Research studies indicate that approximately 50% of spoken and written discourse is formulaic (Erman & Warren, 2000 as cited in Hatami, 2015). Following Siyanova-Chanturia & Pellicer-Sánchez,  formulaic language can be defined as “strings of letters, words, sounds, or other elements” (2019, p. 5) which can be identified on the basis of some distinctive features. The most prominent characteristics are their frequency, familiarity, relative fixedness, predictability, and pragmatic function, which have been reported to have a direct impact on learners’ acquisition, processing, and use of FSs (Siyanova-Chanturia & Pellicer-Sánchez, 2019). As part of formulaic language, we can find formulaic sequences (FSs) which, according to Lewis (1997) (as cited in Thornbury, 2019), include collocations, fixed expressions, formulaic utterances, sentence starters, verb patterns, idioms, catchphrases, and other formulas or pre-fabricated patterns.

As far as the advantages are concerned, mastering a wide repertoire of FSs helps learners attain receptive and productive fluency and therefore, achieve higher levels of language proficiency (Thornbury, 2019; Lindstromberg & Boers, 2008). However, due to  a traditional single-word instruction, restricted contact with the target language, and a probable interference of their mother tongue (Durrant & Schmitt, 2009; Laufer & Waldman, 2011; Li & Schmitt, 2010; Nguyen & Webb, 2017), EFL learners often miss the opportunity to profit from the advantageous benefits mentioned before. It stands to reason, then, that an explicit approach to teaching and learning FSs should be prioritised in the EFL classroom.

Although considerable research into FS learning and teaching has been focused mostly on adult learners with some degree of proficiency in English (El-Dakhs, 2017; Peters & Pauwels, 2014), less emphasis has been placed on how young learners with a basic command of English learn and can be taught FSs. What is more, several interventions have been designed to measure the effectiveness of controlled, decontextualised activities, such as multiple-choice, blank-filling, and matching exercises with a focus on FSs (Boers et al., 2014; Boers et al., 2017; Stengers et al., 2015), but little research has been devoted to exploring the impact of creative tasks on learners’ spontaneous use of FSs.

In this context, the aim of this presentation is to show the results of a creative task carried out by a group of primary school Argentinian learners with a basic level of English (A1 in the CEFR). These learners were required to use as many target FSs from the song “Remember me” (Anderson-Lopez & Lopez, 2017) as possible to compose a new stanza for the selected song as the last step of a sequence of activities implemented within a larger research study into the teaching and learning of FSs. Likewise, the criteria adopted and research decisions taken to examine the target and non-target FSs produced by these learners will be shared with attendees. Last but not least, some relevant teaching implications will be presented on the basis of the findings gathered.

• Investigar los efectos de la enseñanza explícita de secuencias formulaicas (SFs) del Inglés como Lengua Extranjera (ILE) por estudiantes de nivel primario y secundario;
• Medir la adquisición de SFs específicas en canciones y leyendas a través del lenguaje escrito;
• Vincular el quehacer investigativo universitario con la práctica docente en escuelas primarias y secundarias de la región, enriqueciendo la relación entre la universidad y escuela.

1. Llevar a cabo una experiencia de enseñanza explícita de secuencias formulaicas seleccionadas cuya adquisición se registre tanto en actividades de producción escrita controlada como en situaciones de uso más libre en estudiantes de escuelas primarias de nivel de proficiencia elemental y pre-intermedia en el idioma extranjero;
2. Implementar un abordaje metodológico que fomente el aprendizaje de secuencias formulaicas y vocabulario a través de actividades de clase basadas en material auténtico y/o adaptado (canciones y leyendas) publicadas en un manual diseñado a tal fin;
3. Capacitar a docentes que hayan formalizado su compromiso con la experiencia en aspectos teórico-prácticos para la enseñanza de secuencias formulaicas en canciones y leyendas y brindarles apoyo en su accionar;
4. Analizar los efectos de la implementación del manual y de la enseñanza explícita tanto cualitativa como cuantitativamente en la producción escrita controlada y más libre de las secuencias enseñadas a los/las estudiantes;
5. A partir de un relevamiento bibliográfico relativo a la temática del proyecto, contrastar metodologías de enseñanza y resultados;
6. Estudiar el impacto de la capacitación y de la experiencia de enseñanza explícita de secuencias formulaicas en la práctica áulica de los y las docentes;
7. Investigar la formulaicidad de las SFs seleccionadas para su enseñanza empleando las herramientas de lingüística de corpus a través del Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA, Davies, 2008-).

PRODUCCIÓN

 Ver otros proyectos

En el libro convergen los conocimientos recogidos de las lecturas y estudios de dos proyectos de investigación (J023 de 2013 a 2017 y J033 de 2018 a 2022) que se llevaron a cabo en la Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue así como de la práctica docente especializada por parte de los integrantes del equipo de investigación. Este libro se compone de tres partes: una sección destinada a los lectores donde se ofrece una guía al libro. La segunda sección se ocupa de los lineamientos teóricos de adquisición de vocabulario en lengua extranjera sobre los que se apoya este abordaje formulaico, su aplicación y efectividad. Además, se esbozan principios orientadores para docentes de inglés de la comunidad sobre el manejo del material didáctico para lograr resultados eficaces en la adquisición de secuencias formulaicas por parte de sus estudiantes. La tercera parte, que se destina a las prácticas áulicas, consta de seis capítulos que ofrecen una compilación de planes de trabajo basados en la enseñanza y aprendizaje de diferentes grupos de secuencias formulaicas extraídas de tres leyendas y tres canciones canciones auténticas y contemporáneas y leyendas en inglés alternadas. Están orientadas a estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera en escuelas primarias con un nivel elemental de proficiencia lingüística en inglés. Cada unidad didáctica cuenta con una guía de trabajo para los y las estudiantes con actividades de repaso e integradoras de las secuencias formulaicas trabajadas en cada unidad didáctica con ilustraciones originales en color. Está acompañada de guías didácticas con pasos detallados para los docentes que deseen implementarlas en sus aulas y en algunos casos actividades adicionales.

El libro cuenta con archivos multimedia para las actividades.

This paper describes a free yearly course taught by research team J033 at Comahue University during 2019 for primary- and secondary-school teachers of English and some insights gained through its formative and summative assessment (Brown, 2004). The course aimed to equip participants with theoretical-practical knowledge on how to teach contextualised formulaic sequences (Wray, 2002) (FSs) through authentic songs, legends and myths, and motivate them to engage in a future pilot experience teaching formulaic language in their own EFL settings.
The paper first discusses some theoretical issues related to formulaic sequences and their teaching in EFL contexts. Then it describes the course in terms of its aims and content, while also considering the different tasks completed by participants for formative and summative assessment. As instances of formative assessment (Brown, 2004), there were face-to-face and virtual group discussions in which teachers discussed key concepts in the bibliography on FS instruction, and oral presentations in which participants described sets of tasks designed for the introduction of FSs in their teaching contexts. Formal summative assessment consisted of three real-life tasks involving the implementation of central content in the course, which were meant to provide an insight into teachers’ grasp of the underlying principles of FS teaching (Lindstromberg & Boers, 2008) and their application in EFL classrooms and, by extension, into the extent to which the workshops’ objectives may have been accomplished.
The paper analyses some common features in the practical assignments submitted by participants for the assessment of the course. Tasks like summarising the theory to justify decisions on the sequences to teach and relating this to the aims of the tasks they designed posed some challenges to trainees. These challenges are examined and some implications are also discussed in terms of teaching FSs in in-service teachers’ contexts.

This presentation discusses the principles underlying a battery of tests designed to measure the acquisition of vocabulary in terms of formulaic sequences (FSs) in EFL primary school children participating in an explicit instruction research experience (Wray, 2002). Examples of different testing activity types to measure both receptive and productive knowledge of FSs are analysed in relation to noticing, retrieval and generative use in test development with implications for both EFL teaching and research.

Summary

Formulaic sequences (FSs) are frequently encountered strings of words that typically convey specific meanings and functions and are retrieved as wholes by native speakers of a language (Wray, 2002). Research into foreign language teaching (Boers & Lindstromberg, 2012; Wood, 2015) nowadays advocates FS-focused instruction in the classroom, optimizing learners’ FL acquisition through detection, retrieval and creative use (Lindstromberg & Boers, 2008; Pellicer-Sánchez & Boers, 2019).

Our research project analyzes the effect of teaching FSs in songs and legends to EFL public primary school students with an A1 proficiency level (CEFR) and assesses FS acquisition through a battery of tests designed to measure both receptive and productive knowledge of the target sequences (Gyllstad & Schmitt, 2019). Test results serve a two-fold purpose in the teaching and the research domains: to assess the learning of FSs in children with nearly no prior EFL instruction - and none in terms of formulaic language- and to gauge the effects of an explicit, focus-on form pedagogical intervention on their learning through different task-types assessing to what degree the target sequences are recognised and/or used productively over an extended period of time (nine to ten months).

This presentation will analyse examples of different testing activity types in relation to noticing, retrieval and generative use (Lindstromberg & Boers, 2008) and the principles in test development (Hughes, 1996; Read & Nation, 2004; Lewis, 2009) to show how language research and teaching are intrinsically conjoined. This research will provide applied linguists and teachers with information on learners’ vocabulary intake at different stages, and offer insights into participants’ formulaic competence development which can feed back into the EFL classroom.

This presentation describes an in-service training course offered to EFL teachers in primary and secondary schools on the teaching and learning of formulaic sequences (Wray, 2002) and its evaluation process. Whereas the formative assessment of participants’ intake of the course’s contents pointed to the successful incorporation of concepts and pedagogical proposals, the analysis of participants’ practical assignments (formal sum ative assessment) underlined some difficulties as to the implementation of these contents in the tasks.

Summary

In-service training contributes to graduated teachers’ further development in aspects related to their everyday practice. This presentation describes the formative and summative assessment (Brown, 2004) in a free yearly course taught by research team J033 at Comahue University during 2019 for primary- and secondary-school teachers of English. The course aimed to equip participants with theoretical-practical knowledge on how to teach contextualised formulaic sequences (Wray, 2002) (FSs) through authentic songs, legends and myths, and motivate them to engage in a future pilot experience teaching formulaic language in their own EFL settings. Eleven school teachers from Río Negro and Neuquén participated in the two-module course consisting of 70 hours’ work in meetings and online participation through the university’s Moodle platform. As instances of formative assessment (Brown, 2004), group discussions in class and through virtual forums engaged teachers in the discussion of key concepts in the bibliography on FS instruction. Participants also delivered oral presentations of tasks designed for the introduction of FSs.
The formal summative assessment of this course consisted of two real-life tasks involving the implementation of central contents of the course: a) designing classroom activities to teach pre-selected formulaic sequences in their contexts and b) teaching a simulated lesson on FSs as outlined in the corresponding lesson plan. These tasks provided an insight into teachers’ grasp of the underlying principles of FS teaching (Lindstromberg and Boers, 2008) and of their application in EFL classrooms and, by extension, into the extent to which the workshops’ objectives may have been accomplished.
The analysis of the practical assignments submitted pointed to some difficulties participants encountered in complying with the tasks. Summarising the theory to justify decisions on the sequences to teach and relating this to the aims of the tasks designed were frequently found obstacles. Constructive feedback and a process-oriented approach in subsequent resubmissions contributed to a profitable evaluation process.

Décadas de estudios de corpus sobre el uso del lenguaje confirman que el lenguaje se compone en gran medida de lenguaje prefabricado o formulaico (Erman y Warren, 2000), es decir, de combinaciones de frases que se emplean para transmitir un mismo mensaje denominadas ‘secuencias formulaicas’ (SSFF) (Wray, 2002) que cumplen diversas funciones comunicativas en un idioma. Esta visión del léxico en general señala que la enseñanza del vocabulario en una L2 (extranjera o segunda) debe focalizarse no ya en ítems léxicos individuales sino en estas secuencias frecuentes. Surge así una nueva pedagogía necesaria para contribuir a la percepción en el input de estas cadenas de palabras por parte de los aprendientes y fomentar su práctica y uso cotidiano. Boers y Lindstromberg (2012) resumen numerosas investigaciones que demuestran el mayor impacto de la instrucción explícita de SSFF en la adquisición de estas unidades de significado por sobre un abordaje implícito. Estudios experimentales como Fernández y Valcarce (2017) y Zinkgraf y Verdú (2017) señalan los beneficios de la metodología de enfoque en la forma a la enseñanza de SSFF en futuros docentes de inglés como lengua extranjera en su reconocimiento y en producción guiada y espontánea. Este trabajo describe una propuesta de enseñanza explícita de vocabulario basada en secuencias formulaicas y presenta los objetivos y procedimientos para explorar la adquisición de SSFF de canciones y leyendas en estudiantes de inglés de escuelas de nivel primario en Argentina. Se discuten los fundamentos teóricos que subyacen el diseño de materiales para esta experiencia piloto.

Abstract

More than three decades of studies in corpus linguistics confirm that language use is composed to a great extent of prefabricated or formulaic language (Erman & Warren 2000), that is, of combinations of phrases used to convey the same message. These phrases, called ‘formulaic sequences’ (FSs) by Wray (2002) recurrently fulfill a set of communicative functions in language. This shifting perspective of the lexicon in general suggests that the teaching of a foreign (or second) language needs to focus not on individual lexical items but on these frequent sequences. A new approach is necessary to contribute to learners’ noticing of these strings of words in the input to later encourage their practice and use. Boers & Lindstromberg (2012) summarise several investigations that prove the significant impact of the explicit teaching of these units of meaning on FS acquisition over more implicit methodologies. Experimental studies like Fernández & Valcarce (2017) and Zinkgraf & Verdú (2017) point to the advantages of a Focus on Form approach to the teaching of FSs with respect to recognition and controlled and spontaneous production in groups of EFL teachers-to-be. This paper presents the objectives and procedures to explore the acquisition of FSs found in songs and legends by younger primary-school learners of English while describing the underlying principles of the pedagogical materials designed for that research experience.

Corpus studies into the nature of language and the interrelationship between grammar and lexis have highlighted the pervasiveness of recurrent strings of words essential to the construction of meaning which Wray [2002: 9] has named “formulaic sequences” (FS). Research by Boers et al [2006], Eyckmans [2007], Stengers [2009] and Wray & Fitzpatrick [2008] suggests that good command of these phrases in the foreign language (FL), of their typical occurrence and of their use restrictions contributes to learners’ fluency, and is taken as evidence of a high level of proficiency. Boers & Lindstromberg [2012] argue that explicit FS instruction accompanied by awareness-raising tasks yield significant learning gains, especially in FL contexts. As a pushed-output procedure, Wajnryb’s dictogloss technique [1990] has recently been adapted in FS-focused instruction studies like those of Janssens [2016] and Lindstromberg, Eyckmans & Connabeer [2016]. In similar fashion, we designed an experimental study for the teaching of nine pedagogically relevant sequences with Spanish-L1 EFL university learners. Two types of treatment were implemented with a focus on the target FSs’ meanings, forms and uses with two naturally-occurring learner groups (Group 1, N=13, and Group 2, N=17), whose performance was compared to that of a control group (N=7). Group 1 completed a set of Focus-on-Form activities [Doughty & Williams 1998], while Group 2 carried out two sessions of FS-oriented dictogloss. Results show that learners in Group 2 produced 40 instances of the target FS in five essay-writing tasks at different stages of the study and as late as a month and a half post intervention. By contrast, Group 1 produced 23 instances of seven target FSs across three essay writing tasks, six weeks after treatment. These findings indicate that dictogloss seems to reinforce advanced students’ familiarization with target FS in context, and FS memory retention over time. Based on the descriptive analysis of uncued target FSs produced by learners in their written production tasks, the possible contributions of dictogloss to long-term FS acquisition are discussed.

Los descubrimientos de la lingüística de corpus han gestado una visión del léxico como algo más que un conjunto de ítems aislados (Sinclair,1991; Lewis, 1993, 1997 y 2000; y Schmitt, 2010). En este sentido, Wray (2002) define como secuencias formulaicas (SFs) a “una secuencia, continua o discontinua, de palabras […] almacenada y recuperada de la memoria como una unidad en el momento de uso, no sujeta a generación o análisis de la gramática del lenguaje” (p. 9). Estudios confirman la ubicuidad de estas frases típicas que comparten un significado universal para una comunidad de hablantes. Para los estudiantes de una lengua extranjera, la percepción holística de estas secuencias y la imprimación conjunta de su forma, uso y significado puede resultar un desafío (MacKenzie y Kayman, 2016). Suscribiendo a Boers y Lindstromberg (2009; 2012), Granger (2015), Granger y Meunier (2008), Wood (2010) y Wray (2008) consideramos necesario que estudiantes de ILE de FadeL, reconozcan y empleen SFs productiva y eficazmente. A tal fin, investigamos la instrucción explícita y el aprendizaje de dichas secuencias en talleres UPAMI, ILI, LI1, LI31 y Didáctica Especial y Residencia y diseñamos cursos de transferencia para docentes de escuelas primarias y secundarias de nuestra provincia. Estas experiencias orientaron la intervención pedagógica en escuelas primarias (PIN J033) que se ha comenzado a implementar a través de dos ciclos de formación para docentes (2019) y del diseño y publicación de materiales didácticos específicos, retroalimentando nuestra práctica docente como formadores de futuros profesionales de ILE en nuestra facultad.