Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan The marriage between corpus-based linguistics and grammar instruction: Using advise, recommend, and suggest as an example Presenter: Wen-Shuenn Wu (Michael Wu) Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan August 7, 2008 (WorldCALL 2008)

‘Research is too important to be left to the researchers.’ (Tim Johns, 1991)

Introduction What is corpus? A collection of naturally occurring examples of language, consisting of anything from a few sentences to a set of written texts or tape recordings, which have been collected for linguistic study. (Hunston, 2002, p.2)

Classification of corpora Closed corpora Paid corpora (self-owned servers) Free online corpora

Closed Corpora

CIC (Cambridge International Corpus)

BNCWeb

Paid Corpora

BNC (British National Corpus) 75 GBP = 150 USD

ANC (American National Corpus)

ICAME (International Computer Archive of Modern and Medieval English) 3,500 NOK = 700 USD About 20 corpora (e.g. Brown, LOB, Helsinki) in CD-ROM.

LDC (Linguistic Data Consortium)

Free online Corpora

BNC (British National Corpus)

The Collins Wordbanks Online English Corpus

JustTheWord Sharp Laboratory of Europe

VIEW (Variation in English Words and Phrases) --> COCA (The Corpus of Contemporary American English)

MICASE (Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English)

PERC Corpus Online

WebCorp

Data-driven learning (DDL) Students act as ‘language detectives’, discovering facts about the language from authentic examples. (Hunston, 2002) DDL serves as consciousness-raising DDL does not ‘teach’ a language feature, but presents learners with evidence and asks them to make hypotheses and draw conclusions.

Corpora and language teaching To improve student’s skills of using real language in context to come up with an answer to certain grammar and usage problems. To investigate the lexico-grammatical associations and pattern differences between nearly synonymous words.

Application of corpora to language teaching ‘raw’, unedited corpora search Advantage Disadvantage specially-compiled, teacher-edited corpus

Advantages of using corpora in a language class Solve some grammatical and usage problems. Additional corpus material may be useful to help the learner to see a recurrent pattern rather than relying on a single occurrence from a text.

Disadvantages of using corpora in a language class time-consuming wrong conclusion or incorrect interpretation. “That’s why we suggest you talk to us first.” “In that case I suggest we stick to it, because I have the strong feeling that…”

Disadvantages of using corpora in a language class (cont.) Not all the concordance-derived data are grammatically correct. A teacher has to make a couple of digressions from the main topics of a lesson, which definitely will interrupt the flow of the lecture or discussion.

Dictionary definition of advise, suggest, and recommend (LDCE) advise:  to tell someone what you think they should do, especially when you know more than they do about something suggest:  to tell someone your ideas about what they should do, where they should go etc recommend:  to advise someone to do something, especially when you have special knowledge of a particular subject or situation

Whether these sentences are correct? I suggested a new procedure to the committee. A broker will advise you how to invest your money. I would always recommend buying a good quality bicycle rather than a cheap one.

How about these sentences? He suggested us to go for a drink. (LDCE) He suggested that we go for a drink. He advised to leave as quickly as possible. (Collins COBUILD English Usage, p.26) Can you suggest something for us to do this weekend? If you go to London, we recommend you visiting Tate Modern. (LDCE) They advised him that the tour would proceed.

Pilot Study Find out the whether advise, suggest, and recommend can be used in the following patterns? V + N + (not) to-V V + wh-clause/phrase V + that-clause V + -ing V + for/to someone + to-V

Pilot Study (cont.) What is the commonest modal (e.g. would, should, might, can, could, etc.) that is used in the that-clause of the third sentence pattern (i.e., V +that-clause)? Which adverbs are usually used with these three words: modal: adverbs: advise suggest recommend

V + N + (not) to-V He advised me to put my money in the bank. I would recommend anyone to read two books. suggest?? Could you suggest someone to advise me how to do this? (Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary, 4th edition, 2003, p.1449)

V + wh-clause/phrase He may need to advise how to obtain legal help or financial guidance. (BNCWeb) (1 target pattern out of 2021 examples) I keep trying to suggest where he could get work. (BNCWeb) (136 target patterns out of 8778 examples) The trust will also recommend whether the investment costs should be passed on to consumers. (BNCWeb) (16 target patterns out of 1784 examples)

V + that-clause We advised that they should start early. I suggested that he leave the room. (fml; esp. AmE) I recommend that you get some professional advice.

V + -ing I advise waiting till the proper time. He suggested taking the children to the zoo. I would always recommend buying a good quality bicycle rather than a cheap one.

V + for/to someone + to-V He suggested for her to take the money. I suggested to her to go to France with me. advise?? recommend??

modal What is the commonest modal (e.g. would, should, might, can, could, etc.) that is used in the that-clause of the third sentence pattern (i.e., V +that-clause)? should

adverb Which adverbs are usually used with these three words advise: strongly suggest: strongly recommend: highly, thoroughly, strongly

pedagogical and research issues – EFL perspective (1) native speaker intuition vs. non-native speaker competence Many more experimental studies require to be done before we can say that… (Owne, 1996) …decided that a large number of laws would require to be passed by a two-thirds majority (from a corpus) Yes, your cordon pears do require to be pruned in summer (from a corpus)

pedagogical and research issues – EFL perspective (2) “Although REQUIRE to be is found in the Bank of English, and fairly frequently, the past participle that follows is usually that of a verb with a specific meaning, not a general verb such as do. There are plenty of examples of the type These roses require to be pruned each spring but very few indeed of require to be done (only 3 out of 302). Thus Owen’s intuitions are backed up by evidence of the corpus, but on phraseological rather than grammatical grounds” (Hunston, 2002, p.21-22).

pedagogical and research issues – EFL perspective (3) the absence of some target patterns and rare instances of target patterns suggest + N + to V: (8 target patterns out of 8778 examples from BNCWeb) I would suggest you to ask that question in fact you’ll ask Gordon afterwards. suggest medicines to help reduce your symptoms. suggest ways to help my weight reduction suggest strategies to increase the safety of …

pedagogical and research issues – EFL perspctive (4) recommend + N + V-ing (Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, p.742) (2 target patterns out of 1784 examples from BNCWeb: “…although she would recommend you using more tact than Judith did.”)

pedagogical and research issues – EFL perspective (5) suggest + N + V-ing (Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, p.742) (4 target patterns out of 8778 examples from BNCWeb: Perhaps I could suggest her getting someone in to look after him and she could come..)

pedagogical and research issues – EFL perspective (6) real language: Where the example sentences from corpora are ‘real language’ in a meaningful context? In the classroom setting, EFL students are unlikely to be motivated by corpus-based data if the instances of language use that they are studying are taken from contexts which are detached from their interests and concerns (Tribble, 1997).

Conclusion “It is certainly true that I do not believe (and do not think the research demonstrates) that there is just one preferred approach to teaching grammar. The acquisition of the grammatical system of an L2 is a complex process and almost certainly can be assisted best by a variety of approaches.” (Ellis, 2006, p.103)

Conclusion (cont.) The marriage between corpus-based linguistics and grammar instruction might have a happy ending if competent English teachers are fully prepared and find adequate methods to integrate corpus-based materials into relevant grammar learning.

My Website in Google USA My Website in Google France My Website in Google Taiwan My Website in Google USA My Website in Google Korea My Website in Google Australia My Website in Google Japan My Website in Google Spain My Website in Google Germany