Lexical Bundles in Reading Comprehension Passages of Chinese National Matriculation Entrance Test: A Corpus-Based Contrastive Analysis

Abstract

The construct of reading is presented in language assessment. Previous studies have focused on reading issues encountered by English learners, most of which are manifested by certain linguistic features: lexical bundles (LBs). Addressing this, the study aims to analyze LBs in reading comprehension passages in the Chinese National Matriculation Entrance Test (NMET) and contrast them with those in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), by focusing on the form, function, and frequency of three-word formulaic units. Data collected from self-built corpora based on the two tests were analyzed using Biber et al.’s structural and functional taxonomies. Results suggested that NMET includes a substantially lower frequency of bundles and a notably limited range of bundle patterns than IELTS. Results also indicated that the structural forms of LBs in NMET are clausal and that the dominant function is referential. This study has pedagogical implications for test designers and English reading educators.