The Effects of Formulaic Sequence Learning on English Conversation in a Movie Class

Mastering formulaic sequences (FSs) is a key indicator of language proficiency. The present study aims to investigate the perceptions and effectiveness of FSs in a movie class and make applicable suggestions on how to improve conversation skills utilizing FSs. In the Spring of 2020, thirty-one participants took an “English Through Movies” class at a South Korean university. Research data was collected from a survey, self-reflection report, and review journal. Quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to identify the impact on students’ learning. The pre/post-test survey analyses revealed FS-based movie class helped in overall English learning strategy use and was effective in improving students’ listening, speaking, and writing skills along with understanding the structure of English sentences. The result showed significant increases in confidence and self-directed learning, fostering a willingness to communicate. This implies that more emphasis should be put on FSs as clusters, in the EFL context by providing practical models of recurring language via chunking, windowing, shadowing, and echoing strategy. Pedagogical implications are provided together with a suggested FS Learning Cycle for a wide range of interactive applications with a few limitations.