1 An Academic Formulas List (AFL): Corpus Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, and Education Nick C. Ellis & Rita Simpson-Vlach University of Michigan San José State University Abstract This research creates an empirically derived, pedagogically useful list of formulaic sequences for academic speech and writing, comparable to the Academic Word List (Coxhead 2000), called the Academic Formulas List (AFL). The AFL includes formulaic sequences identified as (1) frequent recurrent patterns in corpora of written and spoken language, which (2) occur significantly more often in academic than in non- academic discourse, and (3) inhabit a wide range of academic genres. We assess the instructional and psycholinguistic validity of these formulas in order to prioritize them using an empirically derived measure of utility that is educationally and psychologically valid and operationalizable with corpus linguistic metrics. The formulas are classified according to their predominant pragmatic function for descriptive analysis and in order to marshal the AFL for inclusion in English for Academic Purposes instruction. An Academic Formulas List (AFL), Corpus Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, Education, English for Academic Purposes Introduction The specific aim in this research is to create an Academic Formulas List (AFL), a pedagogically useful list of formulaic sequences for academic speech and writing comparable to the Academic Word List (hereafter AWL, Coxhead 2000). Corpus linguistic analyses of written and spoken academic discourse allow us to identify recurring, high-frequency lexical bundles, phrases, or formulas, and research has shown that these are important characteristics of academic registers (Biber, Conrad et al. 2004; Simpson 2004). Cognitive scientific analyses also inform us that knowledge of these formulas is crucial for fluent processing. Second language acquisition researchers and EAP practitioners need a prioritized list of the most important formulas characterizing academic discourse, which as of yet has not been available. Our research therefore triangulates the construct of ‘formula’ from corpus linguistic, psycholinguistic and educational perspectives.