Last update:
9 February 2010
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Exploring Corpora for ESP Learning
2005. xi, 176 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Hardbound
– In stock
978 90 272 2292 3 / EUR 99.00 / USD 149.00
e-Book
– Available from e-book platforms
This book investigates the effects of corpus work on the process of foreign language learning in ESP settings. It suggests that observing learners at work with corpus data can stimulate discussion and re-thinking of the pedagogical implications of both the theoretical and empirical aspects of corpus linguistics. The ideas presented here are developed from the Data-Driven Learning approach introduced by Tim Johns in the early nineties. The experience of watching students perform corpus analysis provides the basis for the two main observations in the book: a) corpus work provides students with a useful source of information about ESP language features, b) the process of "search-and-discovery" implied in the method of corpus analysis may facilitate language learning and promote autonomy in learning language use. The discussion is carried out on the basis of a series of corpus-based "explorations" by students and provides suggestions for developing new tasks and tools for language learners.
Table of contents
“Exploring Corporafor ESP Learning is certainly an accessible, interesting, andinsightfultext that all teachers in any walk of corpus studies should consider.”
Philip M. McCarthy, The University of Memphis, on Linguist List 17.3033, 2007
“Teachers interested in any of the topics the book touches upon will find Gavioli's explorations both stimulating and inspiring.”
“Although it is easy to get carried away about new methods and tools for the classroom, Gavioli's approach is a balanced one. Her view is that corpora and corpus tools should not replace traditional and carefully developed tools like grammars, dictionaries, or style guides; it is when these tools are not sufficient that corpora and concordances can prove highly useful. This is, of course, particularly likely to happen in ESP, where the level of specialization creates needs that are rarely met by general reference works.”
Subject classification |
Linguistics