In a communicative approach to language teaching, students are presented with “authentic” language, which is thought to allow them
to produce it in a nativelike way. The current study explores whether the lexical bundles in communicative Japanese junior high
school textbooks are representative of conversational English. To do this, we use a corpus-based approach that compares the most
frequent lexical bundles in the textbooks to those in an English reference corpus. The study finds that although lexical bundles
are very frequent in the textbooks, and conform relatively well to English patterns at shorter lengths (3-word lexical bundles),
they deviate considerably at longer ones (4-, 5- and 6-words). This has important implications for the communicative utility of
the language in the textbooks.
Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Cortes, V. (2004). If you look at …: Lexical bundles in university teaching and textbooks. Applied Linguistics, 25(3), 371–405.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Essex: Pearson.
Boers, F., Eyckmans, J., Kappel, J., Stengers, H., & Demecheleer, M. (2006). Formulaic sequences and perceived oral proficiency: Putting a lexical approach to the test. Language Teaching Research, 10(3), 245–261.
Brysbaert, M., & New, B. (2009). Moving beyond Kučera and Francis: A critical evaluation of current word frequency norms and the introduction of a new and improved word frequency measure for American English. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 977–990.
Bybee, J. (2006). From usage to grammar: The mind’s response to repetition. Language, 82(4), 711–733.
Chen, L. (2010). An investigation of lexical bundles in ESP textbooks and electrical engineering introductory textbooks. In D. Wood (Ed.), Perspectives on Formulaic Language (pp. 107–125). London: Continuum.
Columbus 21 English Course. (2013). Tokyo: Mitsumura Tosho.
Conklin, K., & Schmitt, N. (2008). Formulaic sequences: Are they processed more quickly than nonformulaic language by native and nonnative speakers?Applied Linguistics, 29(1), 72–89.
Conklin, K., & Schmitt, N. (2012). The processing of formulaic language. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 321, 45–61.
Conrad, S., & Biber, D. (2004). The frequency and use of lexical bundles in conversation and academic prose. Lexicographica, 201, 56–71.
Cortes, V. (2004). Lexical bundles in published and student disciplinary writing: Examples from history and biology. English for Specific Purposes, 23(4), 397–423.
Dickinson, P. (2012). Improving second language academic presentations with formulaic sequences. Bulletin of Niigata University of International and Information Studies Department of Information Culture, 151, 25–36.
Ellis, N. C. (1996). Sequencing in SLA: Phonological memory, chunking, and points of order. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18(1), 91–126.
Ellis, N. C. (2001). Memory for language. In P. J. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and Second Language Acquisition (pp. 33–68). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, N. C., O’Donnell, M. B., & Römer, U. (2013). Usage-based language: Investigating the latent structures that underpin acquisition. Language Learning, 63(1), 25–51.
Erman, B., & Warren, B. (2000). The idiom principle and the open choice principle. Text, 20(1), 29–62.
Gilmore, A. (2004). A comparison of textbook and authentic interactions. ELT Journal, 59(4), 363–374.
Gilmore, A. (2015). Research into practice: The influence of discourse studies on language descriptions and task design in published ELT materials. Language Teaching, 48(4), 506–530.
Hagerman, C. (2009). English language policy and practice in Japan. Osaka Jogakuin University, Departmental Bulletin Paper, 61, 47–64.
Hockey, B. A., Rossen-Knill, D., Spejewski, B., Stone, M., & Isard, S. (1997, September). Can you predict answers to Y/N questions? Yes, no and stuff. Paper presented at the Eurospeech 97 Conference, Rhodes, Greece.
Hyland, K. (2008). As can be seen: Lexical bundles and disciplinary variation. English for Specific Purposes, 27(1), 4–21.
Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (2010). Teaching and Learning Pragmatics: Where Language and Culture Meet. Edinburgh: Pearson.
Isobe, Y. (2011). Representation and processing of formulaic sequences in L2 mental lexicon: How do Japanese EFL learners process multi-word expressions. JACET Kansai Journal, 131, 38–49.
Jiang, N., & Nekrasova, T. M. (2007). The processing of formulaic sequences by second language speakers. The Modern Language Journal, 91(3), 433–445.
Koprowski, M. (2005). Investigating the usefulness of lexical phrases in contemporary coursebooks. ELT Journal, 59(4), 322–332.
Koya, T. (2004). Collocation research based on corpora collected from secondary school textbooks in Japan and in the UK. Dialogue, 31, 7–18.
Kwon, Y. -E., & Lee, E. -J. (2014). Lexical bundles in the Korean EFL Teacher Talk Corpus: A comparison between non-native and native English teachers. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 11(3), 73–103.
Lewis, M. (1993). The Lexical Approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications.
Logan, G. D. (1988). Toward an instance theory of automatization. Psychological Review, 95(4), 492–527.
McAleese, P. (2013, October). Investigating multi-word items in a contemporary ELT course book. Paper presented at the JALT2012 Conference Proceedings, Tokyo, Japan.
McEnery, T., Xiao, R., & Tono, Y. (2006). Corpus-Based Language Studies: An Advanced Resource Book. Oxon: Routledge.
Meunier, F. (2012). Formulaic language and language teaching. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 321, 111–129.
Myles, F., Hooper, J., & Mitchell, R. (1998). Rote or rule? Exploring the role of formulaic language in classroom foreign language learning. Language Learning, 48(3), 323–363.
Myles, F., Mitchell, R., & Hooper, J. (1999). Interrogative chunks in French L2: A basis for creative construction?Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21(1), 40–80.
Nattinger, J. R., & DeCarrucio, J. S. (1992). Lexical Phrases and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
New Crown English Series. (2013). Tokyo: Sanseido.
New Horizon English Course. (2013). Tokyo: Tokyo Shoseki.
Nguyen, H., & Ishitobi, N. (2012). Ordering fast food: Service encounters in real-life interaction and in textbook dialogs. JALT Journal, 34(2), 151–186.
Northbrook, J., & Conklin, K. (in press). Is what you put in what you get out?: Textbook-derived lexical bundle processing in beginner English learners, Applied Linguistics.
Nunan, D. (1991). Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall.
Ogura, F. (2008). Communicative competence and senior high school oral communication textbooks in Japan. The Language Teacher, 32(12), 3–8.
One World English Course. (2013). Tokyo: Kyoiku Shuppan.
Pawley, A., & Syder, F. H. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Nativelike selection and nativelike fluency. In J. C. Richards (Ed.), Language and Communication (pp. 191–225). London: Longman.
Taguchi, N. (2007). Chunk learning and the development of spoken discourse in a Japanese as a foreign language classroom. Language Teaching Research, 11(4), 433–457.
Total English New Edition. (2013). Tokyo: Gakko Tosho.
Tsai, K. -J. (2014). Profiling the collocation use in ELT textbooks and learner writing. Language Teaching Research, 19(6), 723–740.
Tyler, A. (2010). Usage-based approaches to language and their applications to second language learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 301, 270–291.
Van Heuven, W. J., Mandera, P., Keuleers, E., & Brysbaert, M. (2014). SUBTLEX-UK: A new and improved word frequency database for British English. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67(6), 1176–1190.
Webb, S., Newton, J., & Chang, A. (2013). Incidental learning of collocation. Language Learning, 63(1), 91–120.
Wood, D. (2010). Lexical clusters in an EAP textbook corpus. In D. Wood (Ed.), Perspectives on Formulaic Language (pp. 88–106). London: Continuum.
Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic Language and the Lexicon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Yaoyu, W., & Lei, L. (2011). Lexical bundles in the academic writing of advanced Chinese EFL learners. RELC Journal, 42(2), 155–166.
Cited by (8)
Cited by eight other publications
Hoang, Hien & Peter Crosthwaite
2024. A comparative analysis of multiword units in the reading and listening input of English textbooks. System 121 ► pp. 103224 ff.
Mo, Junhua & Peng Bi
2024. Evaluation of Vocabulary Use in EFL Textbooks: Evidence From Curriculum Words. English Teaching & Learning
Szudarski, Paweł
2023. Collocations, Corpora and Language Learning,
王, 昊
2023. Linguistic and Cultural Content in Foreign Language Textbooks: A Review Study. Modern Linguistics 11:06 ► pp. 2463 ff.
Northbrook, Julian, David Allen & Kathy Conklin
2022. ‘Did You See That?’—The Role of Repetition and Enhancement on Lexical Bundle Processing in English Learning Materials. Applied Linguistics 43:3 ► pp. 453 ff.
Borro, Ilaria & Silvia Scolaro
2021. Optimal and appropriate input in a second language: The potential of (modified-)elaborated input in distance and classroom learning. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages 8:2 ► pp. 53 ff.
Bi, Peng
2020. Revisiting genre effects on linguistic features of L2 writing: A usage‐based perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 30:3 ► pp. 429 ff.
Northbrook, Julian & Kathy Conklin
2019. Is What You Put in What You Get Out? —Textbook-derived Lexical Bundle Processing in Beginner English Learners. Applied Linguistics 40:5 ► pp. 816 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 august 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.