Reflective Writing 6: Vocabulary Profile and Lexical Bundles of EFL Academic Writing

The sixth meeting of the Academic Writing course required us to join a research talk presented by the International Office of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University via Zoom Meeting. The research talk invited a speaker from Sampoerna University, Mr. Christianus I Wayan Eka Budiartha. The topic of this research talk was "Vocabulary Profile and Lexical Bundles of EFL Academic Writing: A Corpus-based Study in English Teaching."

There are three different research strands in vocabulary study. The first one is lexical knowledge; it contains all of the information known about words and their relationships. Lexical knowledge helps students to be able to express what they mean precisely in their writings. The second is literacy; it is defined as the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in a way that allows us to effectively communicate with others. Students who have a lack literacy will encounter more difficulties in their learning process, especially in writing. And the last is metalinguistic awareness; it is defined as the ability to concentrate on language, reflect on it, and evaluate it. Metalinguistic awareness helps students to understand and analyze how language is used. It also teaches students how to use language appropriately.

Furthermore, lexical bundles is defined as the most frequent recurring sequence of three or more words that commonly go together in natural discourse. The speaker gave us a deeper analysis of lexical bundles, which are the structural and functional analyses. In the structural analysis, it is found that the most frequently used lexical bundles is to incorporate verb phrases (e.g. strongly believe that), noun phrases (e.g. the fact that), prepositional phrases (e.g. in my opinion), adjectival phrases (more likely to), etc. on the other hand, in the functional analysis, it is found that the most frequently used lexical bundles is to refer to a contrast (e.g. on the other), to highlight the first-person point of view (e.g. in my opinion), and to the cause of something (e.g. because they are).

From this research talk, I gained more knowledge about lexical knowledge, literacy, metalinguistic awareness, and lexical bundles. Based on my experience as a student, I often encounter difficulties in stating my ideas in my writing because of my lack of vocabulary knowledge. I know that I should learn and practice more writing so that I can improve my writing skills, especially in academic writing. I hope, I could make good academic writing by understanding the materials given in this research talk.