Sunday, October 14, 2012

Using the Internet for ESL Computer Learner Corpora Activities presented by Teresa Knudsen at Highline Community College, Tri-TESOL, 2011 for Lakeside Languages


“Using the Internet for ESL Computer Learner Corpora Activities”
Tri-TESOL Conference at Highline Community College
Des Moines, Washington State, USA Saturday, 10:15-11:00
Presented by Teresa Boyden Knudsen, Director, Lakeside Languages
Spokane, Washington Lakesidelanguages.com
Background of Development of Computer Learner Corpora (CLC)

December 1998:
Computer Learner Corpora Conference held in at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Organized by Joseph Hung and Sylviane Granger.

2002
The 1998 conference sets in motion a benchmark reference book:
Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition, and Foreign Language Teaching, edited by Sylviane Granger, Joseph Hung and Stephanie Petch-Tyson. 
This work provides the following definition of Computer Learner Corpora (CLC):

“Computer learner corpora are electronic collections of spoken or written texts produced by foreign or second language learners in a variety of language settings. Once computerized, these data can be analyzed with linguistic software tools, from simple ones, which search, count and display, to the most advanced ones, which provide sophisticated analyses of the data.”

The corpora can be commercially or academically produced.
Granger refers to Atkins and Clear (1992) to distinguish between a corpus and an archive.
“a corpus is a body of text assembled according to explicit design criteria for a specific purpose.”
“[an archive] is a repository of readable electronic texts not linked in any coordinated way.”

In “A Bird’s Eye View of Computer Learner Corpus Research” Sylviane Granger’s presentation in Hong Kong focused on these areas of Computer Learner Corpus research:
Corpus Building (Ellis 1994)
1. Language Use Data
2. Metalingual Judgments
3. Self-Report Data
Corpus Analysis
1. An analysis of learner errors
2. An analysis of quantitative differences between non-native and native language.
Pedagogical Benefits
1. Language learner tools
2. Language learner methodology
 
Samples of Corpus Based Web Resources
TeleNex http://www.telenex.hku.hk/telec/pmain/opening.htm 
Internet Grammar http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm
Chemnitz Internet Grammar
http://www.tuchemnitz.de/phil/english/chairs/linguist/real/index.html

Engines:
Corpus Work Bench via Arne Fitschen, IMS Stuggart
Qwick via Oliver Mason, University of Birmingham
SARA or SGML-Aware Retrieval Application, Oxford
Wordsmith http://www.lexically.net/wordsmith/
WordSmith Tools, via Mike Scott, Liverpool University http://www.lexically.net/wordsmith/
Corpus Linguistic Links http://www.lexically.net/wordsmith/corpus_linguistics_links/index.html

“…researchers and teachers should also be encouraged to make their own exercises or analyses available via the web to a large teaching community.” (Granger, p. 138).

Sample of CLC for writing a cover letter with resume:
“I have enclosed my resume…”
“A resume is enclosed.”
“Enclosed is a copy of my resume…” (p. 194).

“Getting the Right Tools for the Job: Creating Corpora for Language Learning.” Greg Hadley. International Symposium on Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Organized by Joseph Hung and Sylviane Granger. Chinese University of Hong Kong. December 1998.

Obtaining Equipment
Performing a Needs Analysis
Collecting Material
Ensuring Validity
Developing Storage
Performing CLC Analysis
Budgeting Time

“Language Corpora and the Language Classroom.” Pasual Perez-Paredes and Belen Diez Bedmar (2009).
http://www.slideshare.net/perezparedes/language-corpora-and-the-language-classroom
In “Language Corpora and the Language Classroom,” the authors note the growing interest in Corpus Linguistics (CL) and Data-Driven Learning (DDL).  They quote O’Keffe, McCarthy and Carter (2007:21)

“As well as providing an empirical basis for checking our intuitions about language, corpora have also brought to light features about language which has eluded our intuition […] In terms of what we actually teach, numerous studies have shown us that the language presented in textbooks is frequently still based on intuition about how we use language, rather than actual evidence of use.” O’Keffe, McCarthy and Carter (2007:21)

A corpus can reveal facts about real use of language.
Requires users to read vertically
Requires learners to move from deductive to inductive

Advice:
·         Select a small group of learners
·         Avoid meta-language
·         Prepare students to read vertically , interpret context, make hypothesis regarding use and prosodies (positive or negative intents).
·         Prepare the students’ research intent.
·         Engage the students with questions, as researchers or detectives
·         Select appropriate corpus or build your own.
http://www.um.es/sacodeyl

From Douglas Biber’s work in corpus linguistics and language use:
Biber, D., and J.K. Jones. 2005. Merging corpus linguistic and discourse analytic research goals: Discourse units in biology research articles. Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory 1.151-182.
SAGE Publications Ltd: Corpus Linguistics: Four-Volume Set ...
www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book236030 - United Kingdom

A SAGE Publications book: Corpus Linguistics: Douglas Biber, Randi Reppen. ... Corpus linguistics is a research approach to investigate the patterns of language ... and sociolinguistic studies of dialects, registers, styles, and world varieties. ...

Using the Internet for ESL Computer Learner Corpora Activities
Using the Internet balances Adkins and Clear’s distinction:

“[an archive] is a repository of readable electronic texts not linked in any coordinated way.”
“a corpus is a body of text assembled according to explicit design criteria for a specific purpose.”

  • The Internet functions as an archive.
  • The instructor’s selection of various web-based activities can constitute a corpus.
An additional distinction is made by Shei (2000):
Native-speaker corpora (reference corpora)
Target learner corpora (showing common errors)

Examples of Internet-based ESL Computer Learner Corpora Activities:
Student-generated Blogs
Students access the blog to post their writing assignments.
Some examples include writing in rhetorical modes:
Journals
Narratives
Descriptions
Classification
Compare Contrast
5 Paragraph Essay
Argument/Persuasion Essay

The instructor reviews the writing assignment in class or online.
Students begin to brainstorm, pre-write, and write the assignment.
Instructor and students engage in the revision process and peer editing.
Students post revised assignments.
Students read each other’s writing.
This serves as a “horizontal” learner corpus.
Language learners have observed the entire process.
Language learners have focused on specific language tasks.
(Organization, development, mechanics, etc).

While reading the posts, language learners can notice the ways that other students approached the language task.

Native Speaker Corpora: Film Scripts and Film Viewing: Online Film and Television Scripts
Drew's Script-O-Rama: Movie Scripts
http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/dircut.html

Screenplays for You: Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl
http://sfy.ru/?script=pirates_of_the_caribbean

Some films that work well: (Show first 20 minutes and/or selections)

  • Shark Boy and Lava Girl: 6 senses, bullying, imagination, dreams
  • Sleepless in Seattle: Wishes, dreams, overcoming grief
  • National Treasure: US History, Declaration of Independence, action
  • Twilight: Current movie with current discourse and topics
Twilight Screenplay, Scene 6 EXT. CHARLIE’S HOUSE - DAY  [For one-time educational use]
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Twilight.html
[Scene for three males and one female, but anyone can take any part]
Charlie, Billy, Jacob, Bella and Narrator.

Brainstorm Ways to Apply the Scene from Twilight to CLC

Brainstorm and Use Imaginations:

Other examples of using the Internet for Computer Learner Corpora
Blackboard: Syllabus, Postings, Updates, Forums
News stories
School bulletins

References

A Bird’s Eye View of Computer Learner Corpus Research” Sylviane Granger. International Symposium on Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Organized by Joseph Hung and Sylviane Granger. Chinese University of Hong Kong. December 1998.

Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition, and Foreign Language Teaching.
Eds. Sylviane Granger, Joseph Hung and Stephanie Petch-Tyson.  Philadelphia and Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 2002.
http://books.google.com/books?id=SgEtnIOdC5kC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

“Getting the Right Tools for the Job: Creating Corpora for Language Learning.” Greg Hadley. International Symposium on Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Organized by Joseph Hung and Sylviane Granger. Chinese University of Hong Kong. December 1998.

International Symposium on Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Organized by Joseph Hung and Sylviane Granger. Chinese University of Hong Kong. December 1998.

“Language Corpora and the Language Classroom.” Pasual Perez-Paredes and Belen Diez Bedmar (2009).
http://www.slideshare.net/perezparedes/language-corpora-and-the-language-classroom

Longman Learners’ Corpus


“Integrating Language Learning and Teaching with the Construction of Computer Learner Corpora.” Duane Kindt and Mark Wright
http://nufs.academia.edu/DuaneKindt/Papers/852782/Integrating_language_learning_and_teaching_with_the_construction_of_computer_learner_corpora

“Collocation, Learner Corpus, Language Teaching.” Shei, C. 2000.
http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/shei/collocation/top.html