Use of Formulaic Sequences in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students’ Expository Writings

Articles in Press
Authors
S. Shirkhani 1
S. Omidi 2
1 English Department, Khorramabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khorramabad, Iran
2 English Department, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Formulaic sequences (FSs) have a significant role in second language learners’ fluency. Thus, this study compared the distributions of FS types and FS codes in undergraduate and postgraduate students’ writings. A hundred expository compositions written by 50 undergraduate and 50 postgraduate students majoring in teaching English as a foreign language were coded for the FS types and FS codes and the coded data were analyzed. Regarding the FS types used by undergraduate students, the results indicated that the highest frequency belonged to collocations and the lowest to idioms. With regard to FS codes, the results showed that undergraduates’ use of grammatical collocations was significantly higher than that of lexical collocations while there was no significant difference in their use of the three lexical bundle codes nor in their use of compound codes. Concerning the distribution of FS types in postgraduate students’ writings, the most commonly used FSs were collocations while idioms were not used at all. As with FS codes, no significant difference was found in the postgraduates’ use of collocation codes and lexical bundle codes. However, they used open forms significantly less than closed and hyphenated forms. Regarding the comparison of undergraduate and postgraduate students, it was revealed that within the FS types, both groups used collocations with similar frequencies, but they differed in their use of other FS types. Idioms were more used by undergraduates whereas lexical bundles and compounds were more employed by postgraduate than undergraduate students. The study presents implications for language teachers and learners.

Keywords

Subjects

Bagheri, M. S., & Fazel, I. (2010). Effects of etymological elaboration on the EFL learners' comprehension and retention of idioms. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 45-55.‏
Benson, M., Benson, E., & Ilson, R. (2010). The BBI combinatory dictionary of English: Word combinations and phrases. John Benjamins Publishing.
Bruening, B. (2020). Idioms, collocations, and structure: Syntactic constraints on conventionalized expressions. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 38, 365-424.‏
Casal, J. E., & Yoon, J. (2023). Frame-based formulaic features in L2 writing pedagogy: Variants, functions, and student writer perceptions in academic writing. English for Specific Purposes, 71, 102-114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2023.03.004
Duan, S., & Shi, Z. (2021). A longitudinal study of formulaic sequence use in second language writing: Complex dynamic systems perspective. Language Teaching Research, 13621688211002942.‏ https://dx.doi.org/ 10.1177/13621688211002942
Dwivedi, V., & Ghosh, S. (2023). Semantic relations classification in Hindi compound nouns using embeddings. International Journal of Information Technology, 15(6), 2969-2974.‏
Ebrahimi, F., Namaziandost, E., Ziafar, M., & Ibna Seraj, P. M. (2021). The effect of teaching formulaic expressions through contrastive lexical approach on Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners' writing skill. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 50, 1087-1105. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10936-021-09778-z
Eidian, F., Gorjian, B., & Aghvami, F. (2013). The impact of lexical collocation instruction on developing writing skills among Iranian EFL learners. International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 4(3), 273-283.
Ellis, N. C. (2003). Constructions, chunking, and connectionism: The emergence of second language structure. The handbook of second language acquisition, 63-103. https://dx.doi.org/ 10.1002/9780470756492.ch4.‏
Ellis, N. C. (2012). Formulaic language and second language acquisition: Zipf and the phrasal teddy bear. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 32, 17-44. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0267190512000025
Erman, B., & Warren, B. (2000). The idiom principle and the open choice principle. Text, 20, 29-62. https://dx.doi.org/10.1515/text.1.2000.20.1.29
Esfandiari, R., & Barbary, F. (2017). A contrastive corpus-driven study of lexical bundles between English writers and Persian writers in psychology research articles. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 29, 21-42. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.09.002
Fan, K., & Wang, H. (2024). The productive processing of formulaic sequences by second language learners in writing. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1281926.‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1281926
Gholami, L. (2022). Incidental corrective feedback provision for formulaic vs. non-formulaic errors: EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices. Language Awareness, 31(1), 21-52. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.1943421
Hyland, K. (2005). Stance and engagement: A model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(2), 173-192. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365
Kaya, F. B., & Yilmaz, M. Y. (2018). The Frequency of using idioms in writing for the students learning Turkish as a foreign language. Educational Research and Reviews, 13(16), 602-608. https://dx.doi.org/10.5897/ERR2018.3585.‏
Le-Thi, D., Rodgers, M. P., & Pellicer-Sánchez, A. (2017). Teaching formulaic sequences in an English-language class: The effects of explicit instruction versus coursebook instruction. TESL Canada Journal, 34(3), 111-139. https://dx.doi.org/10.18806/tesl. v34i3.1276
Lewis, M. (2008). The idiom principle in L2 English: Assessing elusive formulaic sequences as indicators of idiomaticity, fluency, and proficiency (Doctoral dissertation, Engelska institutionen).‏
Liou, H. C., & Chen, W. F. (2018). Effects of explicit instruction on learning academic formulaic sequences for EFL college learners' writing. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 15(1), 61-100.‏ http://www.tjtesol.org/index.php/
Ma, R. (2020). Frequency effect of formulaic sequences on CAF in academic writing: Examples from L2 master’s theses. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 43(4), 489-505.‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2020-0032
Nattinger, J. R., & De Carrico, J. S. (1992). Lexical phrases and language teaching. Oxford University Press.
O’Connor, C., & Joffe, H. (2020). Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: Debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1609406919899220
O'Donnell, M. B., Römer, U., & Ellis, N. C. (2013). The development of formulaic sequences in first and second language writing: Investigating effects of frequency, association, and native norm. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 18(1), 83-108.‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.18.1.07odo
Ohlrogge, A. (2009). Formulaic expressions in intermediate EFL writing assessment. Formulaic language, 2, 375-38. https://dx.doi.org/10.1075/tsl.83.07ohl 6‏
Pellicer-Sánchez, A., & Boers, F. (2018). Pedagogical approaches to the teaching and learning of formulaic language. Understanding formulaic language, 153-173.‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315206615-9
Peloquin, B. N., Goodman, N. D., & Frank, M. C. (2020). The interactions of rational, pragmatic agents lead to efficient language structure and use. Topics in Cognitive Science, 12(1), 433-445. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tops.12489
‏Qin, J. (2014). Use of formulaic bundles by non-native English graduate writers and published authors in applied linguistics. System, 42, 220-231.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.12.003
Rafieyan, V. (2018). Role of knowledge of formulaic sequences in language proficiency: Significance and ideal method of instruction. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 3(1), 1-23.‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40862-018-0050-6
Russell, T. S. (2017). Finding the formula: Formulaic language use in Hong Kong primary school English textbooks (Doctoral dissertation, University of Birmingham).
‏Staples, S., Egbert, J., Biber, D., & McClair, A. (2013). Formulaic sequences and EAP writing development: Lexical bundles in the TOEFL IBT writing section. Journal of English for academic purposes, 12(3), 214-225. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.05.002
Umair, H. M., Imran, M., & Sarwat, S. (2023). An analysis of the use of collocations in English essay writing at undergraduate level. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review, 7(1), 43-54.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.47205/plhr.2023 (7-I) 05
Vilkaitė, L., & Schmitt, N. (2019). Reading collocations in an L2: Do collocation processing benefits extend to non-adjacent collocations? Applied Linguistics, 40(2), 329-354.‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/amx030
Wang, Y. (2018). As Hill seems to suggest: Variability in formulaic sequences with interpersonal functions in L1 novice and expert academic writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 33, 12-23. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2018.01.003‏
Wood, D. (2007). Mastering the English formula: Fluency development of Japanese learners in a study abroad context. JALT journal, 29(2), 209. https://dx.doi.org/10.37546/jaltjj29.2-3
Wood, D. (2010). Formulaic language and second language speech fluency: Background, evidence and classroom applications. A&C Black. https://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474212069
Wood, D. (2019). Classifying and identifying formulaic language. In S. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies (pp. 30-45). Routledge.‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780429291586
Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic language and the lexicon. Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511519772
Zhang, L., Zhang, L. J., & Xu, T. S. (2023). Effects of teacher explicit instruction in stance-taking on students’ perceptions of stance and on their academic writing beliefs. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1140050. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1140050
Zinkgraf, M., & Verdú, M. A. (2021). Dictogloss steals the show? Productive use of formulaic sequences by advanced learners. Lexis. Journal in English Lexicology, (18).‏ https://dx.doi.org/10.4000/lexis.6079
Zimmerer, V. C., Wibrow, M., & Varley, R. A. (2016). Formulaic language in people with probable Alzheimer’s disease: A frequency-based approach. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 53(3), 1145-1160. https://dx.doi.org/10.3233/jad-160099
Language Related Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 16 September 2025