Lexical Bundles in Indonesian EFL Textbooks: A Corpus Analysis

Abstract

Background. Lexical bundles in textbooks are of paramount importance in foreign language learning. They provide a framework for new vocabulary acquisition and help to build fluency. Despite many studies on lexical bundles, investigations into their usage in EFL textbooks in the Indonesian context are still rare.

Purpose. This corpus-based study examines the patterns and structural classifications of lexical bundles in EFL course textbooks for Indonesian senior high school students. As such, it could yield ready-made chunks of English which could be incorporated into students’ spoken and written communication.

Method. The AntConc software version 3.5.9 was used to extract lexical bundles from five Indonesian Senior High School English textbooks. These books were endorsed by the government to be used across the country. The corpus revealed that the textbooks had 54,009 lexical bundles. In addition, the bundles were categorized into patterns and structural classifications based on Biber et al. (1999).

Results. The results showed the patterns included three-word lexical bundles with 32,527 occurrences, four-word with 11,620, five-word with 6,073, and six-word with 3,789. Furthermore, eleven structural classifications of lexical bundles were found in the textbooks: “noun phrase + of phrase fragment” with 173 occurrences; “noun phrase + other post modifier fragment” with 44; “other noun phrases fragment” with 157; “prepositional phrase + of” with 13; “other prepositional phrases” with 243; “anticipatory it + verb phrase/adjective phrase” with 13; “passive verb + prepositional phrase” with 19; “copula be + noun phrase/ adjective phrase” with 30; “(verb phrase +) that- clause” with 59; and “(verb/adjective +) to- clause” with 239.

Conclusion. Three-word lexical bundles were the most frequent in the senior high English textbooks. High frequency implies repetition of the bundles. Also, the other prepositional phrase fragment was the most frequent structural classification. Short bundles may have been intended to help students to retain vocabulary and recall the bundles in the usage. This study, therefore, provides valuable insights into the most common groups of words used in the Indonesian EFL textbooks. Pedagogically speaking, repeated bundles in English textbooks can familiarize EFL students with the patterns, and they can use them in spoken and written communication.