thesis consists of six parts. Chapter One serves as an introduction to the study, which describes the background, purpose and significance of the study. Chapter Two reviews the theoretical and empirical research literature relevant to formulaic language, and introduces some theoretical basis to guide the study. Chapter Three is a brief account of the methodology of this thesis, including hypotheses and research questions, subjects and instruments and procedure of the research. Chapter Four is about data collection. As the body part of this thesis, Chapter Five analyzes and discusses about the research findings. Chapter Six not only concludes the paper, but also comes ups with pedagogical suggestions for English teaching and learning which are proposed based on the research findings. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future study are also pointed out.