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Article published In:
Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education
Vol. 3:2 (2018) ► pp.220–242

Acquisition of formulaic sequences in a study abroad context

| University of Delaware

Research (e.g., Wood, 2010a) suggests that study abroad (SA) and the use of formulaic language (FL), or sequences of words that tend to go together, aid L2 oral fluency. Nonetheless, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether quantity of L2 use abroad is a predictor of language outcomes. This article examines the acquisition of FL by US L2 learners of Spanish (n = 11) who studied abroad in Spain. The study measures the temporal fluency variables and the formula/run ratio of narrative retell tasks pre- and post-SA by L2 learners and native Spanish speakers. The findings indicate that regardless of program type and length, learners produce more FL post-SA, but they are still far from target-like usage. Moreover, participants’ mean length of run is directly related to the formula/run ratio. Lastly, an analysis of language use shows no direct relationship between L2 use abroad and oral fluency outcomes.

Keywords: formulaic language, formulaic sequences, oral fluency, L2 Spanish, study abroad, L2 use abroad
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Review of previous research
    • 2.1Formulaic language and L2 oral fluency
    • 2.2Acquisition of formulaic sequences and study abroad
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Data collection and procedures
      • 3.2.1Narrative retell task
      • 3.2.2Bi-weekly language use survey
    • 3.3Data analysis
      • 3.3.1Oral fluency measures
    • 3.4Identifying formulaic sequences
      • 3.4.1Formula/run ratio
      • 3.4.2N-gram frequency and mutual information (MI)
    • 3.5Statistical analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Pre- and post-SA oral fluency measures and formula/run ratio
    • 4.2L2 learners and NSs
    • 4.3Relationship among oral fluency measures
    • 4.4Relationship among oral fluency measures, FRR, and Spanish use
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 12 October 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.17009.qua
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