Lexical Chunks Research Articles

The relationship between contrastive lexical competence, willingness to communicate, and emotional intelligence: the case of Iranian EFL learners

Significant arguments have been put forward concerning the significance of willingness to communicate (WTC) and emotional intelligence (EI) in language learning and teaching. Owing to the fact that both lexical chunks and translation seem to positively influence EFL learners' emotions by putting them at ease in dealing with psychological challenges, it may be wise to explore the prominence of contrastive lexical competence (CLC) in relation to WTC and EI among EFL learners. This study investigated the presence of possible relationships among CLC, WTC, and EI. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, 90 upper intermediate IELTS students (18 to 45 years old) were selected from two English institutions (Ariana and Amene) in Ahvaz and Khorramshahr respectively on the basis of their QPT scores. Regarding the purpose of this study, statistical Pearson correlation coefficient (r), multiple regression, and partial correlations were applied. The data analysis of the results revealed significant relationships among the three variables. It was also found that EFL learners' CLC scores are more accurately predicted by their EI scores than their WTC scores. The findings of this study may be quite telling to language learners and teachers in that they may better appreciate the crucial role of CLC in their educational practices.

The relationship between contrastive lexical competence, willingness to communicate, and emotional intelligence: the case of Iranian EFL learners

Significant arguments have been put forward concerning the significance of willingness to communicate (WTC) and emotional intelligence (EI) in language learning and teaching. Owing to the fact that both lexical chunks and translation seem to positively influence EFL learners' emotions by putting them at ease in dealing with psychological challenges, it may be wise to explore the prominence of contrastive lexical competence (CLC) in relation to WTC and EI among EFL learners. This study investigated the presence of possible relationships among CLC, WTC, and EI. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, 90 upper intermediate IELTS students (18 to 45 years old) were selected from two English institutions (Ariana and Amene) in Ahvaz and Khorramshahr respectively on the basis of their QPT scores. Regarding the purpose of this study, statistical Pearson correlation coefficient (r), multiple regression, and partial correlations were applied. The data analysis of the results revealed significant relationships among the three variables. It was also found that EFL learners' CLC scores are more accurately predicted by their EI scores than their WTC scores. The findings of this study may be quite telling to language learners and teachers in that they may better appreciate the crucial role of CLC in their educational practices.

The Impact of Lexical Chunks Instruction in Developing Iraqi Students’ Writing Fluency

The aim of the present study is to examine experimentally the influence of using lexical chunks on the achievement of second-year-university students of English in the writing fluency. Lexical chunks, as the composites of form, meaning and function, stored and retrieved as a whole in brain, can release the language processing burden and improve the fluency and idiomaticity of language output. To accomplish this aim, the current study attempts to provide a reply for the following question: does drawing students’ attention to the lexical chunks frequently used in different positions help in better success in EFL descriptive essay writing lessons as contrasting to the presently applied method of teaching? Also two null hypotheses are planned. The first states that there will not be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group in the writing performance pretest. While the second one is that there will not be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group in the descriptive essay writing achievement posttest. The two groups pre-test post-test experimental design was adopted. After four weeks of instruction, the findings show that there is a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test on the side of the experimental group. Accordingly, the main findings authenticated the first hypothesis of the study, but cancelled the second one. The control group gets the mean score 71.89 while the experimental group gets 76.53. This certainly implies that the use of lexical chunks as a language learning strategy gets better in students’ performance in writing fluency.

Appropriation Based -Syllabus and Advanced EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill: The Case of Chunks-on-Card Activities

The impetus for conducting the present study came from Thornbury's (2005) approach to teach speaking in which he claimed that awareness-raising techniques, along with appropriation strategies, facilitate the process of teaching and learning speaking. Therefore, the present study attempted to explore the impact of the appropriation-based syllabus to teach speaking by using chunks-on-card activity. Accordingly, 60 female and male Iranian advanced EFL learners were selected from a private language institute and were assigned to four groups. The four groups were male experimental and control groups as well as female experimental and control groups. To examine the effect of the treatment, the participants were pre- and post-tested on speaking skill. They took part in 14 treatment sessions in which the experimental group practiced the chunks-on-card method through drilling while the control group practiced the conventional approach. The results of one-way ANOVA revealed significant differences among the posttest scores of the four groups. According to the findings, the mean score for male learners in the experimental group differed significantly from female and male learners in the control groups. Similarly, the mean score of female learners in the experimental group differed significantly from female and male learners in the control groups. The results of paired-samples t-test for each group also indicated that the appropriation-based teaching of lexical chunks had significant impacts on both genders’ speaking skills.

Study on Teaching College English Writing Based on Lexical Chunks

College English writing is one of the four basic skills in English learning, which can objectively reflect students’ language ability. Whereas, English writing is considered to be the most difficult part to improve. As we can see, in the essays of the Chinese college students, there often appears Chinglish, correct in grammar but unauthentic in expression. In order to better the situation, the author has introduced the new idea of lexical chunks into the teaching of college English writing. Under this guideline, students should firstly understand the lexical chunks theory, ranging from the definition to the various classifications of lexical chunks. Afterwards, students should learn to recognize and even learn some important chunks by heart. The third step should lie in their daily practice of consciously using chunks they learned in their writings, followed by the final step of appropriate usage of chunks unconsciously. Students are expected to improve their writing ability in the process of identifying and using lexical chunks.

Lexical chunks in English and Spanish sales contracts

Abstract This paper focuses on the study of word combinations “of common usage” which are “lexicalized”, have “syntactic and semantic stability, may be idiomatized and carry connotations, and have an emphatic or intensifying function.” (Gläser 1994/1995, 45). Following previous research on Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) and legal phraseology, we will define, identify and classify these units in English and Spanish according to their form and meaning, using a comparable corpus of sales contracts. To carry out our study, we will focus on a number of descriptors that are commonly used within these units on the basis of the headwords they collocate with, in order to determine how specific or general they are in their form, use and meaning since this issue poses translation problems. As genres determine matters such as or terminology and phraseology, the results will be useful for specialized translators and legal drafters.

The Potential of Sentence Trees in English Grammar Teaching

This study aims to explore the potential use of sentence tree-structure in English grammar teaching in college. After combining Schema Theory and Lexical Chunk Theory, the writer proposed the sentence tree-structure tool and tried to apply it in one of her grammar classes in college. During the teaching process, students were asked to analyze long and complex sentences from IELTS reading texts and to write paragraphs and essays for IELTS writing task two topics, with the purpose of applying the new tool in productive activities. Data collection instruments include a pre-test, a post-test, questionnaires and interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data was employed. The difference in students’ performance in the pre-test and the post-test revealed that the majority of students showed improvement in their ability to analyze long complex sentences and there was an obvious decline in the number of sentence structure-related grammar errors in their writing. Students’ responses in questionnaires and interviews showed a growth in their study motivation and positive perceptions towards the use of this new tool in their grammar learning.

An Effective Way to Memorize New Words—Lexical Chunk

Vocabulary is the basis of language, but memorizing new words has always been a hard job for all English learners. This paper was written based on the theories on lexical chunk by Lewis and other scholars, and the experiment conducted on my own teaching class. The paper explored the function of lexical chunks, types of lexical chunk, high frequency lexical chunks, the differences between lexical chunks in English and Chinese, and how to implement the method of lexical chunk teaching.

Which type of instruction fosters chunk learning? Preliminary conclusions

<p>Formulaic language learning has been shown to be problematic and slow in adult L2 learners. In this study, we test some of the recommendations of a lexical approach. We compare the results of the implementation of chunk attention-directing techniques and explicit exercises of previously selected chunks in 52 Spanish as a second language learners over a period of seven weeks. In light of the results obtained, we can conclude that (1) exposure to lexical chunks, chunk noticing in the input and explicit exercises contribute to the development of abilities in the active recognition of chunks, and (2) learning gains obtained through explicit exercises are significantly greater than those obtained through attention-directing techniques.</p>

The Effects of Lexical Chunks Teaching on EFL Intermediate Learners’ Speaking Fluency

The Effects of Lexical Chunks Teaching on EFL Intermediate Learners’ Speaking Fluency

Focus on Lexis and L2 Learners' Development of Oral Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency Measures

Second language (L2) theories have for long acknowledged the importance of focus on formulaicity or conventionalized lexical chunks. Yet, there has been little attempt to examine the impact of this on foreign language learners’ development of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) measures. The purpose of this study was twofold: First, to see whether lexis-based instruction had any significant effects on EFL learners' oral CAF, and, second, whether different types of lexis-based instructions (e.g., using corpus-based concordances, textual lexis enhancement, and audio-visual captioned lexis) had differential effects. Participants were 54 EFL undergraduates at an Iranian university. After checking the initial homogeneity, 2 groups of participants were randomly assigned to experimental (lexis) and control (non-lexis) groups. After pretesting on CAF, the lexis sub-groups received the 3 types of lexis-based instructions in a counterbalanced manner. After each lexis instruction, students’ oral data were also obtained. The control group received mainstream non-lexis instruction. One-way MANCOVA results pointed to the significant effects of lexis instruction on oral CAF measures. Specifically, repeated-measures MANOVA results revealed that audio-visual captioned lexis was the most effective modality in heightening formulaicity. The findings suggest that focus on lexis is beneficial to L2 learners’ oral skills. Further theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed.

The Influence of Explicit, Implicit, and Contrastive Lexical Approaches on Pragmatic Competence: The Case of Iranian EFL Learners

AbstractResearch literature suggests the positive role of lexical chunks and translation in teaching and learning pragmatics (Ketko, H. 2000. Importance of multi-word chunks in facilitating communicative competence and its pedagogic implications.The Language Teacher 24(12). 5–11; Rose, K. R. 1999. Teachers and students learning about requests in Hong Kong. In E. Hinkel (Ed.),Culture in second language teaching and learning, 167–180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.). Accordingly, the present study aimed at investigating the influence of contrastive lexical approach (CLA), in comparison with explicit and implicit approaches, on Iranian EFL learners’ pragmatic competence. Sixty-three participants were randomly assigned to three treatment groups and received dissimilar instructional treatments for ten 30-minute sessions. A pretest-posttest equivalent-groups research design was carried out and pretest scores were used as the covariate in a one-way ANCOVA data analysis. CLA showed no significant advantage over the other two methods. Previous studies have often combined a contrastive method with explicit teaching. Confounding variables in this way may have made interpretation of results problematic. In the present research explicit and contrastive instructions were kept separate and no significant difference was found between the three treatments, although all instruction types enhanced the language learners’ pragmatic competence. As a result, a pragmatic teaching course is recommended which incorporates the useful teaching techniques and practices of these three approaches to teaching pragmatic competence.

The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners‟ Creativity and Their Knowledge of Lexical Chunks

The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners‟ Creativity and Their Knowledge of Lexical Chunks

Using Lexical Chunks for Developing MUST English Majors’ Oral Communication

T he current study investigated the effect of the training on using the lexical chunks on developing oral communication among 3rd year English majors at Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST). The problem of the study was that 3rd year English majors could not communicate effectively in oral interaction because of the lack of their awareness of the lexical chunks and how to apply them to have an effective oral communication. So, raising the degree of the study group’s awareness of the lexical chunks, their forms, and how to apply them into real oral communication among 3rd year English majors in Summer 2016 semester. The study included some instruments, a pre lexical chunks oral test, an oral communication test, and a reflection sheet. Results of the lexical chunks oral test before the implementation of the study revealed that the study group did not receive any kind of direct or indirect instruction on using lexical chunks. Results of the pre/ post oral communication test proved that the study group could apply lexical chunks effectively in the oral communication test

A Study on the Effectiveness of Corpus-assisted Writing Teaching on the Learners’ Productive Use of Chunks

This study constructed the writing corpus that consists of 4 groups of data. Then the lexical chunks extracted are comparatively analyzed from different perspective to find out how COCA-assisted writing teaching and traditional writing teaching influence the learners’ use of chunks and whether there is any difference between them. And the result of this study shows that COCA-assisted teaching has a great effect on certain type of chunks.

Lexical Chunks Formulaic Sequences and Yukuai: Study of Terms and Definitions of English Multiword Units

According to the theory of mental lexicon, lexical chunks refer to the multiword units with chunking effects while being processed in utterences. Language acquisition studies hold that formulaic sequences undertake more pragramatic functions bearing more conceptual processing and cultural information. There are some overlaps in the two terms. In the SLA studies in China, researchers attempted to use the coined term Cikuai to be the substitute of these two literally-translated terms—Cihui Zukuai for lexical chunks in Chinese and Chengshi Yu for formulaic sequences in Chinese. This paper proposes that lexical chunks and formulaic sequences have respective linguistic and cognitive features, which direct L1 and L2 speakers to process lexico-semantic multiword units in discourse in different ways. They are the subordinate terms of multiword units in English. This paper claims that the present terms can refer to holistically processed multiword units due to their formulaic and chunking effects.The significant differences lie in their degree of compositionality and semantic productivity. The lexical chunks have higher compositionality and semantic transparency, whereas the formulaic sequences are dynamic lexico-semantic multiword units, which offer exemplars instead of chunks for the reconstruction of lexical items in certain discourses. With regard to the lexical features of meaning extension, recursion and creativeness, we figure out their working definitions and come to the conlusion that Yukuai is not a good terminology to cover all the features entailed in them.

Promoting Interpreter Competence through Input Enhancement of Prefabricated Lexical Chunks

This research is intended to illustrate that enhancing input of prefabricated chunks in the training of interpreters will help promote their competence in actual interpretation situations. With more prefabricated chunks stored in mind, an interpreter can not only save time for thinking, but also lower anxiety and tension, thus improving fluency and accuracy.

Improvisation with the Lexical Approach

Abstract In this research, our main purpose is to attempt to promote the speaking strategies of prep students focusing basically on lexical chunks, personalizing communicative competence and amusing feature motivation by ⿿improvisation⿿. Teaching vocabulary within a contextualized situation is highly influential compared to current approaches, and integrating post-speaking activities with an acting is opted for more frequently, as learners are required to use implicitly acquired structures in another productive skill, with the philosophy ⿿language as a means⿿. This study was conducted to look into the effects of improvisation on the speaking strategies and lexical competence of preparatory students in School of foreign languages at Istanbul ſehir University. It was designed as a both qualitative and quantitative method. The data was collected through the content analysis by means of rubrics. With the help of those instruments, the effectiveness of improvisation so as to promote speaking strategies and lexical competence of students in pre-intermediate level was tested. The other aim of the study is to find out if students⿿ vocabulary knowledge could be improved through improvisation and the last aim is to find out students⿿ attitudes towards improvisation in terms of lexical items. In the light of the data analysis, the result and the analysis of the vocabulary and speaking rubrics revealed that participants succeeded in promoting their speaking strategies and lexical competence. Study result has revealed that students had positive impact toward vocabulary learning in the speaking process. Data results have also shown that, learners were actively participants.

A Brief Literature Review of Studies on Lexical Chunks at Home and Abroad

<p>This paper attempts to offer a general review of studies on lexical chunks at home and abroad to reveal prospective readers a clear path to approach this promising language phenomenon. It starts with definitions of chunks, followed by an exemplification of the essential characteristics, different classifications, and functions proposed by researchers, and then it summarizes some major findings both theoretically and empirically. Based on these, some crucial aspects are pointed out that previous studies fail to cover but a worthwhile attempt for the future study.</p>

Turn-taking in Korean conversation

On the basis of Sacks et al.’s (1974) turn-taking model, I explore the flexibility of the Korean turn-taking system. Noting first that speakers bring a turn to a stop without projected final turn elements, I propose that the turn stop is a legitimate completion specifiable as a transition-relevance place (TRP). I view turn construction as a process of improvisation in which lexical chunks are accumulated one after another to deliver a recognizable action; a TRP is thus constituted at the completion of a lexical chunk loosely tied to a prior lexical chunk. In parallel, a turn stop occurs at a lexical boundary in which the lexical chunks thus far accumulated have conveyed a complete action. I argue that any lexical boundary can serve as a TRP on the condition of action completion, as negotiated and determined by the participants’ shared knowledge and experiences. This flexibility of TRP constitution is proposed as a specification of Sacks et al.’s (1974) generic model applied to Korean conversation.