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On L2 English Learners’ Formulaic Language Use and Spoken English Fluency

  • Junlei Xuan

    Junlei XUAN, PhD, is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Xinyang Normal University. His major research interests include formulaic language and spoken fluency development.

    , Huifang Yang

    Huifang YANG is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Xinyang Normal University. Her major research interests include Chinese formulaic language and English education.

    and Jaewoo Shim

    Jaewoo SHIM, PhD, is a professor at the Department of English Education, Chonbuk National University. His major research interests include English education and statistics.

Published/Copyright: December 9, 2021
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Abstract

This study explored the distribution of three types of English formulaic language, which involves four categories in L1 Chinese L2 English learners’ speaking performance. In addition, it investigated the relationship between the English learners’ use of formulaic language and their spoken English fluency. A CCA (canonical correlation analysis) was conducted to examine the correlations between two sets of fluency variables (dependent variables) and linguistic variables of English formulaic language use (independent variables). The fluency variable set consists of: (1) temporal indices such as SR (speech rate), AR (articulation rate), MLR (mean length of run), and PTR (phonation time ratio); (2) linguistic variables of English formulaic language like F2R (two-word formulaic sequences/run ratio, B3R (three-word lexical bundles/run ratio), and B4R (four-word lexical bundles/run ratio). These are calculated according to the frequency of the English formulaic language in the speech samples of the participants (n = 86) across three academic levels. The results indicate that the learners’ spoken English fluency is highly related to their use of English formulaic language. Its limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

About the authors

Junlei Xuan

Junlei XUAN, PhD, is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Xinyang Normal University. His major research interests include formulaic language and spoken fluency development.

Huifang Yang

Huifang YANG is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Xinyang Normal University. Her major research interests include Chinese formulaic language and English education.

Jaewoo Shim

Jaewoo SHIM, PhD, is a professor at the Department of English Education, Chonbuk National University. His major research interests include English education and statistics.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NanHu Scholars’ Project for Young Scholars of XYNU.

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Published Online: 2021-12-09
Published in Print: 2021-12-20

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