Recurrent word combinations in academic writing by native and non-native speakers of English: A lexical bundles approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelie Ädel ◽  
Britt Erman
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Lexical Bundles ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Recurrent Word

scholarly journals A Corpus-based Study on the Use of Three-word Lexical Bundles in the Academic Writing by Native English and Turkish Non-native Writers

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serpil Ucar
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Lexical Bundles ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Lexical Bundle ◽  
Structure And Functions ◽  
Recurrent Word

The utilization of English recurrent word combinations –lexical bundles- play a fundamental role in academic prose (Karabacak & Qin, 2013). There has been highly limited research about comparing Turkish non-native and native English writers’ use of lexical bundles in academic prose in terms of frequency, structure and functions of lexical bundles (Bal, 2010; Karabacak & Qin, 2013, Öztürk, 2014). Therefore, this current research was conducted in order to investigate the most frequently used lexical bundles in the academically published articles of Turkish non-native and native speakers of English and to investigate whether there was a significant difference between native and non-native scholars with respect to the frequency, structures and functions of English language lexical bundles. The data were collected from two corpora; 15 scientific articles of native speakers and 15 scientific articles of Turkish advanced writers. The investigation included a quantitative analysis of the use of three-word lexical bundles and a qualitative analysis of the functions and structures they serve. To be more conservative, three-word lexical bundles which occur 40 times per million words and appear in 5 different texts were described a lexical bundle in this current research. The findings revealed that Turkish non-native writers showed underuse and less variation in the use of lexical bundles in their academic prose compared to native speakers.

scholarly journals Lexical Bundles Ending in that in Academic Writing by Czech Learners and Native Speakers of English

2021 ◽  
pp. 33-69
Author(s):  
Gabriela Brůhová ◽  
Kateřina Vašků
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Academic Journals ◽  
Lexical Bundles ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Novice Writers ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Professional Writers ◽  
Shell Nouns

The aim of this paper is to explore how Czech learners of English use lexical bundles ending in that in their academic texts in comparison with novice and professional L1 authors. The analysis is based on three corpora (VESPA-CZ, BAWE and our own cor- pus of papers published in academic journals). The results suggest that Czech learners of English do not use a more limited repertoire of lexical bundles ending in that than pro- fessional writers. However, there are differences between the groups studied, especially in the range of various shell nouns used in nominal bundles. Novice writers, both L1 and L2, use bundles ending in that to express stance more frequently than professional writers.

scholarly journals Move analysis and their lexical verbs of research article abstracts of Filipino and American writers

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-63
Author(s):  
Abdul Wahid Ibrahim Tocalo
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Writing Instructions ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Rhetorical move analyses of research article (RA) abstracts have established variations across disciplines and cultures. However, there is still a need for more explorations on Applied Linguistics discipline. Comparing native and other group of non-native speakers of English, such as Filipino users of the language, has also been a neglect in research as far as the researcher’s knowledge is concerned. Hence, this study investigated the rhetorical moves in the RA abstracts of American and Filipino writers who are published in two journals related to Applied Linguistics field. The study also explored the lexical verbs underlying each move in all the abstracts. Each abstract was then segmented into moves. Findings revealed that the moves Situating the Research (STR), Presenting the Research (PTR), and Discussing the Research (DTR) were obligatorily used by both groups of writers, while the moves Describing the Methodology (DTM) and Summarizing the Findings (STF) were obligatory only among Filipinos and optional among Americans. Filipino writers appear to develop their own conventions deviating from Americans who are considered native speakers and norm providers. The results also amplify the existence of cultural differences even in abstract writing. Further, the study details lists of lexical verbs that may be used to realize a rhetorical intent of each move. Hence, academic writing instructions may be informed by the rhetorical and linguistic realizations unveiled in this study. Directions for future research are likewise provided.

A Recurrent Word Combination Approachto the Study of Formulae in the Speech of Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie De Cock
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Quantitative Comparison ◽  
Automatic Extraction ◽  
Word Combination ◽  
Full Discussion ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Recurrent Word

This article reports on a pilot study into how corpus methods can be applied to the study of one type of phraseological unit, formulae, in native speaker and learner speech. Formulae, or formulaic expressions, are multi-word units performing a pragmatic and/or discourse-structuring function and have been characterised as being typically native-like. The methodology presented here is contrastive and involves the use of computerised corpora of both native and non-native speaker speech. It consists of two steps: (1) the automatic extraction of all recurrent word combinations to produce lists of potential formulae, and (2) a carefully specified manual filtering process designed to reduce these lists to lists of actual formulaic usage. The results of this process allow for the first genuine quantitative comparison of formulae in the speech of native and non-native speakers, which in turn has significant implications for SLA research. This paper focuses on methodology and does not present a full discussion of the results. However, selected example findings are presented to support the approach adopted.

Linking or delinking of ideas?

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noelia Navarro Gil ◽  
Helena Roquet Pugès
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
American University ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Argumentative Texts ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds

Abstract This paper explores the use of adversative Linking Adverbials (LAs) in the academic writing of advanced English Foreign Language (EFL) learners with different linguistic backgrounds. The learner corpus used in this study consists of 50 argumentative texts, which are contrasted with a native corpus: the American university students’ corpus (LOCNESS). Liu’s (2008) comprehensive list of adversative LAs has been used for the analysis. Findings reveal that both non-native (NNS) and native speakers of English (NS) use similar types of adversative LAs, but NNS place them regularly in sentence- and sometimes in paragraph- initial position, which often results in punctuation issues and misuse. A total of 9 LAs were found to be overused (e.g., nevertheless) and underused (e.g., actually) by NNS. The analysis performed according to L1 has yielded unexpected results in terms of preference, frequency, and placement of adversative LAs. The so-called ‘teaching effect’ is considered one of the main factors influencing the learners’ choices.

Identifying verb collocational patterns in a specialized medical journal corpus

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 660-685
Author(s):  
Isabel Verdaguer ◽  
Judy Noguchi
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Combinatorial Properties ◽  
Approximate Order ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Professional Genres ◽  
Research Consortium ◽  
Efficient Learning ◽  
Recurrent Word

AbstractThis paper examines the collocational patterns of frequent verbs in medical research articles, and proposes a way to help non-native speakers of English learn word combinations frequently used in specific professional genres. We explore the correlations in the syntactico-semantic behavior and the collocational patterns of related verbs, in order to systematically teach recurrent word combinations.To this end, we present a corpus-based analysis of the collocational patterning of the verbs which belong to the same semantic frame inFrameNet, the frame EVIDENCE. These verbs were identified in 397 medical research articles from a pre-release version of the PERC (Professional English Research Consortium) corpus (3,155,118 tokens and 115,960 word types). The verbs examined, in approximate order of degree of increasing certainty, aresuggest, argue, show, reveal, prove, demonstrate, substantiate, verify, confirmandcorroborate. The results reveal that verbs that can be grouped into semantic and syntactic coherent sets also share combinatorial properties. We conclude that, rather than studying isolated verbs, making learners aware of these patterns of verb groups can greatly contribute toward efficient learning of the language of professional texts.

scholarly journals Linguistic Markers and Stylistic Attributes of Hedging in English Academic Papers Written by Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

MANUSYA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Amara Prasithrathsint
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
The Impact

Hedging means mitigating words so as to lessen the impact of an utterance. It may cause uncertainty in language but is regarded as an important feature in English academic writing. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the style of academic writing in English with particular reference to the significant role of hedging and the linguistic features that mark it. The data was taken from academic articles in the humanities written by native speakers of English, Filipino speakers of English, and Thai speakers of English. It is hypothesized that speakers of English as a foreign language use fewer and different hedging devices than native speakers of English. The result of the analysis shows that the prominent linguistic markers of hedging are the auxiliaries may, might, could, the verbs suggest, appear, seem, and the adverbs perhaps and often. They are divided into three groups according to their stylistic attributes of hedging; namely, probability, indetermination, and approximation. The use of hedging found in the data confirms what Hyman (1994) says; i.e., that hedging allows writers to express their uncertainty about the truth of their statements. It is also found that English native speakers use hedges most frequently. The Filipino speakers of English are the second, and the Thai speakers of English use hedges the least frequency. This implies that hedging is likely to be related to the level of competence in English including knowledge of stylistic variation, and that it needs to be formally taught to those who speak English as a second or foreign language.

The language of quoting in academic writing

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieke Verheijen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Lexical Items

Because quotation is a fundamental aspect of academic texts, this corpus study examines the language of quoting in (L2) academic writing. To find out whether there are subtle linguistic differences in the use of quotation by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) and professional academics who are native speakers of English (NSE), I compare two corpora of scholarly writings: one by upper intermediate and advanced EFL students and one by NSE experts. 1201 Quotes were extracted from the writings and examined for a broad range of lexico-grammatical features relevant to using quotes, including introductions to quotes, lexical items in introducing quotes, ‘special’ quotes, and punctuation surrounding quotes. The findings make clear that EFL students and NSE experts differ significantly on various points in their language of quoting. Making students aware of these differences could make their academic writing more professional, native-like, and sophisticated.

scholarly journals The Use of Personal Pronouns in the Writing of Argumentative Essays by EFL Writers

RELC Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-19
Author(s):  
Robert MacIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Year ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Argumentative Essays ◽  
Style Guides

In many academic writing textbooks and style guides the use of personal pronouns is not encouraged. This is particularly problematic for non-native speakers of English trying to express themselves in a second language as, although personal pronouns are a clear signal of the writers’ identity and presence in a text, they are usually advised not to use them. Therefore, in order to understand more about the use of personal pronouns by non-native speakers, this study examined a corpus of argumentative essays written by first-year Japanese university students. Whilst the use of personal pronouns has been well documented, there has been less written about how we, as educators, can help our learners understand how to use them to shape their identities as academic writers. Therefore, this article attempts to address this by suggesting a possible pedagogical approach to teaching the use of personal pronouns in academic writing.

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