Speaker
Description
Reading comprehension is one of the most essential skills in university settings, as students are required to read research articles, books, and journals to complete their assignments. However, L2 students often face challenges when reading academic resources due to limitations in lexical recognition and word retrieval (Cooper, 2013). Lexical bundles—multi-word units with relatively transparent meanings—tend to receive little attention from learners. Yet, these phrases are crucial in both reading and writing, as they help writers convey ideas clearly and assist readers in navigating the text.
The IELTS test, a high-stakes English assessment, is often a prerequisite for international students before being admitted to universities in many English-speaking countries. Despite its significance for academic success, very few studies have assessed the use of lexical bundles in the IELTS test and compared it to their use in student writing assignments. This study addresses this gap by investigating lexical bundles in IELTS Academic Reading tests and student essays. A corpus-based analysis was conducted to examine the frequency distribution, structural, and functional patterns of these multi-word sequences across the corpora. An IELTS Reading corpus was compiled from official IELTS textbooks, while the other two corpora were collected from student essays in the British Academic Written English (BAWE) corpus. A qualitative approach was used to extract and analyze the lexical bundles. The findings revealed a dominant use of noun-based and verb-based phrases in all three corpora, with a large proportion of research-orientated lexical bundles also identified.
Biography
I am an English language educator with over ten years of teaching experience and the founder of Nottingham English Center in Da Nang, Vietnam. Throughout my career, I have remained committed to providing learner-centred, high-quality English instruction to students from diverse backgrounds and proficiency levels.
I hold two Master’s degrees: one in Economics from Lincoln University, UK, and another in TESOL, which I recently earned. My interdisciplinary academic background has allowed me to approach language teaching from an outsider's fresh perspective. I believe this fusion of disciplines helps me understand the difficulty and stay adaptive in this constantly changing field.
As the founder of a language centre, I have been actively involved in curriculum development, teacher training, and the overall strategic direction of our programmes. My goal has always been to create a dynamic and inclusive learning environment where students feel empowered to grow both linguistically and personally.
To improve students’ English proficiency, I believe developing strong reading skills is essential. This conviction has led me to focus on how best to sharpen these skills through research on extended reading habits and corpus linguistics. I am particularly interested in how lexical bundles, common multi-word phrases, can support learners in navigating academic texts more effectively. By integrating insights from corpus-based studies, I aim to help students overcome challenges in lexical recognition and word retrieval, ultimately enhancing both their reading comprehension and writing abilities.
