Language acquisition]]> Adquisición del lenguaje]]>
Research into different multiword phrases has shed light on the need to devote teaching time to these sequences in foreign language classrooms. A shift away from the individual word to, among others, the formulaic sequence (FS), defined by Wray (2002) as “a sequence, continuous or discontinuous, of words or other elements, which is, or appears to be, prefabricated: that is, stored and retrieved whole from memory at the time of use, rather than being subject to generation or analysis by the language grammar” (p. 9), has led to studies which analyse the effects of explicit instruction of FSs in different educational contexts and levels of proficiency in the foreign language. There is by now sufficient evidence (Ab Manan et al. 2014a and b; Alhassan and Wood 2015; Boers and Lindstromberg 2012; Čolović-Marković 2012; Jones and Haywood 2004; Lewis 2009; Peters and Pauwels 2015 and Wood 2015) that advocates the teaching of formulaic sequences in EFL contexts. One such study carried out in an Argentinean university with Spanish-speaking learners of English of different proficiency levels has highlighted the implications of a number of relevant issues in connection with the learning and, consequently, the teaching of vocabulary in general to learners of different levels and in multiple learning contexts. The findings refer to a) three explicit, focus-on-form FS instruction experiments (with beginner level and advanced level students), b) a small-corpus study into FS implicit learning in a content-based course, c) a longitudinal case study of one learner’s formulaic competence across his written production in an academic year and d) the acquisition of song-derived FSs by senior adults taking a reading comprehension course at university.
The data obtained point to learners’ heightened awareness of the patterns of use and meanings of the selected FSs as a result of pedagogical intervention. Significant benefits of FS teaching have been found for FS retrieval and acquisition in controlled conditions and free contexts. There is little evidence of incidental intake of FSs present in the reading material by learners, which shows that attention needs to be explicitly drawn to their existence, pervasiveness, use, form and meanings. The longitudinal case study reveals a systematic and conscious approach to FS learning, with evidence of a continuously recycled and intentionally refurbished process of FS acquisition. FS recognition and comprehension has been proved to improve in time through a FS-focused approach and even elderly participants evince an important degree of sensitivity to the internal make-up of FSs.
The different sets of data attest to the benefits of FS explicitly instruction in a foreign language as a means of equipping learners with prefabricated units of meaning to perform more naturally in the L2. Practical tips on FS teaching for the FL classroom are offered in relation to the nature of the sequences to teach and of the pedagogical intervention planned, the number of hours devoted to instruction, and activity types both for the teaching and practice of these chunks and for testing purposes.]]>
Zinkgräf, Magdalena]]> Espinosa, Gonzalo Eduardo, Fernández Beschtedt, Mercedes, Formiga, Paola, & Verdú, María Angélica (Eds.). (2019). Conocimiento y diversidad en el estudio y la enseñanza de lenguas. Neuquén: Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Lenguas. VER]]> http://bibliotecadelenguas.uncoma.edu.ar/items/show/441]]>
Zinkgräf, M. (2019). Formulaic sequence acquisition: From research to praxis. En Conocimiento y diversidad en el estudio y la enseñanza de lenguas. General Roca: Universidad Nacional de Comahue.
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Adquisición del lenguaje]]> Language acquisition]]> Castro, Analía]]> Adquisición del lenguaje]]> Scilipoti, Paola Mabel]]> Tacconi, María Leticia]]> Zinkgräf, Magdalena]]> Actas de las VI Jornadas Internacionales de Investigación y Prácticas en Didáctica de las Lenguas y las Literaturas. San Carlos de Bariloche, 25 y 26 de octubre de 2018. (en prensa)]]> http://bibliotecadelenguas.uncoma.edu.ar/items/show/445]]>