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Recurrent Word Clusters Used by Asian Learners : A Statistical Study of Differences

Learner Corpus Studies in Asia and the World

1

67-76

神戸大学国際コミュニケーションセンター

2013-03-23

2014-06-24

Recurrent word clusters have received more and more attention recently in applied linguistics. The aim of this study is to explore which word clusters are over- or underused by particular groups of Asian learners of English and to clarify this aspect of their language-learning processes. We focus on word clusters consisting of three or four words, and analyze essays written by several groups of Asian learners and by native speakers on the same topic under the same constraints in order to answer research questions 1) Are there any differences among certain groups of Asian learners or between them and native speakers in their use of word clusters? and 2) Do any word clusters tend to be used more frequently or less frequently than others by a particular group of Asian learners? The results suggest that the answers to both these questions are positive and that the essays can be divided into four groups by the features of their word cluster use: those written by Japanese learners, by other EFL learners, by ESL learners, and by native speakers. Specific findings include that Japanese learners tend to overuse “I think that” and “I agree that,” while ESL learners tend to overuse certain linking adverbials, such as “on the other hand” and “at the same time.”

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