Using Corpus Findings to Develop L2 Writing Materials

Second Language Writing / Materials Writers InterSection
TESOL 2007
Friday, March 23

This intersection explores how current corpus findings can inform writing teachers and materials developers. Presenters demonstrate strategies for designing corpus research and analyzing findings to choose activity foci, generate activity templates, highlight frequent vocabulary and structures in use in particular genres or registers, and augment existing textbook exercises.

Panel Facilitators:
Margi Wald, Second Language Writing Interest Section, mwald@berkeley.edu
Kelly Sippell, Materials Writers Interest Section, ksippell@umich.edu

The AWL in context
Pat Byrd, Georgia State University, patbyrd@comcast.net

Knowing a new word means more than knowing its dictionary definition; knowing a word means knowing how to use that word and that means knowing what other words are frequently used along with the word.  To understand the use of Academic Word List (AWL) words in context, a project is now being carried out to re-analyze the original AWL corpus to gather information for researchers, teachers, and materials writers about the patterns in which the words are used. Because of differences between how the AWL words are used in academic writing and in instructors’ lectures, students will need special strategies both in their reading and in their listening to learn how to use AWL words in academically appropriate ways. Examples of finding will be shared along with ideas about how this information might be used by writing teachers to help students develop the language skills they need for effective academic writing.

Handouts:
Powerpoint Presentation (ppt)
Analysis of Required and Persistent (doc)

Gaining access:  Corpus tools and resources for the writing instructor
Gena Bennett, Independent Materials Writer, genabennett@yahoo.com

Accessibility is a critical issue in the classroom application of corpora and corpus tools.  Teachers who would like to implement the corpus approach in the classroom are often hindered by limited resources and/or lack of funds.  This presentation will discuss how teachers and students can make use of freely available corpus tools along with resources at hand to investigate vocabulary and grammar to inform writing instruction.

Handouts:
Powerpoint Presentation (pdf)
Handout on TextSTAT 2.7 (pdf)

Using corpus-based references to guide editing and revision in L2 writing
Jan Frodesen, University of California, Santa Barbara, frodesen@linguistics.ucsb.edu

Corpus-based reference materials such as online concordancers and collocation dictionaries can be valuable resources for teachers and students in work focused on revising or editing writing assignments. This presentation will show how writing instructors can identify areas for language focus based on their students’ drafts or other assignments and then develop materials using corpus-based references for both class work and out-of-class assignments.

Handouts:
Powerpoint Presentation (ppt)

Overcoming the gap in exposure to text: Using a reading corpus in an academic writing class
Diane Schmitt, Nottingham Trent University, diane.schmitt@ntu.ac.uk
Norbert Schmitt, Nottingham University, norbert.schmitt@nottingham.ac.uk

Native speakers often develop an implicit ability to write in academic style as a result of years of exposure to academic texts.  Second language writers rarely receive similar amounts of exposure.  This presentation demonstrates how a corpus of texts compiled for a writing-from-sources assignment can be used to explicitly teach key academic features of reading texts that writers need to transfer into their own essays.

Handouts:
Powerpoint Presentation (ppt)
'Argues' Examples (doc)
Asylum Truth (pdf)
Global Word List (doc)
Primary Materials (doc)
Reading the Actual References (doc)