Academic Writing in English as a Foreign Language: the Use of Formulaic Langauge and Disciplinary Variation

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Title [sv]

Akademiskt skrivande på engelska som ett främmande språk: konventionaliserade uttryck och interdisciplinär variation

Title [en]

Academic Writing in English as a Foreign Language: the Use of Formulaic Langauge and Disciplinary Variation

Abstract [sv]

Formulaic sequences (e.g. it can be seen that, put forward, come into play) are pervasive in academic language and offer an important means of differentiating written texts by discipline. This project explores the extent to which formulaicicity varies in frequency, form and function by discipline and type of writer (with different mother tongues). By linking up corpus analysis with psycholinguistic experimentation, the ultimate goal of the study is to contribute to the development of a theoretical model (i.e. the idiom principle) that is rooted not only in usage itself, but also in the underlying motivations that determine usage, integrating diverse cognitive, social and historical factors, and the effects of L1 influence responsible for the shape of formulaic language in L2 academic writing. As English is the dominant language for research-based writing in countries like Sweden, the importance for the students to grasp the English language for their own disciplines can never be undermined. The outcomes of the project are therefore important both for theory building, and for more effective language teaching and learning. Professor Alison Wray at Cardiff Univeristy is a leading scholar in formualic studies. Her group specialize in examining formulaicity in a number of research contexts, e.g. L1 and L2 acquisition, pshcholinguistics. My visit there will benefit the project enormously in proposing a unifying explanatory framework for L2 formulaic use and acquisition.