TEC 2014 Hyderabad

The Interface of

Corpus Linguistics and

The Lexical Approach for

Teaching ESL Beginner

Learners Effectively

Adam Scott

teachAdam@me.com @teachAdam

A need for change

• Some beginners making slow progress

• New students joining existing classes

• Traditional coursebooks failing to deliver

• Frustrating for teachers and learners

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

A premise or two

• Collocation should help learners

• Corpus data can inform course content

• Syntax is central to learning English

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Literature Review

Beginners, by Paul Grundy

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Teaching English to Beginners,

by LRH Chapman

Literature Review

The Lexical Syllabus,

by Dave Willis

Lexical Priming,

by Michael Hoey

From Corpus to

Classroom, O’Keeffe,

McCarthy & Carter

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Post-beginner Dilemmas

Problems some higher-level learners still have:

some level of illiteracy in English

poor basic speaking skills

poor basic listening skills

poor basic syntax and verb use

poor or unnatural basic vocab and collocation

struggle badly with pronunciation

have taken forever to make progress

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Why bother?

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Brain Power

McLaughlin’s Attention-Processing Model • Second language learning is a skill

• It requires “automization of component sub-skills”

• New learning needs our focal and controlled attention

• Our capacity to manage controlled processes is limited

• “automization” makes our language processing skills

more efficient

• Structured practice of linguistic patterns supports

integration and “automization”

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Welcome to English!

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Neradova, M. (2013). Summer in the mountains. Retrieved 15/11/13 from: http://www.marianeradova.org/?month=6

Undirected focus

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Neradova, M. (2013). Summer in the mountains. Retrieved 15/11/13 from: http://www.marianeradova.org/?month=6

Too many foci

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Neradova, M. (2013). Summer in the mountains. Retrieved 15/11/13 from: http://www.marianeradova.org/?month=6

Typical coursebook

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Neradova, M. (2013). Summer in the mountains. Retrieved 15/11/13 from: http://www.marianeradova.org/?month=6

Interface CL and LA

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Neradova, M. (2013). Summer in the mountains. Retrieved 15/11/13 from: http://www.marianeradova.org/?month=6

Corpus tools 1

• Frequency Lists – UCREL Lancaster University http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/bncfreq/

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Top 30 English Words

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 5 4

are is

on

by

it

at

the

was

have

of

I

for

not

this

but

's

had

with to

be in

and

a you

he

that

... they

this is a ...

she

his

from

she is from ...

I have a ...

Data from Lancaster University. Companion website for “word frequencies in written and spoken English based on the British National Corpus”. (2001).

Retrieved 15/09/12 from: http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/bncfreq/flists.html

are you from ...

Your turn to play!

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Data from Lancaster University. Companion website for “word frequencies in written and spoken English based on the British National Corpus”. (2001).

Retrieved 15/09/12 from: http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/bncfreq/flists.html

Practise and personalise

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Corpus tools 2

• Online Concordancer – BYU BNC http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Online concordancer

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Online concordancer

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Building collocation

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

have

see use

get go to

play

a taxi

Lexical grammar

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

have

see use

get go to

play

a taxi

/j-uh/ ……? (=every day) Yes, I do. No, I don’t.

/d-i-j-uh/ … …yesterday? Yes, I did. No, I didn’t.

/j-uh/ Do you…?

/d-i-j-uh/ Did you…?

Key practical features

• Collocating lexis into grammar

• Presentation light, production heavy

• Careful staging – one thing at a time

• “Chunking up” structural elements

• A focus on accuracy

• Achieves real communication

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Building collocation

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Top 10 adjectives Top 10 nouns

Data from Lancaster University. Companion website for “word frequencies in written and spoken English based on the British National Corpus”. (2001).

Retrieved 15/09/12 from: http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/bncfreq/flists.html

Building collocations

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

time

way

year work government

thing day man

people year

Top Verbs

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Building associations

• Collocating the highest-frequency words

– Builds associations across lexis

• Chunking creates better pronunciation

– Synthetic phonics to represent sounds

• Develops understanding of primings

• Supports receptive skills

– Increases ability to listen, read and anticipate

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Pronunciation

/w-air d-i-j-uh g-oh/

/h-ue d-i-j-uh g-oh w-i-th/

/w-e-n d-i-j-uh g-oh/

/w-o w-uh-z th-uh w-e-th-uh l-igh-k/

/w-o d-i-j-uh d-ue th-air/

/w-o w-uh-z-i-t l-igh-k/

/w-air d-i-j-uh s-t-ey/

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Doff, A. (2010). English unlimited starter coursebook. Cambridge: CUP. p.67

Adjacency Pairs Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Doff, A. (2010). English unlimited starter coursebook. Cambridge: CUP. p.67

Pronunciation maps Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

New value in resources Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

play

run

n

walk

catch

(lie)

ly

sail throw

feed (ride)

rid

sit

t

fly

swim

m

kick

Associative activities

Using memory maps

• Collocating adjectives with landmarks

• Matching words with people

• Matching sounds in different words

• Teaching new lexis with strong collocates

• Meaning is built through association

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Statistical indicators

• Beginners reaching pre-int or higher (Beginner and elementary levels counted as one level)

Adam Scott

[VALUE] weeks

[VALUE] weeks

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

Num

ber

of

weeks p

er

level

(avera

ged)

COURSE TYPE

Median progress in student weeks

Traditional New

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Qualitative Feedback

• Students fit capably into elementary level

• Surprising levels of fluency and accuracy

– Able to say a lot with relatively little

• Learners are engaged and questioning

• Good ability to collocate lexis

• Students are happy and motivated

• Good study skills

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Some closing ideas

• Stage lessons for focal, controlled attention: one thing at a time!

• Well-staged, integrated lesson content fosters “Demand High”

learning and meaningful production

• Chunk up cumbersome/discreet “discrete” grammar points

• Collocate new lexis to minimise learner confusion

• Collocation differences are easy to recognise and remember

• Simple, explicit pronunciation teaches sound-spelling relations

• Priming learners for listenings and readings practises sub-skills

• Learning is a skill - strategies are at least as important as content

Adam Scott

The Interface of Corpus Linguistics and the Lexical Approach for Teaching ESL Beginner Learners Effectively

Thank you

Download slides at: http://teachadam.wordpress.com