Investigation of EFL learners discourse functions of lexical bundles: A case of written register

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the discourse functions of lexical bundles in written university registers. Lexical bundles which are frequently found in written academic discourse are examined in order to analyze their functions in this register, comparing the frequency of each functions. As the written register, theses of 72 EFLstudents were randomly chosen. The categorization was constructed based on the functional framework of lexical bundles in discourse offered by Biber et al. Every 4-word sequence in the theses was identified. The most frequent 4-word bundles in the theses were categorized and discussed accordingly.