Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions

Group discussion forms an integral language experience for most language learners, providing them with an opportunity to express themselves in a naturalistic setting. Multi-word expressions are commonly used and one of them is lexical bundles. Lexical bundles are types of extended collocations that...

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Main Authors: Chan, Swee Heng, Kashiha, Hadi, Tan, Helen
Format: Article
Published: Canadian Center of Science and Education 2014
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author Chan, Swee Heng
Kashiha, Hadi
Tan, Helen
author_facet Chan, Swee Heng
Kashiha, Hadi
Tan, Helen
author_sort Chan, Swee Heng
collection UPM
description Group discussion forms an integral language experience for most language learners, providing them with an opportunity to express themselves in a naturalistic setting. Multi-word expressions are commonly used and one of them is lexical bundles. Lexical bundles are types of extended collocations that occur more commonly than we expect; they are considered as building blocks in discourse and play a crucial role in creating textual consistency. They contribute to a better understanding of the meaning of particular contexts of language use as well as creating a flow and rhythm in the discourse. This paper investigated the frequency, structures and functions of lexical bundles in a corpus of group discussion of proficient nonnative university undergraduate students, to unravel the application of lexical bundles in managing the talk in group discussion. Results of the analysis showed that lexical bundles accounted for a remarkable proportion of students’ lexis in their group discussions; showing a variety of structures and functions that indicate a dexterous yet formulaic automaticity that characterize proficient language use, thus having implications for language learning and teaching.
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spelling upm.eprints-343762015-12-15T01:25:11Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34376/ Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions Chan, Swee Heng Kashiha, Hadi Tan, Helen Group discussion forms an integral language experience for most language learners, providing them with an opportunity to express themselves in a naturalistic setting. Multi-word expressions are commonly used and one of them is lexical bundles. Lexical bundles are types of extended collocations that occur more commonly than we expect; they are considered as building blocks in discourse and play a crucial role in creating textual consistency. They contribute to a better understanding of the meaning of particular contexts of language use as well as creating a flow and rhythm in the discourse. This paper investigated the frequency, structures and functions of lexical bundles in a corpus of group discussion of proficient nonnative university undergraduate students, to unravel the application of lexical bundles in managing the talk in group discussion. Results of the analysis showed that lexical bundles accounted for a remarkable proportion of students’ lexis in their group discussions; showing a variety of structures and functions that indicate a dexterous yet formulaic automaticity that characterize proficient language use, thus having implications for language learning and teaching. Canadian Center of Science and Education 2014 Article PeerReviewed Chan, Swee Heng and Kashiha, Hadi and Tan, Helen (2014) Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions. English Language Teaching, 7 (4). pp. 1-10. ISSN 1916-4742; ESSN: 1916-4750 http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/34924 10.5539/elt.v7n4p1
spellingShingle Chan, Swee Heng
Kashiha, Hadi
Tan, Helen
Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions
title Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions
title_full Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions
title_fullStr Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions
title_full_unstemmed Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions
title_short Lexical bundles: facilitating university "talk" in group discussions
title_sort lexical bundles facilitating university talk in group discussions
work_keys_str_mv AT chansweeheng lexicalbundlesfacilitatinguniversitytalkingroupdiscussions
AT kashihahadi lexicalbundlesfacilitatinguniversitytalkingroupdiscussions
AT tanhelen lexicalbundlesfacilitatinguniversitytalkingroupdiscussions