Effect Of Instructed Formulaic Sequences On Business English Writing Proficiency

Business English writing,as a basic skill to achieve successful business communication,has occupied an indispensable place in business English.However,in Chinese EFL context,the pedagogical instruction in business English writing is still in less than desirable status.To investigate more effective ways to enhance learner's business English writing proficiency,formulaic sequences come into spotlight.In this research,formulaic sequences were introduced as an alternative teaching instruction to improve learners' business English writing proficiency.This research was designed to investigate whether instructed formulaic sequences could help EFL learners enhance their business English writing proficiency.To answer this question,an experiment and an interview were administered.64 students were recruited from two classes,randomly designated as experiment group(EG)under the guidance of formulaic sequences and control group(CG)with the traditional teaching approach.By comparing the number of formulaic sequences and business English writing scores in the pre-test and post-test between EG and CG,students in experiment group have performed much better after the treatment.Besides,a correlation has been conducted to further illustrate that the significant difference of scores in the post-test between EG and CG was caused by increasingly appropriate use of formulaic sequences to a large extent.Through the interview,students also thought highly of formulaic sequences and confirmed their value in business English writing.The results showed that instructed formulaic sequences played a positive role in business English writing,and learners held positive attitudes towards it.