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

Abstract

<p><em>Lexical bundles, which serve as markers of fluent and appropriate language use, are referred to as "building blocks of discourse" because they occur frequently in written texts and help readers and writers process information more quickly. They also provide important linguistic functions. However, lexical bundles can vary across genres, domains and even sections of the same work, which can be challenging for novice and non-native writers. The purposes of this study are to explore how Thai L2 undergraduate students use lexical bundles in their academic papers written in English and to compare the use of lexical bundles with that in two written corpora: the British Academic Written English (BAWE) and Cambridge Academic English (CAE). A total of 53 research reports, or approximately 615,750 words, from Thai L2 students of English language studies and applied linguistics were systematically compiled and analysed. The most frequent four-word n-grams in the corpora were then identified and their types and functions categorised. Keyword analysis was used to compare the key n-grams identified in each academic corpus. The results show that native and non-native writers use lexical bundles in rather different ways. Some patterns that did not occur in the reference corpus were overused by Thai L2 English students. The data suggest that the inclusion of phraseology in L2 writing instruction has pedagogical implications. This study can be of great pedagogical value, especially for EAP instructors, as it reveals frequent patterns in the form of a pedagogically useful list of word combinations. By extension, the data presented can be used by non-native writers or academics, especially novice Thai writers, to improve their use of phraseological patterns in writing academic research reports or writing for publication.</em></p>

Development of Corpus Linguistic Using Lexical Teaching to Improve English Writing

“…Corpus linguistics studies have found that in natural language there is a high-frequency, fixed form, meaning stable language structure, which is now referred to as the "block" [1,2]. Blocks contain grammar, semantics, and context and is the ideal language unit.…”

A Corpus-based Study of the Lexical Bundles in the Ph. D Linguistics Dissertations’ Abstracts in Pakistani Universities

“…He compiled a massive bundle of 2390093 words where he found that there is a huge number of changes in the usage of these bundles throughout these 20 years. Khamkhien (2021) in his analysis of Thai L2 English learner's academic writing, found a difference in the use of native and non-native writers when it comes to lexical bundles. This study was done on 53 research reports containing 60 thousand-plus words.…”

The Undergraduate Students’ Difficulties in Writing Thesis Proposal

“…Academic writing is one of the formal writing styles used in schools and colleges. Due to its formality, the writer requires carefulness to write complete sentences and organize them specifically (Ariyanti, 2016;Khamkhien, 2021;Therova, 2021). The writer also needs to answer and demonstrate an understanding of the subject discussed in academic writing.…”