ENG24-25 Learner Corpus Research and Language Teaching
Course Name
Learner Corpus Research and Language Teaching: The use of large language models in language developmentUniversity
VUEC
5/6 ECCourse date
semester 2 (2024 - 2025)Registration open until
Location
Amsterdam/onlineInstructor(s)
Dr. Gea Dreschler (VU) & Prof .dr. Merel Keijzer (RUG)E-mail Contact
Dr. Gea DreschlerCourse objectives
Upon completion of this course students:
- will have a comprehensive overview of both the field of learner corpus research, but also second language development and pedagogy;
- will have a comprehensive overview of how learner corpus research can contribute to L2 acquisition research and language teaching;
- will be able to interpret the significance of corpus studies of vocabulary, phraseology, grammar, pragmatics and (dis)fluency for language teaching;
- will be able to design their own corpus study, selecting appropriate corpus resources and corpus linguistic techniques, and be able to show the significance of their study to L2 pedagogy.
Course content
The overarching question addressed by this course is how Second Language (L2) acquisition and development research and language teaching can be informed by corpus research. It covers the foundations of second language development but also examines the origins and applications of learner corpus research in the realm of second language development and teaching.
Each week will be devoted to a detailed study of one major area of Language Corpus Research (LCR). We analyse and discuss learner corpus data on the basis of a number of case studies, and interpret their significance with respect to the seminar topic, ranging from vocabulary and phraseology to syntax and pragmatics.
The course aims to provide an overview of the domain of learner corpus research, its contributions to L2 acquisition research and its applications in language teaching. As such, it is a course useful for prospective teachers currently enrolled in an English language Educational Master track, but also those who like the more empirical side of English linguistics and language sciences. For those who take the course as part of their Educational Master course the final assignment can also focus on developing teaching materials based on learner corpora and learner corpus research.
This is an English-medium course and given the target group we assume a very good to excellent command of the English language. We also assume a background knowledge in the domain of language development studies and particularly second language development studies. Having done at least one course on this topic will render the course content much easier to follow. Prior experience with learner corpora is not an entry requirement for the course.
Assessment
Format
The course consists of weekly 2-hour interactive seminar sessions. During these sessions the reading materials are discussed and student presentations about so-called ‘learner corpus case studies’ will be scheduled. One of the sessions is devoted to a hands-on workshop on working with learner corpus tools.
Exam
Paper research proposal 100%
The final assignment for the course is a research propsal (2000 to 3000 words in length) where a study is proposed based on a solid theoretical background rooted in learner corpus research. Those students who take the course for 6 rather than 5 ECTS may opt to add either a small empirical element to their research proposal or develop teaching materials based on learner corpora.
Presentation
Although the research proposal is the sole mark for this course, the course does also see student presentations where different so-called case studies (that is, research papers reporting empirical work done on the basis of learner corpora relevant for that week’s topic). Although not formally assessed, the presentations are mandatory. Presentations can be done in pairs or by a single student.
Study load
5EC (= 140 hours)
Seminars: 14 hrs
Literature study (approx. 10 pages/hour): 80 hrs
Assignments and presentation: 6 hrs
Term paper: 40 hrs
VU/UvA:
Students who need 6 ECTS may elect to do an extra assignment. This must be determined with your lecturer in week 1. Please see the assessment above for more details as to the type of format that this additional assignment could have.
Background Literature and Course Materials
Literature
Course readings consist of (open access) papers, most of which are made available through the Moodle environment of the course.
Further information
| Friday 7-2-2025 | Amsterdam | 10:30-12:30 |
| Friday 14-2-2025 | online | 10:30-12:30 |
| Friday 21-2-2025 | online | 10:30-12:30 |
| Friday 28-2-2025 | online | 10:30-12:30 |
| Friday 7-3-2025 | online | 10:30-12:30 |
| Friday 14-3-2025 | online | 10:30-12:30 |
| Friday 21-3-2025 | Amsterdam | 10:30-12:30 |