Pedagogic Corpora From real language to relevant language learning activities Kurt Kohn University of Tübingen (DE) kurt.kohn@uni-tuebingen.de http://projects.ael.uni-tuebingen.de Steinbeis Transfer Center (DE) Language Learning Media www.sprachlernmedien.de Twitter: @kurtkohn LinkedIn - Facebook
Corpora horses for courses One of the tenets of CLT is AUTHENTICITY > access to REAL language Reference and research corpora of written and spoken texts Representativeness for description purposes POS tagging, frequency lists, KWIC concordances Written and spoken English native speaker corpora, e.g. Brown (1 mio), BNC (100 mio), Bank of English (650 mio), COCA (450 mio), ICE (1 mio each) Small genre and topic-specific do-it-yourself corpora Learner corpora (e.g. ICLE, Lindsei) English as a lingua franca corpora (> VOICE, ELFA) Corpus-based reference dictionaries and grammars COBUILD Dictionary (1987) COBUILD Grammar (1990) Longman Grammar of Spoken & Written English (1999) 2
Example of a KWIC concordance 3
Pedagogical application of descriptive corpora Corpus-driven vs. corpus-based analysis & description [Tognini-Bonelli 2001] Data-driven language learning (DDL) [Boulton 2009, Johns & King 1991, Krishnamurthy 2001, Repper 2010] Corpora as collections of authentic written and spoken texts and representative of real language from genuine communicative situations Activities & exercises based on concordance output to enable students to notice & explore regularities of patterning in the target language usage to work out rules for themselves The real language misunderstanding real language data = decontextualized texts [=> Widdowson s (2004) text/discourse distinction] Focus is on form (based on concordances = keywords in context ) [=> the co-text/context distinction] learners as researchers : observe > hypothesize > experiment The driving force of learning is the corpus 4
Language learning and communication A flaw in modern descriptive-linguistic thinking: the dissociation of grammatical knowledge and grammar learning from communication Language learning aims at communication, and it is (only) possible through communication Communication comes before meaning and meaning comes before form Meaning and communication reach out beyond form Our ability to communicate and our ability to understand each other have the same cognitive, emotional and behavioral basis Learning a language involves the cognitive, emotional and behavioral creative construction of one s own version of it 5
Communicative/constructivist concepts & principles Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Dimensions of communicative competence: grammatical, socio-linguistic, discourse, strategic [Canale 1983] Communication as learning objective and learning method Authenticity genuine vs. authentic & authentication [Widdowson 2003] Collaborative learning Communication IS collaboration! Learner autonomy Guided Autonomy Learner autonomy needs to be developed ( life-long learning ) Task-based / Project-based Learning Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL/EMILE) The social constructivist justification 6
From descriptive corpora to pedagogic corpora Backdrop: communicative & constructivist principles of LL&T Pedagogical mediation of descriptive corpora [Widdowson 2003] More than pedagogically mediating sth that exists before mediation Corpora specifically designed and developed for PEDAGOGIC purposes Pedagogically relevant genres and topics Pedagogical annotation Pedagogically relevant enrichment resources, e.g. audio/video files, concordances, ready-made language learning tasks Pedagogically motivated search functions Focus on form within a communicative approach: discourse authentication through communicative & collaborative blended learning activities (Moodle) ELISA : the mother of (our) pedagogical corpora [Braun 2006] video-recorded spoken interviews with American, British, Irish and Australian speakers of English from different walks of life The driving force of learning is the learner 7
BACKBONE Pedagogic corpora for Content & Language Integrated Learning The EU LLP project BACKBONE (2009-2011) (http://projects.ael.uni-tuebingen.de/backbone ) 8 partners 7 European countries: France, Germ., Ireland, Poland, Spain, Turkey, UK Focus on authentic language support for CLIL settings lesser taught languages (Polish, Turkish) regional & socio-cultural varieties of more frequently taught languages (English, French, German, Spanish) European non-native speaker manifestations of English as a lingua franca 7 language subcorpora (video-recorded interviews & presentations) topics: cultural, social, economic & political issues, regional perspectives pedagogical annotation and enrichment (language learning materials) BACKBONE pedagogical corpus tools Tools for transcription, annotation & enrichment, corpus management, and search Pedagogical piloting was carried out in Moodle-enhanced CLIL settings secondary, higher and vocational education. 8
BACKBONE Pedagogical design, use and creation Kohn 2012 Pedagogically relevant (interview) topics Corpus search [http:purl.org/backbone/searchtool] Browse, Section search, Co-occurrences, Concordances, Lexical lists Enrichment resources: video/sound, exercises, learning instructions Pedagogical application: from corpus search to Moodle courses Tools for do it yourself corpus creation Corpus enrichment: Virtual Resource Pool (VRP) Pedagogical transcription, annotation & management Development teams: University of Tübingen (Germany): Kohn, Widmann, Vacarius, Wetzel, Ziai University of Murcia (Spain): Pérez-Paredes, Alcaraz Calero 9
Pilot courses and evaluation results 24 pilot courses: 6 target languages (English, French, German, Polish, Spanish, Turkish) CLIL orientation Moodle/ blended learning Typical pilot course design: video-based awareness forum discussion comprehension checks (TELOS) collaborative thematic/linguistic corpus explorations spoken interaction in class summary writing (forum, assignment) Teacher training and support area (Moodle): information, instructions, hands-on practice => pedagogy, BACKBONE, Moodle demo course networking & collaboration E-learning integration: still marginal need for teacher training and support technological problems and challenges Overall positive feedback: thematic vocabulary explorations writing and speaking comprehension practice (diversity of voices & regional accents, ELF) focus on form in thematic contexts self-study potential exploration & communication high level of perceived success positive ratings by teacher E-learning activities: significantly foster key principles of communicative and constructivist learning (autonomy, authenticity, collaboration) computer lab NOT the most suitable solution, RATHER data projection and internet access in class combined with individual & collaborative learning outside class 10
References Boulton, A. (2009). Testing the limits of data-driven learning: language proficiency and training. ReCALL, 21: 37-54 Braun, S., Kohn, K. & Mukherjee, J. (eds.) (2006). Corpus Technology and Language Pedagogy: New Resources, New Tools, New Methods. Peter Lang. Braun, S. (2006). ELISA: a pedagogically enriched corpus for language learning purposes. In Braun, Kohn & Mukherjee (eds.). Corpus Technology and Language Pedagogy. Peter Lang, 25-47. Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In Richards & Schmidt (eds.). Language and Communication. Longman, 2-27. Johns, T. & P. King (eds.) (1991). Classroom Concordancing. University of Birmingham: Centre for English Language Studies. Kohn, K. (2009). Computer assisted foreign language learning. In Knapp & Seidlhofer (eds.). Foreign Language Communication and Learning. Handbooks of Applied Linguistics, vol. 6. Mouton de Gruyter. Kohn, K. (2012). The BACKBONE project: pedagogic corpora for content and language integrated learning. Objectives, methodological approach and outcomes. Eurocall Review 20/2. [http://www.eurocall-languages.org/review/20_2/index.html] Krishnamurthy, R. (2001). Learning and teaching through context - A data-driven approach. TESOL Spain Newsletter 24. [http://www.developingteachers.com/articles_tchtraining/corpora1_ramesh.htm] Repper, R. (2010). Using Corpora in the Language Classroom. Cambridge UP. Tognini-Bonelli, E. (2001). Corpus Linguistics at Work. Benjamins. Widdowson, H.G. (2003). Defining Issues in English Language Teaching. Oxford UP. Widdowson, H.G. (2004). Text, Context, Pretext: Critical Issues in Discourse Analysis. Blackwell. 11
Over to you Now think of what you would like to do with BACKBONE Do you find the concept of pedagogical corpus design pedagogically appealing? Does this kind of corpus/blended learning integration fit in with your language learning and teaching objectives and purposes? Which topics and communication genres would you be interested in? Would you like to develop your own BACKBONE corpora? What about networking and collaboration? 12
Thank you 13
BACKBONE Interview Topics Cultural issues customs/traditions - arts sports - new technologies Economic issues fishing & agriculture, automotive industry, world of labour, trade unions Urban and rural life Social issues minorities and fringe groups, immigration multicultural society Health & social security national health system, hospitals, health professions, welfare and social benefits Education educational system & institutions, vocational education, educational mobility The environment climate change, traffic & pollution, renewable energies, environmental policy Government & politics political system, institutions & parties, mayor, city council, local government
BACKBONE Search Browse function
BACKBONE Search Section Search function
BACKBONE Search Section Search results
BACKBONE Search - Access to Learning Resources Learning modules for listening comprehension and focus on form and vocabulary Instructions for exploratory and communicative activities
BACKBONE Learning Resources: Telos exercises Listening comprehension and focus on form
BACKBONE Learning Resources: instructions for exploratory and communicative activities Collaboration (Wiki) Forum discussions Exploring interviews Internet research
BACKBONE Search Co-occurrence
BACKBONE Search Concordance Users can enter up to 3 key words and restrict their search to selected thematic domains
BACKBONE Search Lexical lists
The Moodle connection
BACKBONE Virtual Resource Pool (VRP) Enrichment resources in a Virtual Resource Pool Links to video + audio files accessible via Links to learning modules (e.g. TLP packages) resource sheets and blended learning patterns
BACKBONE Learning Resources: Telos exercises Listening comprehension and focus on form
BACKBONE Learning Resources: instructions for exploratory and communicative activities Collaboration (Wiki) Forum discussions Exploring interviews Internet research
The BACKBONE Transcriptor Tool
BACKBONE Annotation Annotation Annotation at section level Annotation categories customized to capture, e.g. topics, grammatical, lexical, textual characteristics, and CEF level Drag & drop annotation Collaborative annotation
The BACKBONE Annotator Tool