Hands-on Practices on the Use of Corpora in English Language Teaching: Reflections from Teacher Training

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 2, 317 - 344, 23.10.2023

Gamze Çalışkan , Safiye İpek Kuru Gönen

https://doi.org/10.31464/jlere.1298644

Öz

Along with recent advances in the development of corpus tools, there has been a growing interest in integrating corpora into language teaching. However, teachers’ lack of awareness may be an obstacle to the effective implementation of corpora in language classroom routines. This study offers an in-service training program on corpus use in language pedagogy and aims to investigate teachers’ views on corpus-based teaching and learning regarding their actual hands-on experiences. For this purpose, 10 EFL instructors at a state university in Turkey were enrolled in an intensive seven-week training program. This program involved a total of nine sessions aimed at presenting how to use corpus tools in language teaching and implementing corpus-based activities in vocabulary teaching, grammar teaching, and error correction. Data were collected via reflective logs and semi-structured interviews. Qualitative analyses revealed the importance of providing teachers with in-service training on corpus use since they perceived to gain awareness, knowledge, and skills required for implementing pedagogical applications of corpora in language teaching while also reporting drawbacks of corpus use in practice. The findings of the study shed light on future practices related to pedagogical uses of corpora in language classrooms and offer a number of implications for teacher education.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Corpus-based language teaching and learning, Teacher views on corpus use, Training on corpus pedagogy

Kaynakça

• Abdel Latif, M.M.M. (2021). Corpus literacy instruction in language teacher education: Investigating Arab EFL student teachers’ immediate beliefs and long-term practices. ReCALL, 33(1), 34–48. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344020000129
• Allan, G. (2003). A critique of using grounded theory as a research method. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 2(1), 1-10.
• Aşık, A. (2015). The use of corpora in EFL classrooms: What do Turkish EFL teachers know and offer to promote pragmatic competence? The Asian EFL Journal, 17(4), 194-221.
• Boulton, A. (2009). Data-driven learning: reasonable fears and rational reassurance. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 35(1), 81-106.
• Boulton, A. (2010). Data-driven learning: taking the computer out of the equation. Language Learning, 60(3), 534-572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00566.x
• Boulton, A., & Cobb, T. (2017). Corpus use in language learning: A meta-analysis. Language Learning, 67(2), 348-393. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12224
• Braun, S. (2005). From pedagogically relevant corpora to authentic language learning contents. ReCALL, 17(1), 47-64. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344005000510
• Breyer, Y. (2009). Learning and teaching with corpora: reflections by student teachers. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 22(2), 153-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588220902778328
• Chen, L. (2017). Corpus-aided business English collocation pedagogy: An empirical study in Chinese EFL learners. English Language Teaching, 10(9), 181-197. http://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n9p181
• Chen, M., & Flowerdew, J., & Anthony, L. (2019). Introducing in-service English language teachers to data-driven learning for academic writing. System, 87, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.102148
• Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2015). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
• Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Pearson.
• Crosthwaite, P. (2017). Retesting the limits of data-driven learning: feedback and error correction. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 30(6), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2017.1312462
• Daskalovska, N. (2015). Corpus-based versus traditional learning of collocations. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 28(2), 190-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2013.803982
• Ebrahimi, A. & Faghih, E. (2017). Integrating Corpus Linguistics Into Online Language Teacher Education Programs, ReCALL, 29(1), 120-135. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344016000070
• Farr, F. (2008). Evaluating the use of corpus-based instruction in a language teacher education context: Perspectives from the users. Language Awareness, 17(1), 25-43. https://doi.org/10.2167/la414.0
• Farr, F. and O’Keeffe, A. (2019). Using corpora to analyse language. In S. Walsh and S. Mann (Eds) Routledge handbook of English language teacher education (pp. 268-282). Routledge.
• Flowerdew, L. (2015). Data-driven learning and language learning theories. In A. Leńko- Szymańska, & A. Boulton (Eds.). Multiple affordances of language corpora for data-driven learning (pp. 15–36). John Benjamins.
• Frankenberg-Garcia, A. (2012). Raising teachers’ awareness of corpora. Language Teaching, 45(4), 475- 489. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444810000480
• Gilquin, G & Granger, S. (2010). How can data-driven learning be used in language teaching? In A. O’Keeffe and M. McCarthy (eds), The Routledge handbook of corpus linguistics (pp. 359- 370). Routledge. Godwin-Jones, R. (2017). Data-informed language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 21(3), 9–27. https://dx.doi.org/10125/44629
• Heather, J. & Helt, M. (2012). Evaluating corpus literacy training for pre-service language teachers: Six case studies. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 20(4), 415-440.
• Huang, L. S. (2017). Has corpus-based instruction reached a tipping point?: practical applications and pointers for English-as-an-additional-language teachers. TESOL Journal, 8(2), 295-313. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.271
• Huberman, M., & Miles, M. B. (2002). The Qualitative Researcher's Companion. Sage. Johns, T. (1991), Should you be persuaded?: Two examples of data-driven learning materials. English Language Research Journal, 4,1-16.
• Karras, J.N. (2016). The effects of data-driven learning upon vocabulary acquisition for secondary international school students in Vietnam. ReCALL, 28(2), 166–186. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344015000154
• Kolb, M. S. (2012). Grounded theory and the constant comparative method: Valid research strategies for educators. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 3(1), 83-86.
• Lee, S. (2011). Challenges of using corpora in language teaching and learning. Linguistic Research, 28(1), 159–178.
• Lee, H., Warschauer, M., & Lee, J. H. (2019). The effects of corpus use on second language vocabulary learning: A multilevel meta-analysis. Applied Linguistics, 40(5), 721–753. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amy012
• Leńko-Szymańska, A. (2014). Is this enough? A qualitative evaluation of the effectiveness of a teacher-training course on the use of corpora in language education. ReCALL, 26(2), 260–278. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095834401400010X
• Leńko-Szymańska, A., & Boulton, A. (2015). Introduction: data-driven learning in language pedagogy. In A. Leńko-Szymańska, & A. Boulton (Eds.). Multiple affordances of language corpora for data-driven learning (pp. 1–14). John Benjamins.
• Leńko-Szymańska, A. (2017). Training teachers in data-driven learning: Tackling the challenge. Language Learning & Technology, 21(3), 217–241.
• Li, S. (2017). Using corpora to develop learners’ collocational competence. Language Learning & Technology, 21(3), 153–171.
• Lin, M. H., & Lee, J. (2015). Data-driven learning: changing the teaching of grammar in EFL classes. ELT Journal, 69(3), 264-274. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccv010
• Lin, M. H. (2019). Becoming a DDL teacher in English grammar classes: A pilot study. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 9(1), 70-82.
• Lin, M. H., & Lee, J. (2019). Pedagogical suitability of data-driven learning in EFL grammar classes: A case study of Taiwanese students. Language Teaching Research, 23(5), 541-561. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817740899
• Luo, Q., & Liao, Y. (2015). Using corpora for error correction in EFL learners’ writing. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(6), 1333-1342. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0606.22
• Luo, Q. (2016). The effects of data-driven learning activities on EFL learners’ writing development. SpringerPlus 5,(1255), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-016-2935-
• Mizumoto, A., & Chujo, K. (2015). A meta-analysis of data-driven learning approach in the Japanese EFL classroom. English Corpus Studies, 22, 1–18.
• Mueller, C., & Jacobsen, N. (2016). A comparison of the effectiveness of EFL students’ use of dictionaries and an online corpus for the enhancement of revision skills. ReCALL, 28(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344015000142
• Mukherjee, J. (2004). Bridging the gap between applied corpus linguistics and the reality of English language teaching in Germany. In U. Connor and T. Upton (eds) Applied corpus linguistics: A multi-dimensional perspective (pp.239-250). Rodopi.
• Nunan, D. (1992). Research methods in language learning. Cambridge University Press. Özbay, A. Ş. & Kayaoğlu, M. C. (2015). EFL teachers’ reflections towards the use of computerized corpora as a teaching tool in their classrooms. Çukurova Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 44(1), 85-104. https://doi.org/10.14812/cuefd.54367
• Quinn, C. (2015). Training L2 writers to reference corpora as a self-correction tool. ELT Journal, 69(2), 165–177. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccu062
• Poole, R. (2022): “Corpus can be tricky”: revisiting teacher attitudes towards corpus-aided language learning and teaching, Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(7), 1620-1641. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1825095
• Römer, U. (2009). Corpus research and practice. In K. Aijmer (ed.) Corpora and language teaching (pp.83-98). John Benjamins.
• Römer, U. (2011). Corpus research applications in second language teaching. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 205–225. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190511000055
• Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 129–58. Smart, J. (2014). The role of guided induction in paper-based data-driven learning. ReCALL, 26, 184–201. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344014000081
• Timmis, I. (2015). Corpus linguistics for ELT. Taylor & Francis.
• Tono, Y., Satake, Y., Miura, A. (2014). The effects of using corpora on revision tasks in L2 writing with coded error feedback. ReCALL, 26(2), 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095834401400007X
• Zareva, A. (2017). Incorporating corpus literacy skills into TESOL teacher training. ELT Journal, 71(1), 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccw045