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Discovering formulaic language through data-driven learning: Student attitudes and efficacy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2014

Joe Geluso  and
Atsumi Yamaguchi
Joe Geluso
Affiliation:
Iowa State University, USA (email: joe.geluso@gmail.com)
Atsumi Yamaguchi
Affiliation:
Kanda University of International Studies, Japan (email: yamaguchi-a@kanda.kuis.ac.jp)
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Abstract

Corpus linguistics has established that language is highly patterned. The use of patterned language has been linked to processing advantages with respect to listening and reading, which has implications for perceptions of fluency. The last twenty years has seen an increase in the integration of corpus-based language learning, or data-driven learning (DDL), as a supporting feature in teaching English as a foreign / second language (EFL/ESL). Most research has investigated student attitudes towards DDL as a tool to facilitate writing. Other studies, though notably fewer, have taken a quantitative perspective of the efficacy of DDL as a tool to facilitate the inductive learning of grammar rules. The purpose of this study is three-fold: (1) to present an EFL curriculum designed around DDL with the aim of improving spoken fluency; (2) to gauge how effective students were in employing newly discovered phrases in an appropriate manner; and (3) to investigate student attitudes toward such an approach to language learning. Student attitudes were investigated via a questionnaire and then triangulated through interviews and student logs. The findings indicate that students believe DDL to be a useful and effective tool in the classroom. However, students do note some difficulties related to DDL, such as encountering unfamiliar vocabulary and cut-off concordance lines. Finally, questions are raised as to the students’ ability to embed learned phrases in a pragmatically appropriate way.

Keywords

corpusdata-driven learningformulaic languagelanguage learning.
Type
Research Article
Information
ReCALL , Volume 26 , Issue 2: Researching uses of corpora for language teaching and learning , May 2014 , pp. 225 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning 2014 

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