A Creative Approach to Teaching Grammar through Corpus-Based Learning

Hello everyone! 

Welcome back to my blog!

Today I will talk about our "Current issues in teaching" assignment.

 I initially felt excited and daunted when assigned to create a corpus-based teaching material and lesson plan for EFL learners. The idea of integrating technology into language instruction was intriguing but required meticulous planning. Along with my team, I designed a visually appealing and interactive worksheet on the usage of "either" and "neither" for 10th-grade Turkish students, adhering to the ASSURE model and the principles by Ma et al. (2021).

Our aim was to enable students to differentiate between “either” and “neither” through authentic examples, collaborative discussions, and hands-on activities. Using COCA as the corpus tool, students engaged in guided discovery by observing real-life sentence patterns. The process followed Ma et al.'s four-step methodology:

1. Testing Knowledge: The worksheet started with simple identification tasks to gauge prior knowledge.
2. Hands-on Searches: Students explored sentences in a corpus tool to discern patterns for "either" and "neither."
3. Inductive Learning: Through group discussions, they summarized their findings about the grammatical rules.
4. Output Practice: The worksheet culminated in exercises like fill-in-the-blanks and sentence construction for reinforcement.

Our material, created using Canva, featured vibrant visuals and clear instructions, catering to visual and reflective learners.

The design process was enlightening. It involved crafting user-friendly tasks that balanced technological engagement with learning outcomes. Testing the corpus tool was crucial to ensure smooth classroom integration. While Canva made the visuals captivating, aligning tasks with objectives posed challenges, especially ensuring each activity contributed to student understanding.

Despite the preparation, implementing this material in a real classroom may face challenges:

• Technical Issues: Unreliable internet or unfamiliarity with corpus tools could disrupt the session.
• Cognitive Overload: Some students might find corpus analysis overwhelming without additional scaffolding.
• Time Constraints: The planned tasks may require more time than a standard lesson allows.

This project reaffirmed the value of corpus-based learning in making grammar instruction engaging and context-driven. While real-world applications may uncover areas for improvement, the potential of such materials to foster student independence and curiosity is undeniable.

Feel free to explore our lesson plan and worksheet and share your feedback. Also, you can visit my friends' blogs and read their posts about our assignment.

What challenges do you anticipate when adopting corpus-based methods in your classroom?

from here

Pelin Aybay