Sylviane Granger "The computer learner corpus: a versatile new source of data for SLA research"
(Source: Granger, S. (ed.) 1998. Learner English on Computer. Longman. Chapter 1)
FIND ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
1. Corpus linguistics and English studies
> What is Granger's standpoint on the corpus linguistics vs Chomskyan linguistics divide?
> What is novel about the corpus linguistics methodology?
> When did the first computerised collections of learner language emerge? Name at least 3 major collections.
2. Learner corpus data and SLA research
2.1 Empirical data in SLA research
> What three types of SLA data are used by researchers?
> What is the difference between introspection and elicitation?
> Why has the use of natural data been long out of favour with (some) SLA researchers?
> What are, in turn, the weaknesses of introspective and elicited data?
> What strengths do learner corpora have to contribute?
2.2 Contribution of learner data to SLA research
> What is EA?
> What were some of the limitations of early learner corpora?
> What is wrong with the treatment of learner corpora as "depositories of errors"?
> How are modern learner corpora different from learner "proto-corpora"?
2.3. Learner corpus data and ELT
> What was, prior to the use of learner corpora, the major impact of corpus research on ELT?
> Why does the exploration of native English corpora not suffice?
> How can the use of computerised learner corpora (CLCs) enhance ELT?
3. Learner corpus compilation
3.1 Learner corpus design criteria
> "... the results are only as good as the corpus" – comment on this quote from John Sinclair, the founder of
Cobuild
> Why is it especially important to have clear design criteria when compiling a CLC?
> What are some of the features relevant to learner corpus building (name at least 5)
> What is the difference between ESL and EFL?
3.2. ICLE design criteria
> What is ICLE?
> What is the type of learner sampled in the ICLE corpus?
3.3. Corpus size
> Why are (most) learner corpora modest in size?
> Why is the Longman Learner Corpus considerably large?
3.4. Data capture, mark-up and documentation
> What are the three methods of data capture decribed by Granger?
> Why is proofreading an obstacle when compiling a CLC?
> Do learner corpora need to be extensively "marked up" (=textually annotated) ?
> Why is documentation of a learner corpus a necessity?
4. Computer-aided linguistic analysis
4.1 Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis
> What is Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis?
> What can be gained by comparing native and non-native performance data?
> What is a control corpus and why must it be characterised by "comparability of text-type"?
> Within the ICLE Project: what is LOCNESS and why is it sometimes criticised as a control corpus?
> What can be gained from comparing non-native corpora originated from learners with different L1's?
> What is the difference between a "cross-linguistic invariant" and a "transfer-related feature"?
> What is CA? Why is it essential to combine it with CIA? Is this a straightforward task, according to Granger?
4.2. Automated linguistic analysis
4.2.1 Linguistic software tools
> What is the difference between text retrieval tools and annotation tools?
> Is error tagging computerised?
4.2.2. CLC methodology
> What is the difference between hypothesis-finding and hypothesis-testing approaches in CLC research? What
are their respective limitations / risks?
> Is "statistical significance" always of pedagogical use?
> What are the linguistic limitations to a computerised (= "hypothesis-finding") approach?
5. Conclusion
> In summary, what is the major promise of CLCs with respect to SLA theory and practice?
Notes
> Are free compositions natural data or elicited data?
> Within ICLE, what would be a good candidate for a control corpus of texts written by professionals?
> What is the difference between 'underuse' (sometimes also called 'underrepresentation', PK) and 'avoidance', in
the context of learner language research?