2.2 Studies on Using Prefabricated Chunks in Writing

Since 1970s, many researchers have made great efforts to emphasize the importance of prefabricated chunks in order to transfer the core of writing from traditional grammar rules and separate words to prefabricated chunks.

Becker(1975) first put forward that prefabricated chunks seem to be too ubiquitous to be ignored and he also pointed out that students can use “prepared frame works to fill their ideas so that they save the labor of exerting an utterance every time they want to express something.

 According to Wong-Fillmore’s study, the speech behavior is mainly made up of prefabricated chunks which should be put at a central position of second language acquisition and she also indicates that in the process of second language acquisition, these learnt routins and patterns evolve directly into creative language (Wong-Fillmore, 1976:54). Under the influence of their research, Nattinger and DeCarrico (1992:23) notice that in their research of children’s vocabulary acquisition, children employ a large number of unanalyzed prefabricated chunks in some given context. For instance, children often use some fixed phrases such as “give it to me” “I am hungry” “I love you, mum” etc. In their eyes, these chunks are a whole and do matter.