Formulaic English And Learning English As A Foreign Language:A Teaching Experiment

The research is a teaching experiment with Non-English Majors on formulaic sequences teaching and learning. Experimental data has been obtained with respect to the process, content and efficiency of teaching. The review of literature home and abroad shows that formulaic sequences (FSs) are the universal language phenomenon. The characteristics and function of formulaic language accelerate L1and L2acquisition, especially in achieving native-like selection and native-like fluency. This recognition has led a lot of research in English teaching both in China and abroad. The Lexical Approach by Lewis is most influential in the application of FSs theory in English teaching. In recent years, empirical studies related to FSs have sprung up in China. Many researches focus on the investigation of the characteristics and functions of FSs or the state of the learners’ mastery of FSs. Few researchers have done any systematic research on the teaching and learning process of FSs and how to improve learners’ FSs learning. This teaching experiment attempts to find out some efficient ways to facilitate FSs acquisition, by means of balancing the analytic processing mode and holistic processing mode.After a literature review of previous studies, the author formulates a theoretical framework for the research on formulaic English teaching and, from such aspects as the language form, meaning, function and its psychological representation, defines FSs as follows:Formulaic sequences is continuous or discontinuous sequences with relatively complete form, fixed meaning and pragmatic function; its meaning unit develops in the fixed semantic context, and is stored and retrieved at the time of use, as a whole from memory; and the Chinese meaning-based formulaic sequences recognition criteria is set up. This research integrates Lewis’ Chunk Approach and other researchers’ proposals to FSs teaching, takes into account the tradition of Chinese students learning FSs, and designs the analytic prototype teaching approach, which emphasizes comprehensive input and holistic retrieve and output.The study is conducted with specific teaching process, detailed data collection and analysis methods.116freshmen in Beijing University of Agriculture are the teaching objects:55students from Gardening Major serve as Control Class; and60students from Agricultural Tourism are Experimental Class, and they receive40teaching periods in one semester.The comparison between Experimental Group and Control Group in their output performance proves that:(1) Recognition criteria of FSs based on Chinese common meaning combine Chinese notion and English form directly and maximize the integrity and prefabrication of formulaic sequences, which overcome first language interference and decrease grammar mistakes;(2) The Analytic Prototype Teaching Approach helps students genuinely perceive the meaning and usage of formulaic sequences, and makes them use formulaic sequences flexibly in different Chinese context.In conclusion, the Analytic Prototype Teaching Approach and Chinese meaning based on formulaic sequences recognition relatively balance the analytic processing mode and holistic processing mode, and pragmatically improve students’ mastery level of FSs, making their output performances correct, concise and idiomatic.