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Academic Paper

Title:	Experimental and Intervention Studies on Formulaic Sequences in a Second Language
Author:	Franks Boers
Institution:	Erasmushogeschool Brussel
Author:	Seth Lindstromberg
Institution:	Hilderstone College
Linguistic Field:	Language Acquisition
Abstract:	In this article we review experimental and intervention studies published since 2004 on formulaic sequences in a second language (L2). There is plenty of evidence that learners have a lot to gain from building a sizable repertoire of L2 formulaic sequences language, but formulaicity is an area where learners are known to be slow to close the gap on native speakers. Pedagogical treatments proposed to help close that gap can be divided into three groups: (a) drawing learners’ attention to formulaic sequences as they are encountered, (b) stimulating lookups in dictionaries and the use of corpus tools, and (c) helping learners commit particular formulaic sequences to memory. We gauge the efficacy of treatments in these three categories by reviewing the (quasi-) experimental studies that put them to the test, and we refer to Laufer and Hulstijn's involvement load hypothesis to frame the discernible trends. The article concludes by suggesting avenues for much needed further research.

	This article appears in Annual Review of Applied Linguistics Vol. 32, Issue 1, which you can read on Cambridge's site or on LINGUIST .

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