Introduction

In the previous modules, we have covered various corpus concordancing websites/tools, including COCA, Lextutor, VersaText, CorpusMate, Netspeak, SKELL, and AntConc. Not only have we learned what these tools can offer, but we also have deeper understanding about how they function and operate in reality. Now, we will learn how they can be integrated into language classrooms to facilitate the teaching of English.

Earlier on, we have introduced the concept ‘Corpus Literacy (CL)’ (see Module 1). Nonetheless, CL is just the foundation for equipping teachers with the knowledge base (subject or content). In this module 5, we will introduce another element – Corpus-based Language Pedagogy, which is essential for teachers to harness what they have learned in the previous modules, and how it can be applied to real classroom teaching.

What is Corpus-based Language Pedagogy (CBLP) and why is it important?

CBLP is a form of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (more commonly referred to as (TPACK) (Mishra & Koehler, 2008), (see also Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)).  According to Ma et al. (2021), if corpus literacy (CL) ‘focuses on the ability to learn how to use corpus tools as content knowledge, then CBLP highlights the importance of integrating CL into language pedagogy in real classroom settings’ (p. 4). Without CBLP, it will not suffice if a teacher only learns how to use the corpus tools, without actually thinking about how they should be and can be taught to students.

“CBLP highlights the importance of integrating CL into language pedagogy in real classroom settings”

Research suggests that CBLP, as a form of TPACK, requires teachers to be competent in different stages when creating a teaching a lesson that involves the use of corpus, i.e., in the comprehension stage, transformation stage, instruction stage, evaluation stage, and reflection stage, (see also Shulman’s PCK (1986)). More specifically, at the ‘comprehension stage’, teachers need to first understand what CL is, what they need to teach, who the students are, what the subject matter/the language patterns are, and so on. Whereas at the ‘transformation stage’, teachers need to transform what they have understood to something that can be learned by students, through preparing/planning corpus-related teaching materials critically, representing their corpus knowledge using appropriate methods (e.g., analogies, metaphors, demonstrations, etc.), selecting an appropriate instructional mode for teaching the corpus-informed learning materials, adapting the corpus-informed learning materials to suit students conceptions, preconceptions, and misconceptions about language or corpora, and finally monitoring students’ understanding of corpus knowledge.

The Four Basic Steps

Based on the above CBLP framework, teachers can follow the four basic principles when designing their corpus-based English Language lessons and develop the lesson in these four stages. In summary, these four stages (or steps) include:

1. Testing students’ knowledge
2. Hands-on corpus search by students
3. Inductive discovery by students
4. Output exercise

Certainly, to adapt to the teaching environment or proficiency levels of learners, teachers can alter the stages and make slight adjustment of the sequencing.

Visit the CAP website by the EdUHK corpus team to learn more about these four steps. You can also watch the following 5-minute video, in which Dr. Ma Qing (Angel), explains these four steps to you with some examples.

In addition to Dr. Ma’s explanation, others also have specific ideas for creating corpus-based English lesson targeting different language skills, e.g., translation, pronunciation, grammar, etc.

In the next section, we will share some quality lesson designs that have won awards for the CBLP ELT Lesson Design and Teaching Competitions in years 2021 and 2023, organised by the Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies, EdUHK. You will learn how the CBLP framework and the four lesson design principles can be applied, and how in-service or even pre-service teachers incorporate them in reality. Following the four basic principles to design CBLP lessons, these showcased lessons will surely inspire you to create a CBLP lesson on your own targeting at different language skills.

Let’s go check out the first sample lesson, which won an award for teaching vocabulary with Netspeak and SKELL!