Constructing subject-specific lists of multiword combinations for EAP: A case study

Abstract

This study combines a corpus-based approach and intuition-based judgements to develop a set of multiword combinations for research publications in academic journals. To obtain a representative sample, a corpus of four internal sections of 120 Applied Linguistics research articles indexed in the TCI (Thai Citation Index) database was systematically compiled and investigated. To identify n-grams which occur frequently in the corpus, a corpus-based approach was used. First, a list of 49 content-based strings, likely to be the most useful for pedagogic purposes, was derived. Based on their grammatical and semantic relationships, 3-grams were further investigated. For multiword sequences to occur frequently in the corpus, some pragmatic functionality is required which contributes to pedagogical use. Five EAP instructors were therefore invited to select the useful multiword combinations from the list of identified n-grams. A list of 289 phraseological patterns was finally created successfully. The list can provide additional evidence-based and corpus-informed instructional resources which support English teachers with the planning of lessons as well as materials design and development, particularly for advanced language courses which target scholarly writing.

Functional Patterns of Lexical Bundles and Limitations in Academic Writing by Thai L2 English Learners

“…Meanwhile, the concordance of Sketch Engine was used to determine the functional categories of lexical bundles. In doing so, the functional classification was complex, not only because categorisation involves subjectivity, but also because some bundles may serve more than one function (Khamkhien & Wharton, 2020;Liu, 2012). Therefore, three lecturers with a PhD in English and Applied Linguistics were invited to revisit the pragmatic functions of these bundles and to probe the extended context of certain bundles that appear to be multifunctional.…”