Sealey, Alison and Thompson, P. (2004) Final report to ESRC on ‘An investigation into corpus-based learning about language in the primary school'. Economic and Social Research Council.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
This project will investigate the potential of corpus-based teaching for children’s evidence-based learning about language. Corpus-based teaching involves the use of: •large, electronically stored collections of authentic language •an interface of computerised tools for identifying and describing its features •activities designed to direct learners’ attention to those features. A sub-corpus will be constructed, from the British National Corpus, of texts written for children. A new interface appropriate for primary school pupils will then be developed. The research will investigate how children at Key Stage 2 (the upper primary age-range) respond to language presented in this format. Teaching materials and activities which draw learners’ attention to features of grammar and vocabulary will be devised from the corpus, and the children will be observed as they complete the tasks set and devise investigations for themselves. They will also be interviewed about the concepts involved. The research will also entail the development, in collaboration with the children, of the interface used to explore the corpus. Such interfaces allow the user to identify and demonstrate patterns in grammar and vocabulary, and the research will seek to discover what features best support these learners in identifying the linguistic features of English