corpus applicactions to improve writing skills
TRANSCRIPT
VenTESOL 34th Annual National Conference
Corpus applications to improve writing skills
Prof. Julio Palma
Overview
• What is a corpus?• Types of corpora• Categories of analysis in Corpus Linguistics• Insights from Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis• Some tools for building and using corpora• Guidelines for using corpora for teaching writing• Rationale for using corpora in teaching writing
• Naturally occurring language• Systematically planned and collected• Samples of authentic texts • Represents a particular genre• Machine-readable
www.corpus.byu.edu/coca
Search collocation for: Prize
concordances
Keyword Analysis
http://www.tagcrowd.com/blog/2011/03/05/state-of-the-union-2002-vs-2011/
Other categories of analysis
• Word Frequency lists • Keywords• Collocation• Colligation preference• Semantic Prosody• Lexico-grammatical patterning
Types of corpora
British National Corpus
Brown Corpora
Bank of English
COCA ICE ICLE
Granger 1993
Insights from learner corpora
Learner corpora
Target language corpora
• Errors.• Spelling
mistakes.• Wrong
collocations.• Similar aspects.• Different
aspects.• Wrong word
choice.
Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis
English learner writing Analysis
Data from students at the University of Zulia , Venezuela (2016)
Tools for building corpora
www.laurenceanthony.net/software.html
Sketch Engine
www.sketchengine.co.uk
Tools for using corpora
Search: Grant
www.lextutor.ca
www.just-the-word.com
Skell: English Language Learning
http://skell.sketchengine.co.uk/run.cgi/skell
Word Sketch
Guidelines for material design • LOOK at concordances for the key term and words
surrounding it, thinking of meaning.• FAMILIARIZE yourself with the patterns of language
surrounding the key term by referring to the concordances as you complete the task.
• PRACTICE key terms without referring to the concordances.
• CREATE your own piece of writing using the terms studied.
(Thurstun and Candlin 1998:272)
Rationale for using corpora
• Based on empirical data: DDL• Effects on teaching material development• Hands-on activities for learners and teachers• Promotes self-awareness on production• Inductive learning approach• Descriptive approach to grammar• Phraseological approach to language
Who should use Corpora for EFL?
Teachers as researchers of language
Teachers can create teaching materials Students can
discover language patternsStudents
can learn grammar
inductively
Students do hand-ons activities
