Frequency Effects On The Use Of Formulaic Sequences In L2 Integrated Writing

In recent years,frequency regained its popularity with the development of Connectionism,Emergentism,Examplar theory.These usage-based theories place frequency at a central position in the process of language learning.Studies have investigated the role of frequency in listening,speaking,reading,writing etc.However,few studies concern frequency effects on the acquisition and use of formulaic sequences.This thesis explores the effects of frequency on the use of formulaic sequences in L2 integrated writing of learners at different proficiency levels.The use of formulaic sequences was measured in number,accuracy and error types.Participants were 27 English majors and 25 non-English majors,viewed as the high-achievers and low achievers.They were required to finish an L2 integrated writing task:writing after reading source texts with opposing viewpoints.The same task was performed three times in three consecutive weeks.Formulaic sequences were extracted manually and classified into different categories.From the functional perspective,they were categorized into textual,interpersonal and ideational sequences,with ideational sequences being further divided into verbal,nominal,prepositional,adjectival,adverbial and clausal sequences.From another perspective,they were distinguished as prompt formulaic sequences(those borrowed from writing prompt)and non-prompt ones(those not found in writing prompt).Besides,erroneous formulaic sequences were classified into internal errors(constituent parts)and external errors(context of use).Internal errors consist of grammatical and collocational errors,each with several subtypes.Data analysis yielded the following findings:First,frequency had a significant effect on the number and accuracy of formulaic sequences used by the students.The number of ideational sequences increased greatly,with two subcategories,namely,verbal and nominal taking the lead.Non-prompt formulaic sequences gained significant increase in number and accuracy,while prompt formulaic sequences did not make much progress.In addition,errors reduced greatly as frequency increased.Prepositional and article errors caused big difficulty for learners and improved slowly.Furthermore,the decrease of collocational errors related to students’ avoidance of use.Second,frequency had different effects on the use of formulaic sequences by high achievers and low achievers.The number of formulaic sequences,especially non-prompt ones,used by high achievers rose significantly as frequency increased;while low achievers did not use much more.The number of ideational sequences,especially verbal and nominal,used by high achievers increased significantly.For low achievers,only nominal sequences displayed significant increase.Moreover,frequency significantly affected low achievers’accuracy,especially for non-prompt sequences,but not on high achievers’,Besides,the errors committed by high achievers did not reduce much,while low achievers eliminated lots of errors of different types.Nevertheless,this reduce was mainly due to their avoidance of use.This study has both theoretical and pedagogical implications.Theoretically,it verifies the positive role of frequency in the use of formulaic sequences and demonstrates its different effects on learners at different proficiency levels.Pedagogically,it indicates that frequency can be an effective way to improve students’use of formulaic sequences,and pedagogical intervention and teacher feedback may be conductive.