Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-08T04:11:06.589Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Enhancing writing pedagogy with learner corpus data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2014

Elena Cotos
Elena Cotos*
Affiliation:
Iowa State University, USA (email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Learner corpora have become prominent in language teaching and learning, enhancing data-driven learning (DDL) pedagogy by promoting ‘learning driven data’ in the classroom. This study explores the potential of a local learner corpus by investigating the effects of two types of DDL activities, one relying on a native-speaker corpus (NSC) and the second combining native-speaker and learner corpora. Both types of activities aimed at improving second language writers’ knowledge of linking adverbials and were based on a preliminary analysis of adverbial use in the local learner corpus produced by 31 study participants. Quantitative and qualitative data, obtained from writing samples, pre/post-tests, and questionnaires, were converged through concurrent triangulation. The results showed an increase in frequency, diversity and accuracy in all participants’ use of adverbials, but more significant improvement was made by the students who were exposed to the corpus containing their own writing. The findings of this study are thus interpreted as suggestive that combining learner and native-speaker data is a feasible and effective practice, which can be readily integrated in DDL-based instruction with positive impact.

Keywords

learner corpusdata-driven learninglearning driven dataL2 academic writing pedagogylinking adverbials.
Type
Research Article
Information
ReCALL , Volume 26 , Issue 2: Researching uses of corpora for language teaching and learning , May 2014 , pp. 202 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altenberg, B. and Tapper, B. (1998) The use of adverbial connectors in advanced Swedish learners’ written English. In: Granger, S. (ed.), Learner English on computer. London: Longman, 80–93.Google Scholar
Bachman, L. and Palmer, A. (1996) Language testing in practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Barlow, M. (1996) Corpora for theory and practice. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(1): 1–37.Google Scholar
Bartlett, F. (1932) Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Belz, J. and Vyatkina, N. (2005) Learner corpus analysis and the development of L2 pragmatic competence in networked intercultural language study: The case of German modal particles. The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue Canadienne des Langues Vivantes, 62(1): 17–48.Google Scholar
Bernardini, S. (2000) Serendipity expanded: Exploring new directions for discovery learning. TaLC 2000. Graz, 19–22 July.Google Scholar
Bernardini, S. (2002) Exploring new directions for discovery learning. In: Kettemann, B. and Marko, G. (eds.), Teaching and learning by doing corpus analysis. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 165–181.Google Scholar
Bernardini, S. (2004) Corpora in the classroom: An overview and some reflections on future development. In: Sinclair, J. (ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 15–36.Google Scholar
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S. and Finegan, E. (1999) Longman grammar of spoken and written English. London: Pearson.Google Scholar
Blagoeva, R. (2002) Demonstrative reference as a cohesive device in advanced learner writing: A corpus-based study. Language and Computers, 49(1): 297–307.Google Scholar
Bloch, J. (2009) The design of an online concordancing program for teaching about reporting verbs. Language Learning & Technology, 13(1): 59–78.Google Scholar
Boulton, A. (2009) Testing the limits of data-driven learning: Language proficiency and training. ReCALL, 2(1): 37–54.Google Scholar
Boulton, A. (2010) Data-driven learning: Taking the computer out of the equation. Language Learning, 60(3): 534–572.Google Scholar
Boulton, A. (2011) Language awareness and medium-term benefits of corpus consultation. New trends in CALL: Working together. Madrid: Macmillan ELT.Google Scholar
Braun, S. (2007) Integrating corpus work into secondary education: From data-driven learning to needs-driven corpora. ReCALL, 19(3): 307–328.Google Scholar
Carrió-Pastor, M. L. (2013) A contrastive study of the variation of sentence connectors in academic English. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12: 192–202.Google Scholar
Chambers, A. (2010) What is data-driven learning? In: O’Keeffe, A. and McCarthy, M. (eds.), The Routledge handbook of corpus linguistics. London: Routledge, 345–358.Google Scholar
Charles, M. (2007) Reconciling top-down and bottom-up approaches to graduate writing: Using a corpus to teach rhetorical functions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(4): 289–302.Google Scholar
Charles, M. (2011a) Adverbials of result: Phraseology and functions in the problem solution pattern. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(1): 47–60.Google Scholar
Charles, M. (2011b) Corpus evidence for teaching adverbial connectors of contrast: ‘However’, ‘yet’, ‘rather’, ‘instead’ and ‘in contrast’. In: Kübler, N. (ed.), Corpora, language, teaching, and resources: From theory to practice. Bern: Peter Lang, 113–132.Google Scholar
Chen, C. W. (2006) The use of conjunctive adverbials in the academic papers of advanced Taiwanese EFL learners. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 11: 113–130.Google Scholar
Cheng, W. (2012) Exploring corpus linguistics: Language in action. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cortes, V. (2007) Exploring genre and corpora in the English for academic writing class. The ORTESOL Journal, 25: 8–14.Google Scholar
Creswell, J. W. (2003) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Z. (2003) Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. and Barkhuizen, G. (2005) Analyzing learner language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, L. (1998) Integrating expert and interlanguage computer corpora findings on causality: Discoveries for teachers and students. English for Specific Purposes, 17(4): 329–345.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, L. (2001) The exploitation of small learner corpora in EAP materials design. In: Ghadessy, M. and Roseberry, R. (eds.) Small corpus studies and ELT. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 363–379.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, L. (2012) Exploiting a corpus of business letters from a phraseological, functional perspective. ReCALL, 24(2): 152–168.Google Scholar
Gilquin, G., Granger, S. and Paquot, M. (2007) Learner corpora: The missing link in EAP pedagogy. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(4): 285–374.Google Scholar
Granger, S. (1996) From CA to CIA and back: An integrated approach to computerized bilingual and learner corpora. In: Aijmer, K., Altenberg, B. and Johansson, M. (eds.) Languages in contrast. Text-based cross-linguistic studies. Lund: Lund University Press, 37–51.Google Scholar
Granger, S. (2004) Computer learner corpus research: Current status and future prospects. In: Connor, U. and Upton, T. (eds.) Applied corpus linguistics: A multidimensional perspective. Amsterdam/Atlanta: Rodopi, 123–145.Google Scholar
Granger, S. (2009) The contribution of learner corpora to second language acquisition and foreign language teaching: A critical evaluation. In: Aijmer, K. (ed.) Corpora and Language Teaching. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 13–32.Google Scholar
Granger, S., Kraif, O., Ponton, C., Antoniadis, G. and Zampa, V. (2007) Integrating learner corpora and natural language processing: A crucial step towards reconciling technological sophistication and pedagogical effectiveness. ReCALL, 19(3): 252–268.Google Scholar
Granger, S. and Tyson, S. (1996) Connector usage in the English essay writing of native and non-native EFL speakers of English. World Englishes, 15: 19–29.Google Scholar
Green, C., Christopher, C. and Lam, J. (2000) The incidence and effect on coherence of marked themes in interlanguage texts: A corpus-based enquiry. English for Specific Purposes, 19(2): 99–113.Google Scholar
He, A. (2002) On the discourse marker ‘so’. In: Peters, P., Collins, P. and Smith, A. (eds.), New frontiers of corpus research. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 41–52.Google Scholar
Hegelheimer, V. (2006) Helping ELS writers through a multimodal, computer-based, online grammar resource. CALICO Journal, 24(1): 1–28.Google Scholar
Hyland, K. (2004) Disciplinary interactions: Metadiscourse in L2 postgraduate writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13: 133–151.Google Scholar
Hyland, K. and Tse, P. (2004) Metadiscourse in academic writing: A reappraisal. Applied Linguistics, 25(2): 156–177.Google Scholar
Johansson, S. (2009) Some thoughts on corpora and second-language acquisition. In: Aijmer, K. (ed.), Corpora and language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 33–44.Google Scholar
Johns, T. (1991) Should you be persuaded: Two examples of data-driven learning materials. English Language Research Journal, 4: 1–16.Google Scholar
Lei, L. (2012) Linking adverbials in academic writing on applied linguistics by Chinese doctoral students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11: 267–275.Google Scholar
Meunier, F. (2002) The pedagogical value of native and learner corpora. In: Granger, S., Hung, J. and Petch-Tyson, S. (eds.), Computer learner corpora, second language acquisition and foreign language teaching. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 55–76.Google Scholar
Millar, N. and Lehtinen, B. (2008) DIY local learner corpora: Bridging gaps between theory and practice. JALT CALL Journal, 4(2): 61–72.Google Scholar
Milton, J. (1998) Exploiting L1 and interlanguage corpora in the design of an electronic language learning and production environment. In: Granger, S. (ed.), Learner English on computer. London/New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 186–198.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, J. and Rohrbach, J.-M. (2006) Rethinking applied corpus linguistics from a language-pedagogical perspective: New departures in learner corpus research. In: Kettemann, B. and Marko, G. (eds.) Planing, gluing and painting corpora: Inside the applied corpus linguist’s workshop. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 205–232.Google Scholar
Nesselhauf, N. (2004) Learner corpora and their potential for language teaching. In: Sinclair, J. (ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 125–152.Google Scholar
Osborne, J. (2004) Top-down and bottom-up approaches to corpora in language teaching. In: Connor, U. and Upton, T. (eds.), Applied corpus linguistics: A multi-dimensional perspective. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 251–265.Google Scholar
Pérez-Paredes, P. (2003) Integrating networked learner oral corpora into foreign language instruction. In: Granger, S. and Petch-Tyson, S. (eds.), Extending the scope of corpus-based research: New applications, new challenges. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 249–261.Google Scholar
Pérez-Paredes, P. (2004) Learner oral corpora and network-based language teaching: Scope and foundations. In: Sinclair, J. (ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 249–268.Google Scholar
Pérez-Paredes, P. and Cantos Gómez, P. (2004) Some lessons students learn: Self-discovery and corpora. In: Aston, G., Bernardini, S. and Stewart, D. (eds.), Corpora and Language Learners. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 247–257.Google Scholar
Pérez-Paredes, P., Sánchez-Tornel, M. and Alcaraz Calero, J. M. (2012) Learners’ search patterns during corpus-based focus-on-form activities. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 17(4): 483–516.Google Scholar
Pérez-Paredes, P., Sánchez-Tornel, M., Alcaraz Calero, J. and Aguado Jiménez, P. (2011) Tracking learners’ actual uses of corpora: Guided vs non-guided corpus consultation. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(3): 233–253.Google Scholar
Ragan, P. (2001) Classroom use of a systemic functional small learner corpus. In: Ghadessy, M., Henry, A. and Roseberry, R. (eds.), Small corpus studies and ELT: Theory and Practice. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 207–236.Google Scholar
Rankin, T. and Schiftner, B. (2011) Marginal prepositions in learner English: Applying local corpus data. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 16(3): 412–434.Google Scholar
Rodgers, O., Chambers, A. and Le Baron-Earle, F. (2011) Corpora in the LSP classroom: A learner-centred corpus of French for biotechnologists. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 16(3): 391–411.Google Scholar
Seidlhofer, B. (2002) Pedagogy and local learner corpora: Working with learning-driven data. In: Granger, S., Hung, J. and Petch-Tyson, S. (eds.), Computer learner corpora, second language acquisition and foreign language teaching. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins, 213–234.Google Scholar
Shaw, P. (2009) Linking adverbials in student and professional writing in literary studies: what makes writing mature. In: Charles, M., Pecorari, D. and Hunston, S. (eds.), Academic writing: At the interface of corpus and discourse. London: Continuum, 215–235.Google Scholar
Shei, C. and Pain, H. (2000) An ESL writer’s collocational aid. Computer Assisted Language, 13(2): 167–182.Google Scholar
Tankó, G. (2004) The use of adverbial connectors in Hungarian university students’ argumentative essays. In: Sinclair, J. (ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 157–181.Google Scholar
Yoon, H. and Hirvela, A. (2004) ESL student attitudes toward corpus use in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13: 257–283.Google Scholar