Using corpus-based classroom activities to enhance learner autonomy
Using corpus-based classroom activities to enhance learner autonomy

Summary/Abstract: Data-driven learning (DDL) is a relatively recent trend in language pedagogy in which class work is built around corpus data. Corpora may not be very easy to work with in the classroom, but advanced language learners should be offered opportunities to use them in order to find out what type of information can be retrieved and how to process it. Analyzing concordances under the teacher’s guidance may inspire learners to try to resolve their doubts on various points of L2 grammar and usage by performing their own queries. Thus, learners develop heuristic skills which they may find useful in further stages of their language education, especially after the completion of formal instruction. The paper describes a study involving a series of DDL lessons focusing on eliminating previously identified interference errors. A few examples of DDL materials will be included, supplemented with the discussion of the ways in which reference to a corpus allows learners to access frequency and co-occurrence data and make their own language choices on the basis of that information. At the end of the project, the participants were asked to provide their feedback on the experience by means of a questionnaire which examined their attitudes towards the new tools and the idea of using them in their further language work. The paper reports and discusses the results of that survey.

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