Schedule: 2009-09-12 (12:00 - 12:45)
Parallel Session 4 (Room A-24)

Title: Revolution or illusion: Integrating language corpora into university EAP classrooms
Authors: Britta Schneider, Ilona Laakkonen
Abstract: Revolution or illusion: Integrating language corpora into university EAP classrooms

Britta Schneider and Ilona Laakkonen
Language Centre and Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

A corpus based approach responds to the challenges posed to language learning today, as it emphasises learner autonomy and entails a descriptive conception of language (e.g. Chambers & Kelly 2004). A large and growing body of literature has shown that language corpora allow a holistic study of speech sequences, patterns and contexts. Numerous researchers are therefore calling for their integration into modern language learning environments (e.g. Tribble & Jones 1990; Aston 1997; McEnery & Wilson 1997; Burnard & McEnery 2000; Biber 2006, McEnery, Xiao, & Tono 2006, Braun 2007). However, little is yet known about the successful integration of direct corpus consultations in today's language classrooms (cf. Chambers 2005, 2007).

This reflective paper will focus on the experiences of language centre teachers at a university in Central Finland with the use of language corpora in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classrooms. We will present how corpora can be introduced through an approach that gradually builds corpus consultation literacy (O’Sullivan 2007) through concepts and tools that students already are familiar with. In addition, corpus consultation skills should be approached from the angle of the learning needs of the students, not from that of technology (Braun 2007). These notions are inherent in the educational software developed to mediate the use of corpora in the advanced EAP university classroom. The developed tutorial, known as the “Corpus Library” (2006), and freely available on the university's website, provides a rich resource for advanced English language learners. It is used together with regular corpus tutorials and training sessions that are held to encourage language awareness about aspects of the language itself related to grammar, register, and various pragmatic language structures. Nevertheless, teacher involvement in corpus-informed teaching is still rather uncommon.

While teachers seem simultaneously enthused and overwhelmed by the possibilities that corpus consultations offer for classroom language teaching, feedback from the learners varies considerably, depending on how well-acquainted they are with the target language, and how skilled in the use of new ICTs. There is, therefore, a need for reflection on the integration of language corpora in language learning settings. Our experience shows that, in the dialogue with the learners, it is vital to communicate a reason for the use of corpora and to provide a safe atmosphere to use them in the classroom. We believe that students learn by using the language and by reflecting on their language use afterwards. The teacher's main task is thus to provide opportunities for meaningful language use, and to create a sense of community between the students and the teacher; hence moving away from the traditional role of the teacher as “controller” in a language classroom. This shift in the roles of teachers and learners leads to a more open, flexible class structure. It will be argued that to achieve a successful integration of new ICTs, educational institutions will have to adopt more flexible patterns of classroom distribution and redefine the patterns of classroom behaviour.

References

Aston, G., 1997, Small and large corpora in language learning. In Lewandowska- Tomaszczyk, B. and Melia, P.J. (eds.) PALC'97: Practical Applications in Language Corpora. Lodz University Press, 51-62.
Biber, D. 2006. University language: A corpus-based study of spoken and written registers. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Braun, S. 2007. Integrating corpus work into secondary education: from data-driven learning to needs-driven corpora. ReCALL 19(1):307-328.
Burnard, L. and McEnery, T. (Eds.). 2000. Rethinking language pedagogy from a corpus perspective: Papers from the third international conference on teaching and language corpora (Lodz Studies in Language). Hamburg, Germany: Peter Lang.
Chambers, A. and Kelly, V. 2004. Corpora and concordancing: Changing the paradigm in language learning and teaching? In Chambers, A., Conacher, J.E. and Littlemore, J.M. (eds.). ICT and Language Learning. Integrating Pedagogy and Practice. Birmingham: University of Birmingham Press, 183-202.
Corpus Library. 2006. University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Available online at: http://kielikompassi.jyu.fi/kookit06/corpus/intro/intro.html
McEnery, T, Xiao, R. and Tono, Y. 2006. Corpus-Based Language Studies: An Advanced Resource Book. London: Routledge.
McEnery, T. and Wilson, A.. 1997. Teaching and language corpora. ReCALL 9 (1): 5–14.
O’Sullivan, I. 2007. Enhancing a process-oriented approach to literacy and language learning: The role of corpus consultation literacy. ReCALL 19(3): 269-286.
Tribble C. and Jones G. 1990. Concordances in the Classroom. Harlow: Longman.
Keywords: Pedagogical change, language corpora, language teaching, EAP, innovative courseware

Main topic: Pedagogical change in technology integration

Biodata: Britta Schneider holds a PhD in Foreign Language Teaching from Monash University, Australia. She is currently a Lecturer of English for Academic Purposes (EAP)at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests are in second language acquisition, language learning and teaching and the integration of language corpora into university language learning environments. Ilona Laakkonen is a PhD student and researcher at the Centre for Applied Language Studies, at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests are in future learning environments and innovative practices, educational technology and multimodal language pedagogies. Ilona is particularly fascinated by the relationship of ICTs, language pedagogy and educational change.
Type of presentation Paper presentation

Paper category Research & Development

Target educational sector Higher education

Language of delivery English

EU-funded project No

Schedule:	2009-09-12 (12:00 - 12:45) Parallel Session 4 (Room A-24)
Title:	Revolution or illusion: Integrating language corpora into university EAP classrooms
Authors:	Britta Schneider, Ilona Laakkonen
Abstract:	Revolution or illusion: Integrating language corpora into university EAP classrooms Britta Schneider and Ilona Laakkonen Language Centre and Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland A corpus based approach responds to the challenges posed to language learning today, as it emphasises learner autonomy and entails a descriptive conception of language (e.g. Chambers & Kelly 2004). A large and growing body of literature has shown that language corpora allow a holistic study of speech sequences, patterns and contexts. Numerous researchers are therefore calling for their integration into modern language learning environments (e.g. Tribble & Jones 1990; Aston 1997; McEnery & Wilson 1997; Burnard & McEnery 2000; Biber 2006, McEnery, Xiao, & Tono 2006, Braun 2007). However, little is yet known about the successful integration of direct corpus consultations in today's language classrooms (cf. Chambers 2005, 2007). This reflective paper will focus on the experiences of language centre teachers at a university in Central Finland with the use of language corpora in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classrooms. We will present how corpora can be introduced through an approach that gradually builds corpus consultation literacy (O’Sullivan 2007) through concepts and tools that students already are familiar with. In addition, corpus consultation skills should be approached from the angle of the learning needs of the students, not from that of technology (Braun 2007). These notions are inherent in the educational software developed to mediate the use of corpora in the advanced EAP university classroom. The developed tutorial, known as the “Corpus Library” (2006), and freely available on the university's website, provides a rich resource for advanced English language learners. It is used together with regular corpus tutorials and training sessions that are held to encourage language awareness about aspects of the language itself related to grammar, register, and various pragmatic language structures. Nevertheless, teacher involvement in corpus-informed teaching is still rather uncommon. While teachers seem simultaneously enthused and overwhelmed by the possibilities that corpus consultations offer for classroom language teaching, feedback from the learners varies considerably, depending on how well-acquainted they are with the target language, and how skilled in the use of new ICTs. There is, therefore, a need for reflection on the integration of language corpora in language learning settings. Our experience shows that, in the dialogue with the learners, it is vital to communicate a reason for the use of corpora and to provide a safe atmosphere to use them in the classroom. We believe that students learn by using the language and by reflecting on their language use afterwards. The teacher's main task is thus to provide opportunities for meaningful language use, and to create a sense of community between the students and the teacher; hence moving away from the traditional role of the teacher as “controller” in a language classroom. This shift in the roles of teachers and learners leads to a more open, flexible class structure. It will be argued that to achieve a successful integration of new ICTs, educational institutions will have to adopt more flexible patterns of classroom distribution and redefine the patterns of classroom behaviour. References Aston, G., 1997, Small and large corpora in language learning. In Lewandowska- Tomaszczyk, B. and Melia, P.J. (eds.) PALC'97: Practical Applications in Language Corpora. Lodz University Press, 51-62. Biber, D. 2006. University language: A corpus-based study of spoken and written registers. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Braun, S. 2007. Integrating corpus work into secondary education: from data-driven learning to needs-driven corpora. ReCALL 19(1):307-328. Burnard, L. and McEnery, T. (Eds.). 2000. Rethinking language pedagogy from a corpus perspective: Papers from the third international conference on teaching and language corpora (Lodz Studies in Language). Hamburg, Germany: Peter Lang. Chambers, A. and Kelly, V. 2004. Corpora and concordancing: Changing the paradigm in language learning and teaching? In Chambers, A., Conacher, J.E. and Littlemore, J.M. (eds.). ICT and Language Learning. Integrating Pedagogy and Practice. Birmingham: University of Birmingham Press, 183-202. Corpus Library. 2006. University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Available online at: http://kielikompassi.jyu.fi/kookit06/corpus/intro/intro.html McEnery, T, Xiao, R. and Tono, Y. 2006. Corpus-Based Language Studies: An Advanced Resource Book. London: Routledge. McEnery, T. and Wilson, A.. 1997. Teaching and language corpora. ReCALL 9 (1): 5–14. O’Sullivan, I. 2007. Enhancing a process-oriented approach to literacy and language learning: The role of corpus consultation literacy. ReCALL 19(3): 269-286. Tribble C. and Jones G. 1990. Concordances in the Classroom. Harlow: Longman.
Keywords:	Pedagogical change, language corpora, language teaching, EAP, innovative courseware
Main topic:	Pedagogical change in technology integration
Biodata:	Britta Schneider holds a PhD in Foreign Language Teaching from Monash University, Australia. She is currently a Lecturer of English for Academic Purposes (EAP)at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests are in second language acquisition, language learning and teaching and the integration of language corpora into university language learning environments. Ilona Laakkonen is a PhD student and researcher at the Centre for Applied Language Studies, at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests are in future learning environments and innovative practices, educational technology and multimodal language pedagogies. Ilona is particularly fascinated by the relationship of ICTs, language pedagogy and educational change.
Type of presentation	Paper presentation
Paper category	Research & Development
Target educational sector	Higher education
Language of delivery	English
EU-funded project	No