Teaching Formulaic Sequences in the ESL Classroom

In both second language (L2) research and pedagogy, individual words have been considered the basic lexical unit; this is not surprising, because individual words are convenient to identify, teach, and work with (Schmitt, 2010). However, there is a growing awareness that language users do not always process language word by word, but also make use of formulaic sequences. In fact, it has been estimated that formulaic sequences constitute more than 50% of spoken and written English discourse (Erman & Warren, 2000) and that these sequences are strongly associated with fluent, communicative, native-like language production (Pawley & Syder, 1983; Schmitt, 2010). This means that in order to appear proficient, English as a second language (ESL) learners also need to gain mastery of these sequences. However, formulaic sequences are particularly difficult for L2 learners to acquire (Scarcella, 1979; Yorio, 1989), which further emphasizes the need to focus on and teach these sequences in the ESL classroom. This article, based on previous research findings on formulaic sequences in the L2 literature, provides a series of steps and strategies for the teaching of formulaic sequences through all four language skills in the L2 classroom.