What concept involves the use of repetitive phrases or expressions in language learning?

The concept of formulaic speech refers to the use of fixed or semi-fixed expressions that language learners often memorize and use in various contexts. These phrases, such as "How are you?" or "Nice to meet you," allow learners to communicate more effectively without needing to construct sentences from scratch each time. Formulaic speech is crucial in language acquisition because it helps learners build fluency by providing them with ready-made chunks of language that can be used in conversation, thus reducing the cognitive load associated with language production.

In contrast, creative language use refers to the ability to generate new sentences and ideas, spontaneous speech involves unscripted and real-time dialogue, and lexical innovation pertains to the creation of new words or phrases. While these other concepts are valuable in language development, they do not specifically focus on the repetition and memorization of established phrases as formulaic speech does.