| Formulaic sequence,a fixed or semi-fixed multi-word phrase,recently has received increasing attention from researchers.It is generally accepted that formulaic sequences can enhance language fluency.However,the underlying mechanism is still unclear.It is hypothesized that formulaic sequences are stored and processed holistically which involves no syntactic analysis and thus saves a lot of processing effort and time.One of the major purposes of the study is to test this hypothesis.In addition,this study investigates the effect of phrasal frequency and language proficiency on mental processing and representation of language.Although there are many types of formulaic sequences,such as idioms,lexical bundles,collocations and binominal phrases,this study only focuses on collocations due to the lack of the relevant studies.In this study,a psychological experiment was conducted,in which three groups of participants(41 in total among which there are 12 NSs,15 advanced learners and 14 intermediate learners)are required to judge whether the verb-noun word combination presented on the computer screen is acceptable or not.If the answer is "yes",then press the "yes" button;otherwise,press the "no" button.At the same time,the reaction time as well as the response will be recorded by the computer.The result shows that collocations are processed more quickly than free combinations for NSs(Native Speakers)and advanced learners.This indicates that formulaic sequences take a processing advantage over non-formulaic sequences at least for NSs and advanced learners,which supports the holistic processing hypothesis of formulaic sequences.Secondly,it is found that phrasal frequency has a remarkable influence on mental processing and representation of language.High frequency collocations are processed more quickly and accurately than low frequency collocations,which suggests that frequent use of collocations can facilitate the development of holistic mental processing and representation.Thirdly,it is shown that NSs process language more quickly than NNSs(both advanced learners and intermediate learners),but no difference is found between advanced learners and intermediate learners.It suggests that NSs adopt holistic mental processing and representation way more than NNSs and that it is difficult for L2 learners to develop holistic mental processing and representation.The findings indicate that it is very important to learn and use formulaic sequences to enhance language fluency and idiomaticity.Teachers should raise the learner’s awareness of the importance of formulaic sequences and instruct students to learn and use formulaic sequences effectively. |
