The Effects Of Formula Size, Formula Judgment And Formula Processing On L2Learners’ Oral Proficiency

Previous research indicated that formulaic sequences play an essential role inpromoting L2learners’ speaking proficiency. However, most previous studies onlyinvestigated the effects of one or two formulaic factors on L2learners’ Englishproficiency, such as learners’ output of formulaic sequences, formula processing, etc.,with interaction effects largely ignored. Meanwhile, little research has been carriedout on how various formulaic factors affected L2learners’ oral proficiency.Therefore, the present study is conducted to explore the effects of different formulaicfactors (i.e., formula size, formula judgment and formula processing) on L2learners’oral proficiency. Specifically, it addresses the following research questions:1. Are there any main effects of formulaic multi-factors on L2learners’ oralproficiency?1.1Is there any main effect of formula size on L2learners’ oral proficiency?1.2Is there any main effect of formula judgment on L2learners’ oralproficiency?1.3Is there any main effect of formula processing on L2learners’ oralproficiency?2. Are there any interaction effects among the multi-factors on L2learners’ oralproficiency?2.1Is there any interaction effect between formula size and formula judgmenton L2learners’ oral proficiency?2.2Is there any interaction effect between formula size and formula processingon L2learners’ oral proficiency?2.3Is there any interaction effect between formula judgment and formulaprocessing on L2learners’ oral proficiency?2.4Is there any interaction effect among formula size, formula judgment, andformula processing on L2learners’ oral proficiency?The subjects were96first-year non-English majors from four intact classes at a university in Nanjing. The present study is a2(formula size)×2(formula judgment)×2(formula processing) factorial design. Formula size, measured by the subjects’score of an English formula size test, was divided into large-and small-formula sizegroup. The test material was borrowed from a previous study, which is made up oftwo parts, namely, the productive formula size test and the receptive formula size test.The productive formula size test included20phrase completions, and the receptiveformula size test consisted of20phrase multiple-choices. Formula judgment andformula processing were measured by using E-prime. Formula judgment fell intotwo categories: high formula judgment and low formula judgment. Formulaprocessing also fell into two categories: fast formula processing and slow formulaprocessing. The oral proficiency was measured by three tasks in the speaking sectionof Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).Formula size was a between-subjects variable, while formula judgment andformula processing were within-subjects variables. A mixed ANOVA was conductedand the major findings were displayed as follows:1. Formula size did not have any main effect on L2learners’ oral proficiency(F=.537, p>.05), while both formula judgment and formula processing had maineffects on L2learners’ oral proficiency (formula judgment: F=14.287, p<.05;formula processing: F=9.993, p<.05). Formula judgment had a large effect size, withexplanatory power being0.140, while formulaic processing had a medium effect sizewith explanatory power being0.102.2. There was no interaction effect between formula size and formula judgment(F=0.088, p>.05). However, there were interaction effects between formula size andformula processing, and between formula judgment and formula processing onlearners’ oral proficiency.(1) There was a significant interaction effect between formula size and formulaprocessing on L2learners’ oral proficiency with small effect size (F=4.064, p<.05,η2=.044). In both groups with small and large formula size, the mean differences inL2oral proficiency between slow formula processing group and fast formulaprocessing group were both statistically significant (p<.05). In addition, in both slow and fast formula processing, the means in L2oral proficiency between smalland large formula size groups were also significantly different (p<.05).(2) There was a significant interaction effect between formula judgment andformula processing with medium effect size (F=5.446, p<.05, η2=0.058). In bothlow and high formula judgment groups, the means in L2oral proficiency betweenslow and fast formula processing groups were significantly different (p<.05).Similarly, in both slow and fast formula processing groups, the means in L2oralproficiency between both low and high formula judgment groups were significantlydifferent (p<.05).3. There were significant interaction effects among formula size, formulajudgment and formula processing on L2learners’ oral proficiency with small effectsize (F=4.276, p<.05, η2=0.046).The present study has important theoretical, methodological and pedagogicalimplications. Theoretically, the results of the present study lend support to inputprocessing theory and the holistic hypothesis. Methodologically, the present researchadopts a mixed ANOVA approach, and effect size is applied to describe theexplanatory power of factors. The study not only explores the main effects of threevariables, but also investigates the interaction effects among them on learners’ oralEnglish proficiency. Pedagogically, it can help English teachers to guide L2learnersto pay attention to formulaic sequences in improving L2oral proficiency. In addition,it stimulates L2learners to obtain more formulaic sequences that are frequently usedby native speakers so as to enable them to speak native-like English.