Formulaic Sequences in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

This article is aimed at exploring the characteristics of formulaic sequences, as well as how they are acquired by second language learners. The main focus is on the vital role formulaic sequences are currently playing in English vocabulary use and instruction, namely their prevalence in spoken and written English, and their contribution to learners’ significant L2 fluency development. As regards L2 formulaic sequence acquisition, two major different viewpoints exist. On the one hand, it is believed that vocabulary should be learned as a whole chunk rather than as units segmented from a string of words. Some scholars, on the other, argue that learners tend to learn vocabulary through component word analysis. The final topic to which this paper is devoted concerns formulaic sequence teaching, which evidently depends upon two principal factors: repetition and degree of lexical knowledge.