Abstract
Corpus linguistics offers versatile applications as a language education tool, methodology, and resource. ESL (English as a Second Language) students, learning a new language without authentic exposure is particularly challenging. Resnik et al. (2022) highlighted these difficulties during the emergent remote teaching necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Authentic language exposure smoothens the learning process and also aids in understanding the social implications of language (Gilmore, 2007). Language is intrinsically linked with culture, personality, and identity. This study employs corpora to restore authentic exposure in language classes while teaching idiomatic expressions within their contextual and societal meanings. The challenges of authentic language exposure in emergent remote practices are tedious; corpus provides necessary exposure to ESL students (Fellbaum, 2019; Liu, 2008; Osipova, 2020; Simpson & Mendis, 2003). This study seeks to answer the following research questions: (a) What is the difference between acquiring idiomatic terms through corpora exposure and traditional approach in SLA classrooms? (b) What challenges do ESL learners face when learning idioms, and how can corpora help? (c) How effective is corpus-based idiom acquisition compared to traditional learning methods? This convergent mixed methods study (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018) used Usage-Based Linguistics and Data-Drive Learning (DDL) as a theoretical framework to analyze quantitative pre and post-test data from L2 learners. Based on this analysis, a qualitative interview protocol is developed. Students are then interviewed to compare the corpus-based and traditional approaches to idiom acquisition. The study concluded by discussing the implications of corpus-based teaching practices in ESL classrooms.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Considering Digital Pedagogies
KEYWORDS
Keywords, Corpus, Linguistics, Usage, Based, Language, Acquisition, Data, Drive, Learning
