Full Description
This book takes stock of current research into computer learner corpora conducted both by ELT and SLA specialists. It should be of particular interest to researchers looking to assess its relevance to SLA theory and ELT practice. Throughout the volume, emphasis is also placed on practical, methodological aspects of computer learner corpus research, in particular the contribution of technology to the research process. The advantages and disadvantages of automated and semi-automated approaches are analyzed, the capabilities of linguistic software tools investigated, the corpora (and compilation processes) described in detail. In this way, an important function of the volume is to give practical insight to researchers who may be considering compiling a corpus of learner data or embarking on learner corpus research.The volume is divided into three main sections:
• Section 1 gives a general overview of learner corpus research;
• Section 2 illustrates a range of corpus-based approaches to interlanguage analysis;
• Section 3 demonstrates the direct pedagogical relevance of learner corpus work.
Contents
1. Preface; 2. List of contributors; 3. I. The role of computer learner corpora in SLA research and FLT; 4. A Bird's-eye view of learner corpus research (by Granger, Sylviane); 5. II. Corpus-based approaches to interlanguage; 6. Using bilingual corpus evidence in learner corpus research (by Altenberg, Bengt); 7. Modality in advanced Swedish learners' written interlanguage (by Aijmer, Karin); 8. A corpus-based study of the L2-acquisition of the English verb system (by Housen, Alex); 9. III. Corpus-based approaches to foreign language pedagogy; 10. The pedagogical value of native and learner corpora in EFL grammar teaching (by Meunier, Fanny); 11. Learner corpora and language testing: Smallwords as markers of learner fluency (by Hasselgren, Angela); 12. Business English: Learner data from Belgium, Finland and the U. S. (by Connor, Ulla); 13. The TELEC secondary learner corpus: A resource for teacher development (by Allan, Quentin Grant); 14. Pedagogy and local learner corpora: Working with learning-driven data (by Seidlhofer, Barbara); 15. Name index; 16. Subject index
