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A Study of the Use of Lexical Chunks in Non-English Majors’ English Writing

Author: LiZuo
Tutor: WangYing
School: Shandong University
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: lexical chunks English writing English learning and teaching
CLC: H319
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2011
Downloads: 67
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Abstract

In the field of foreign language teaching in China, structural approach and communicative approach have played an essential and important part for many years. The stress of structural approach has been on the mastering of grammatical rules and learning of language structures, while neglecting developing communicative ability. Communicative approach stresses actual utility of communicative ability, but it lacks necessary grammatical knowledge. Additionally, students always memorize words by mechanically remembering their spellings and Chinese meaning in traditional lexis learning, but they still feel that it is difficult to use them appropriately and successfully in a context. In such a situation, a new way is needed to make up for the weak points of these two approaches. Lexical chunk approach, which stands on the middle ground to some degree, steps forward. This approach which was brought forward by Michael Lewis, Nattinger and DeCarrico and so on pays attention to the appropriate use of language in contexts as well as stresses the grammatical rules and syntactic structures.In the language lexical chunks are treated as the ready-made memorized combinations. They occurred with high frequency. And they are fixed or semi-fixed multi-words or sentences which are beyond users’current linguistic ability and are acquired as wholes in the process of language acquisition. They are not generated from grammatical rules but can be recalled and used automatically as wholes. They are accessible and retrievable easily after they are acquired and stored in the human brain. They play a very important part in improving fluency of spoken and written language, raising the sense of pragmatic function, and thus stimulating language learners. In addition, they are bound to context and occur with high frequency, which makes them unforgettable for the students.The thesis, which is on the basis of Nattinger and DeCarrico’s classification of four types of lexical chunks (polywords; institutionalized expressions; phrasal constraints; sentence builders), studies non-English major students’writing from the perspective of lexical chunks. The research is aimed at answering the following four questions:(1) What are the proportion distributions of four structural categories of lexical chunks in higher-score and lower-score compositions? (2) Is there a correlation between the use of lexical chunks and the quality of the compositions? (3) Are there more lexical chunks in higher-score compositions than in lower-score compositions? (4) What kind of lexical chunks are most frequently used in both higher-score compositions and lower -score compositions?In this thesis, the author chose 100 non-English majors from Linyi University to write an argumentative essay. According to their scores, the author collected 30 compositions from the top and 30 compositions from the bottom as samples for analysis.The difference between Group A and Group B and the role of lexical chunks in essay writing are examined through the study of the correlation between the lexical chunks used and quality of the compositions. From the significant difference between the two groups and the significant correlation between the number of lexical chunks and the scores, it has been found that lexical chunks play a vital part in writing. The results are as follows:(1) Within-group comparison shows that in either Group A or Group B, the largest proportion of lexical chunks is sentence builders. Next are phrasal constraints. And then polywords take the third place and institutionalized expressions are used least. Between-group comparison shows that the proportions of polywords, phrasal constraints and sentence builders in Group A are larger than those in Group B, while the proportion of institutionalized expressions in Group A is smaller than that in Group B. (2) There is a very important correlation between the number of lexical chunks used in the compositions and scores of the compositions. (3) There are more lexical chunks in higher-score compositions than in lower-score compositions. (4) Sentence builders are used most frequently by the students.English teaching is influenced directly by the study of lexical chunks. First of all, learning lexical chunks can improve the fluency and accuracy of language use and avoid making errors in selecting words. Second, using lexical chunks can avoid making some pragmatic errors because lexical chunks are usually used in specific contexts with pragmatic functions. Lexical chunks reflect the interaction of syntax, semantics and pragmatics. And they promote the development of syntactic rules, help learners to attain appropriacy of expressions, and also lessen the burden of the language production.

A Study of the Use of Lexical Chunks in Non-English Majors’ English Writing

Abstract

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