1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
  4. Volume 47, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 47, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0155-0640
  • E-ISSN: 1833-7139
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Lexical bundles are recurrent multiword combinations and often function as discourse building blocks. Lexical bundles have been analysed in university students’ writing to detect linguistic errors, measure writing competence, and investigate the divergence between L1 and L2 writing. Few studies, however, have focused on the high-stakes genre of PhD thesis and investigated the bundle productions of the same genre within the same level and discipline. This paper compares sentence initial lexical bundles in the corpora of English theses written by Chinese and New Zealand PhD students in the discipline of General and Applied Linguistics. Forty-six bundles from a Chinese corpus and forty-two bundles from a New Zealand corpus were generated. Among them, 94% of sentence initial bundles were identified as metadiscursive bundles. Chinese and New Zealand doctoral students showed considerably different preferences in their bundle selection. The paper examines the possible impact of these preferences and suggests there is a need to extend the metadiscourse knowledge of doctoral students in terms of lexical bundles.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/aral.21018.li
2022-09-21
2024-09-14

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/aral.21018.li
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ädel, A.
    (2006) Metadiscourse in L1 and L2 English. John Benjamins Publishing Company. 10.1075/scl.24
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.24 [Google Scholar]
  2. Ädel, A., & Erman, B.
    (2012) Recurrent word combinations in academic writing by native and non-native speakers of English: A lexical bundles approach. English for Specific Purposes, 31(2), 81–92. 10.1016/j.esp.2011.08.004
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2011.08.004 [Google Scholar]
  3. Ädel, A., & Mauranen, A.
    (2010) Metadiscourse: Diverse and divided perspectives. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(2), 1–11. 10.35360/njes.215
     https://doi.org/10.35360/njes.215 [Google Scholar]
  4. Aktas, R. N., & Cortes, V.
    (2008) Shell nouns as cohesive devices in published and ESL student writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(1), 3–14. 10.1016/j.jeap.2008.02.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.02.002 [Google Scholar]
  5. Biber, D.
    (2015) Corpus-based and corpus-driven analysis of language variation and use. InB. Heine & H. Narrog (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of linguistic analysis (pp.193–224). Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Biber, D., & Barbieri, F.
    (2007) Lexical bundles in university spoken and written registers. English for Specific Purposes, 26(3), 263–286. 10.1016/j.esp.2006.08.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2006.08.003 [Google Scholar]
  7. Biber, D., & Conrad, S.
    (2019) Register, genre, and style (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781108686136
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108686136 [Google Scholar]
  8. Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Cortes, V.
    (2003) Lexical bundles in speech and writing: An initial taxonomy. InG. N. Leech, T. McEnery, A. Wilson, & P. Rayson (Eds.), Corpus linguistics by the lune. Peter Lang.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. (2004) If you look at …: Lexical bundles in university teaching and textbooks. Applied Linguistics, 25(3), 371–405. 10.1093/applin/25.3.371
     https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/25.3.371 [Google Scholar]
  10. Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E.
    (1999) Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Longman.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Bouziri, B.
    (2021) A tripartite interpersonal model for investigating metadiscourse in academic lectures. Applied Linguistics. Advance online publication. 10.1093/applin/amab001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amab001 [Google Scholar]
  12. Bychkovska, T., & Lee, J. J.
    (2017) At the same time: Lexical bundles in L1 and L2 university student argumentative writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 30(Supplement C), 38–52. 10.1016/j.jeap.2017.10.008
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.10.008 [Google Scholar]
  13. Chen, Y.-H., & Baker, P.
    (2010) Lexical bundles in L1 and L2 academic writing. Language Learning & Technology, 14(2), 30–49.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Cortes, V.
    (2004) Lexical bundles in published and student disciplinary writing: Examples from history and biology. English for Specific Purposes, 23(4), 397–423. 10.1016/j.esp.2003.12.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2003.12.001 [Google Scholar]
  15. (2013) The purpose of this study is to: Connecting lexical bundles and moves in research article introductions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(1), 33–43. 10.1016/j.jeap.2012.11.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2012.11.002 [Google Scholar]
  16. (2015) Situating lexical bundles in the formulaic language spectrum. InV. Cortes & E. Csomay (Eds.), Corpus-based research in applied linguistics: Studies in honor of Doug Biber (Vol.661, pp.197–216). John Benjamins Publishing Company. 10.1075/scl.66.09cor
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.66.09cor [Google Scholar]
  17. Coxhead, A., & Byrd, P.
    (2007) Preparing writing teachers to teach the vocabulary and grammar of academic prose. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), 129–147. 10.1016/j.jslw.2007.07.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.07.002 [Google Scholar]
  18. Dechert, H. W.
    (1984) Second language production: Six hypotheses. InH. W. Dechert, D. Mohle, & M. Raupach (Eds.), Second language productions (pp.211–230). Gunter Narr Verlag.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Esfandiari, R., & Barbary, F.
    (2017) A contrastive corpus-driven study of lexical bundles between English writers and Persian writers in psychology research articles. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 291, 21–42. 10.1016/j.jeap.2017.09.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.09.002 [Google Scholar]
  20. Franken, M.
    (2014) The nature and scope of student search strategies in using a web derived corpus for writing. The Language Learning Journal, 42 (1), 85–102. 10.1080/09571736.2012.678013
     https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2012.678013 [Google Scholar]
  21. Granger, S.
    (2018) Tracking the third code: A cross-linguistic corpus-driven approach to metadiscursive markers. InA. Čermáková & M. Mahlberg (Eds.), The corpus linguistics discourse: In honour of Wolfgang Teubert (pp.185–204). John Benjamins. 10.1075/scl.87.08gra
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.87.08gra [Google Scholar]
  22. Groom, N.
    (2005) Pattern and meaning across genres and disciplines: An exploratory study. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4(3), 257–277. 10.1016/j.jeap.2005.03.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2005.03.002 [Google Scholar]
  23. Halliday, M. A. K.
    (1994) An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.). Edward Arnold.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Hewings, M., & Hewings, A.
    (2002) “It is interesting to note that …”: A comparative study of anticipatory ‘it’ in student and published writing. English for Specific Purposes, 211, 367–383. 10.1016/S0889‑4906(01)00016‑3
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(01)00016-3 [Google Scholar]
  25. Hyland, K.
    (2001) Humble servants of the discipline? Self-mention in research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 20(3), 207–226. 10.1016/S0889‑4906(00)00012‑0
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00012-0 [Google Scholar]
  26. (2005a) Metadiscourse: Exploring interaction in writing. Continuum.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. (2005b) Stance and engagement: A model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(2), 173–192. 10.1177/1461445605050365
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365 [Google Scholar]
  28. (2007) Applying a gloss: Exemplifying and reformulating in academic discourse. Applied Linguistics, 28(2), 266–285. 10.1093/applin/amm011
     https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm011 [Google Scholar]
  29. (2008) Academic clusters: Text patterning in published and postgraduate writing. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 18(1), 41–62. 10.1111/j.1473‑4192.2008.00178.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2008.00178.x [Google Scholar]
  30. (2012) Bundles in academic discourse. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 321, 150–169. 10.1017/S0267190512000037
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190512000037 [Google Scholar]
  31. (2018) Metadiscourse: Exploring interaction in writing (1 ed.). Bloomsbury Academic. 10.5040/9781350063617
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350063617 [Google Scholar]
  32. (2019) Participation in publishing: The demoralizing discourse of disadvantage. InP. Habibie & K. Hyland (Eds.), Novice writers and scholarly publication: Authors, mentors, gatekeepers (pp.13–33). Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑95333‑5_2
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95333-5_2 [Google Scholar]
  33. Jiang, F., & Hyland, K.
    (2017) Metadiscursive nouns: Interaction and cohesion in abstract moves. English for Specific Purposes, 461, 1–14. 10.1016/j.esp.2016.11.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2016.11.001 [Google Scholar]
  34. Kuo, C.-H.
    (1999) The use of personal pronouns: Role relationships in scientific journal articles. English for Specific Purposes, 18(2), 121–138. 10.1016/S0889‑4906(97)00058‑6
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(97)00058-6 [Google Scholar]
  35. Li, L., Franken, M., & Wu, S.
    (2018) Chinese postgraduates’ explanation of the sources of sentence initial bundles in their thesis writing. RELC Journal, 50(1), 37–52. 10.1177/0033688217750641
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217750641 [Google Scholar]
  36. Lu, X., & Deng, J.
    (2019) With the rapid development: A contrastive analysis of lexical bundles in dissertation abstracts by Chinese and L1 English doctoral students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 391, 21–36. 10.1016/j.jeap.2019.03.008
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.03.008 [Google Scholar]
  37. Nesi, H., & Gardner, S.
    (2012) Genres across the disciplines: Student writing in higher education. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781009030199
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009030199 [Google Scholar]
  38. Pan, F., Reppen, R., & Biber, D.
    (2016) Comparing patterns of L1 versus L2 English academic professionals: Lexical bundles in Telecommunications research journals. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 211, 60–71. 10.1016/j.jeap.2015.11.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.11.003 [Google Scholar]
  39. Pearson, H.
    (2020) Attitude verbs. InD. Gutzmann, L. Matthewson, C. Meier, H. Rullmann, & T. E. Zimmerman (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell companion to semantics. John Wiley & Sons Inc.. 10.1002/9781118788516.sem008
     https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118788516.sem008 [Google Scholar]
  40. Pérez-Llantada, C.
    (2014) Formulaic language in L1 and L2 expert academic writing: Convergent and divergent usage. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 141, 84–94. 10.1016/j.jeap.2014.01.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2014.01.002 [Google Scholar]
  41. Vande Kopple, W. J.
    (1989) Clear and coherent prose: A functional approach. Scott, Foresman and Company.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Wei, Y., & Lei, L.
    (2011) Lexical bundles in the academic writing of advanced Chinese EFL learners. RELC Journal, 42(2), 155–166. 10.1177/0033688211407295
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688211407295 [Google Scholar]
  43. Williams, J. M., & Bizup, J.
    (2014) Style: Lessons in clarity and grace (11th ed.). Pearson.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Witten, I. H., Wu, S., Li, L., & Whisler, J. L.
    (2013) The book of FLAX: A new approach to computer-assisted language learning (2nd ed.). University of Waikato.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Wray, A.
    (2002) Formulaic language and the lexicon. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511519772
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511519772 [Google Scholar]
  46. Yang, Y.
    (2013) Exploring linguistic and cultural variations in the use of hedges in English and Chinese scientific discourse. Journal of Pragmatics, 50(1), 23–36. 10.1016/j.pragma.2013.01.008
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.01.008 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/aral.21018.li
Loading
Sentence initial lexical bundles in Chinese and New Zealand PhD theses in the discipline of General and Applied Linguistics
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 47, 101 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.21018.li
/content/journals/10.1075/aral.21018.li
/content/journals/10.1075/aral.21018.li
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): corpus analysis; disciplines; L2 academic writing; lexical bundles; metadiscourse; PhD thesis

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error