A Little Bit About: Differences in Native and Non-native Speakers’ Use of Formulaic Language

Abstract

This paper examines the use of a type of formulaic expression, called ‘lexical bundles’, in classroom discussions among English native and Malaysian non-native speakers. Lexical bundles are frequently used in academic discourse, and contribute to the production of coherence in speech and written language, as well as playing a central role in the comprehension of academic speech. Previous research has shown that L2 speakers often show a capacity to approximate native-like efficiency by using lexical bundles in their speech and writing. However, it has not been analysed as to what degree L2 speakers follow native expressions or rather use their own variations or versions of formulaic expressions. In order to investigate this gap, the most frequent four-word lexical bundles were identified and analysed in two different corpora of classroom discussions by native and non-native speakers, and compared in terms of discourse function. The findings show that native speakers used more lexical bundles than their non-native counterparts did. Native speakers also used more discourse organizing bundles, while non-native speakers more frequently used lexical bundles as stance expressions. These findings are discussed in terms of the pedagogical implications of exposing L2 speakers to a wider variety of lexical bundles, and the discourse functions inherent in their use.