The Use Of Lexical Repetition And Patterning In Written Compositions Of Jordanian Students Majoring In English Language And Literature At Mu’tah University: A Case Study
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Date
2010-02
Authors
Al Khotaba, Eissa Hamid
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
In an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context, writing is a skill that EFL learners
must acquire as that would certainly help them in their future career (Mirhosseini, 2009).
Many researchers such as Hoey (1991), Wong (2004), Klebanov and Shamir (2006),
Morris (2007) and Kai (2008) found out that EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and
ESL (English as a Second Language) learners’ written essays are difficult to understand
as they lack coherent structure and organisation. These researchers, in particular Hoey
(1991), argue that lexical repetition and patterning in written texts are necessary to
produce coherent and well-organised written essays. However, claims in Jordan are rife
that students who have successfully completed EFL courses are incompetent and are
unable to produce coherent English compositions.
As a result, Jordanian students face difficulty in securing jobs or advancing in their
existing careers. There is much expectation in Jordan that universities are able to
produce graduates who are proficient in both speaking and writing skills to increase
employability. In light of this problem, the study aimed to investigate the use of lexical
repetition and patterning in 60 written texts written by English Language and Literature
students at Mu’tah University. The conceptual framework that underpins the study
includes theoretical and empirical studies on students’ use of lexical cohesion in higher
education and approaches to teaching writing to EFL learners. The sample of the study
comprised 60 EFL students in the Bachelor of Arts, English Language and Literature
degree at the department of English Language and Literature at Mu’tah University in
Jordan. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques
such as a written task and semi-structured interviews. The qualitative and quantitative
data from the written essays were analysed using Hoey’s (1991) repetition matrix. The
qualitative data from the semi-structured interviews were analysed by looking at
emergent themes.
The findings indicated that the students only used two types of lexical repetition.
These types included simple and complex lexical repetitions. The most frequently used
type of lexical repetitions was simple lexical repetition (SR). Also, the findings show
that there was no occurrence of the other types of lexical repetitions such as simple
paraphrase (SP), hyponymy (HY), co-reference (CO-REF) and superordinate (SUP) in
the 60 written compositions.
In addition, the findings revealed that Jordanian English Language and Literature
students at Mu’tah University used four different types of lexical patterns (Central,
Marginal, Topic-opening and Topic-closing) which resulted from their use of the
different kinds of lexical repetition and bondage. Together these contribute to the overall
cohesion of the written text. This research recommends that Hoey’s (1991) model of
lexical repetition and patterning be used widely in Jordan as an alternative method of
teaching writing to EFL learners. In addition, it recommends that EFL teachers in Jordan
are provided with the awareness of how lexical repetition and patterning are able to
lexically connect and bond sentences and clauses together across written texts.
Description
Keywords
The use of lexical repetition and patterning , in written Compositions of jordanian students