Recurrent sequences of words in native speaker and advanced learner spoken and written English : a corpus-driven approach
(2003)
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Details
- Authors
- Supervisors
- Granger, Sylviane
- Abstract
- This thesis explores the recurrent sequences of more than two single words that native speakers of English and advanced EFL learners tend to use as their routinized building blocks or as their preferred ways of saying things in both spoken and written discourse. More specifically, the study sets out to test the validity of the largely unproven hypothesis put forward by Kjellmer (1991: 124), according to which learners' "building material is individual bricks rather than prefabricated sections." This hypothesis is only tested in part as the focus is on continuous (i.e. uninterrupted) recurrent sequences of words in advanced French-speaking EFL learner productions. The recurrent aspect of native speakers' and learners' phrasicon is examined on the basis of automatically extracted sequences of words that recur in two comparable computerized corpora of native speaker (NS) and learner speech (i.e. LOCNEC and LINDSEI respectively) and in two comparable corpora of NS and learner writing (i.e. LOCNESS and ICLE respectively). On a methodological level, the study shows how this automatic corpus-driven discovery procedure lends itself exceptionally well to bringing out the workings of recurrence in NS and learner speech and writing. The results yielded by the automatic extraction of recurrent sequences of words are a useful and powerful starting point for studies of both native speakers' and learners' preferred ways of putting things. On a descriptive level, the corpus-driven method and the framework of investigation used (based on Altenberg 1998) have made it possible to uncover and describe the all-pervasiveness and the rich structural and functional diversity of recurrent sequences of words in NS and learner speech and writing. The results suggest that, when it comes to the recurrent aspect of the phrasicon, Kjellmer's assumption is too simplistic. It is true that the learners in the corpora used resort to individual bricks to a certain extent (especially in speech), but more importantly perhaps, they appear to make a somewhat misguided use of recurrent 'prefabricated sections'. While they make highly repeated use of a series of prefabs in academic writing, a genre where diversity should prevail, they can be seen to underuse recurrent prefabs in speech. Beyond these quantitative considerations, attempting to capture the nature of the learner phrasicon makes it possible to underline some essential and significant differences between NS and learner prefabs. In speech, the learners are lacking in recurrent prefabricated ways of interacting and building rapport with their interlocutors and of toning down and weaving the right amount of imprecision and vagueness into their messages or in ways of expressing attitudinal stance in a native-like manner. In writing, the learners are lacking in a variety of prefabricated ways of introducing the topics of discussion, of organizing and developing their argumentation and of qualifying their opinions. The thesis stresses the importance of good descriptions of native speaker and learner recurrent sequences of words and prefabs in general for Second Language Acquisition and English Language Teaching. The pedagogical implications of the study are highlighted and avenues for future research are outlined.
- Affiliations
Citations
De Cock, S. (2003). Recurrent sequences of words in native speaker and advanced learner spoken and written English : a corpus-driven approach. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/74227