The Utility of Lexical Bundle Teaching for Improving ESP Learners’ Writing Ability on IELTS

Objective: The effectiveness of Lexical Bundle (LBs) instruction for facilitating writing skill development has been a controversial issue in language teaching. This study examined the impact of LBs instruction on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learners’ performance on IELTS writing task ۲. Methods: To this end, first, ۶۰ male and female ESP learners were randomly selected from among ۱۵۰ ESP learners of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences as participants. Second, these participants were assigned to the experimental group and the control group, each with ۳۰ learners. Both groups were then administered IELTS writing task ۲ as a pretest. The experimental group was provided with ten sessions of IELTS-Task ۲-related LB instruction.  The control group, however, did not receive this kind of instruction. Finally, the researchers administered IELTS writing task ۲ to both of the groups anew as a posttest. Results: The results suggest that teaching the relevant bundles had significant positive impacts on ESP learners’ general performance of the relevant writing tasks, task achievement grammatical range and accuracy, vocabulary knowledge, as well as observing cohesive ties and coherence in their writing. Conclusions: The results may provide some useful insights regarding the instruction of LBs in IELTS preparation courses for the ESP learners.

کلیدواژه ها:

English for medical purposes ، ESP courses ، IELTS ، LBs ، writing ability