Corpus-Based Analysis of Three-Word Lexical Bundles in Kazakh

Teaching Kazakh as a second language for academic purposes presents various challenges, including a lack of suitable teaching materials. There are currently no textbooks or syllabi that provide authentic and academic specific language for learners of Kazakh. One way to address this gap is through corpus-based studies, which help identify frequently used lexical bundles. Lexical bundles are recurrent word combinations that appear frequently in academic discourse, playing a crucial role in achieving fluency and mastering academic language conventions. Understanding these bundles can help learners develop language skills in academic Kazakh. This study identifies and analyzes the 100 most frequent three-word lexical bundles in academic Kazakh, focusing on their functional roles. The research is based on a corpus of 600 academic texts written by native speakers of Kazakh across six disciplines: 'Archeology and Ethnology', 'Translation Studies', 'Theology',  'Philology', 'Philosophy' , and 'Oriental Studies'. The obtained lexical bundles are categorized into three main functional types: referential expressions, stance expressions, and discourse organizers. The findings reveal distinct patterns in the use of lexical bundles in academic Kazakh, highlighting how authors structure arguments, establish textual cohesion, and express their stance. This study contributes to the understanding of main lexical bundles in academic Kazakh, offering valuable insights for language instructors, curriculum developers, and researchers. The results can inform the development of academic writing resources, support syllabus design, and enhance instructional approaches in teaching Kazakh as a second language for academic purposes.