diff --git a/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/ast/FormatHelper.java b/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/ast/FormatHelper.java
index 12895fc3ae..57f00826c6 100644
--- a/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/ast/FormatHelper.java
+++ b/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/ast/FormatHelper.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package org.springframework.expression.spel.ast;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 
 /**
  * Utility methods (formatters, etc) used during parsing and evaluation.
@@ -28,10 +29,10 @@ import org.springframework.core.convert.TypeDescriptor;
 public class FormatHelper {
 
 	/**
-	 * Produce a nice string for a given method name with specified arguments.
+	 * Produce a readable representation for a given method name with specified arguments.
 	 * @param name the name of the method
 	 * @param argumentTypes the types of the arguments to the method
-	 * @return nicely formatted string, eg. foo(String,int)
+	 * @return a nicely formatted representation, e.g. {@code foo(String,int)}
 	 */
 	public static String formatMethodForMessage(String name, List<TypeDescriptor> argumentTypes) {
 		StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(name);
@@ -53,16 +54,14 @@ public class FormatHelper {
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Produce a nice string for a given class object.
-	 * For example, a string array will have the formatted name "java.lang.String[]".
-	 * @param clazz The class whose name is to be formatted
-	 * @return a formatted string suitable for message inclusion
+	 * Determine a readable name for a given Class object.
+	 * <p>A String array will have the formatted name "java.lang.String[]".
+	 * @param clazz the Class whose name is to be formatted
+	 * @return a formatted String suitable for message inclusion
+	 * @see ClassUtils#getQualifiedName(Class)
 	 */
 	public static String formatClassNameForMessage(Class<?> clazz) {
-		if (clazz == null) {
-			return "null";
-		}
-		return clazz.getTypeName();
+		return (clazz != null ? ClassUtils.getQualifiedName(clazz) : "null");
 	}
 
 }