Category Archives: corpus

Lexical list for EAP/ESP programs: Multiword sequences in computer science textbooks


Written by - Genan Hamad, Carleton University, Canada

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Abstract
Lexical Bundles (LBs) —defined by Wood (2015) as “combinations of three or more words which are identified in a corpus of natural language” (p. 45) —play a key role in the comprehension and construction of academic language (Biber & Barbieri, 2007). Despite their importance, LBs are weakly presented in second language (L2) materials (Wood & Appel, 2014). Studies show that L2 learners may misuse LBs in their production (Pérez-Llantada, 2014). With the aim of informing L2 pedagogy in the university context, this corpus study uses WordSmith Tools 6.0 (Scott, 2007) to identify 59 items that represent the most frequently occurring LBs in eight Computer Science introductory textbooks. Utilizing the functional taxonomy, suggested in Biber et al. (2004),  Continue Reading →

Categories:
corpus, Other, pedagogy, Uncategorised
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An Innovative (and Easy) Approach to Corpus Analysis


Written by - Julia Williams, University of Waterloo, Canada

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Abstract
Lee and Swales (2006) suggest that using corpus analysis activities in the classroom provides students with pragmatic tools they can use to identify patterns of language use without relying on native-speaker expertise. In addition, subsequent research on the use of corpus analysis, or data driven learning (DDL) (Boulton & Cobb, 2017), demonstrates that substantial benefits accrue to students who work with corpora (Bridle, 2019; Charles, 2012; 2014). However, the complexity of existing corpus analysis technologies may deter instructors from implementing existing corpora (e.g. COCA) or corpus toolkits (e.g. AntConc) which may require significant time investments to learn and transform into effective pedagogy.

This article describes an easy, innovative approach to harnessing the benefits of corpus analysis using technology with which teachers and students are already familiar.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
corpus, Technology, Vocabulary
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