The effect of explicit instruction of formulaic sequences on l2 oral fluency

The role of formulaic language use in promoting L2 oral fluency is widely recognized. However, how instruction of formulaic language affects L2 speaking is still not clear. This study examined the effect of explicit instruction of formulaic sequences on L2 oral fluency. Two groups of English for academic purposes (EAP) students were assigned as experimental group and comparison group. The experimental group (N=18) received explicit instruction of formulaic sequences (FS) and the comparison group (N=19) received explicit instruction of academic vocabulary for 5 weeks. The target items in both groups were introduced through concordancing and practiced in communicative group activities and discussions in an EAP program. Pretest, posttest and delayed posttest scores of both groups were collected and they were interviewed about their opinions on the instruction they received on posttest. L2 oral fluency scores of the participants were evaluated according to Skehan's classification of oral fluency (Skehan, 2003; Tavakoli and Skehan, 2005): speed fluency, breakdown fluency and repair fluency. The effect of the instruction on L2 oral fluency was also adjusted for L1 fluency and L2 working memory capacity. Quantitative data were analyzed via Repeated Measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Repeated Measures Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). Results showed that there was a significant increase in pruned speech rate and articulation rate of the experimental group compared to the comparison group after receiving explicit instruction of FS and the long term effect of the FS instruction as compared to the academic vocabulary instruction was only observed in speed fluency. However, there was no significant relationship between the L2 oral fluency scores and the number of FS used in oral elicitation tasks on posttest, indicating that the increase in speed fluency cannot be attributed to the use of FS alone. It was also found that FS instruction did not have a significant effect on L2 oral accuracy of the experimental group, but it significantly facilitated one of the experimental group's L2 oral complexity scores (Mean segmental type-token ratio). On the other hand, the comparison group made a significant gain in another L2 oral complexity score (syntactic variety) after receiving academic vocabulary instruction. Qualitative data coming from semi-structured interviews showed that both groups expressed positive learning outcomes from the instruction through concordances. The experimental group specifically emphasized the positive effect of the FS instruction on boosting their confidence and speed in their L2 oral performance.