Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:22:02.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Data-driven learning for beginners: The case of German verb-preposition collocations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2016

Nina Vyatkina
Nina Vyatkina*
Affiliation:
University of Kansas, United States (email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Research on data-driven learning (DDL), or teaching and learning languages with the help of electronic corpora, has shown that it is both effective and efficient. Nevertheless, DDL is still far from common pedagogical practice, not least because the empirical research on it is still limited and narrowly focused. This study addresses some gaps in that research by exploring the effectiveness of DDL for teaching low-proficiency learners lexico-grammatical constructions (verb-preposition collocations) in German, a morphologically rich language. The study employed a pretest-posttest design with intact third- and fourth-semester classes for German as a foreign language at a US university. The same collocations were taught to each group during one class period, with one group at each course level taking a paper-based DDL lesson with concordance lines from a native-speaker corpus and the other one taking a traditional rule-based lesson with textbook exercises. These constructions were new to third-semester students, whereas fourth-semester students had been exposed to them in the previous semester. The results show that, whereas the DDL method and the traditional method were both effective and resulted in lexical and grammatical gains, DDL was more effective for teaching new collocations. The study thus argues in favor of using paper-based DDL in the classroom at lower proficiency levels and for languages other than English.

Keywords

data-driven learningpaper-basedguided inductionmorphologyGerman
Type
Regular papers
Information
ReCALL , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , May 2016 , pp. 207 - 226
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baten, K. (2011) Processability theory and German case acquisition. Language Learning, 61(2): 455–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernardini, S. (2002) Exploring new directions for discovery learning. In: Kettemann, B. and Marko, G. (eds.), Teaching and learning by doing corpus analysis. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 165–182.Google Scholar
Boulton, A. (2008) Looking for empirical evidence of data-driven learning at lower levels. In: Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, B. (ed.), Corpus linguistics, computer tools, and applications: State of the art. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 581–598.Google Scholar
Boulton, A. (2009) Testing the limits of data-driven learning: Language proficiency and training. ReCALL, 21(1): 37–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boulton, A. (2010) Data-driven learning: Taking the computer out of the equation. Language Learning, 60(3): 534–572.Google Scholar
Boulton, A. (2012) Hands-on/hands-off: Alternative approaches to data-driven learning. In: Thomas, J. and Boulton, A. (eds.), Input, process and product: Developments in teaching and language corpora. Brno: Masaryk University Press, 152–168.Google Scholar
Boulton, A. and Pérez-Paredes, P. (2014) Editorial: Researching new uses of corpora for language teaching and learning. ReCALL, 26(2): 121–127.Google Scholar
Carter, R. and McCarthy, M. (1995) Grammar and the spoken language. Applied Linguistics, 16(2): 141–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, A. (2007) Popularising corpus consultation by language learners and teachers. In: Hidalgo, E., Quereda, L. and Santana, J. (eds.), Corpora in the foreign language classroom. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 3–16.Google Scholar
Chambers, A. and O’Sullivan, Í. (2004) Corpus consultation and advanced learners’ writing skills in French. ReCALL, 16(1): 158–172.Google Scholar
Chan, P.-T. and Liou, H.-C. (2005) Effects of web-based concordancing instruction on EFL students’ learning of verb–noun collocations. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 18(3): 231–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chun, D. (2012) Review article: Replication studies in CALL research. CALICO Journal, 29(4): 591–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobb, T. (1999) Breadth and depth of lexical acquisition with hands-on concordancing. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 12(4): 345–360.Google Scholar
Cobb, T. and Boulton, A. (2015) Classroom applications of corpus analysis. In: Biber, D. and Reppen, R. (eds.), The Cambridge handbook of English corpus linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 478–497.Google Scholar
Council of Europe. (2001) Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Strasbourg: Language Policy Unit. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/framework_en.pdf.Google Scholar
Cunnings, I. (2012) An overview of mixed-effects statistical models for second language researchers. Second Language Research, 28(3): 369–382.Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R. M. (1998) Beyond focus on form: Cognitive perspectives on learning and practicing second language grammar. In: Doughty, C. J. and Williams, J. (eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 42–63.Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R. M. (2003) Implicit and explicit learning. In: Doughty, C. J. and Long, M. H. (eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell, 313–348.Google Scholar
Di Donato, R., Clyde, M. and Vansant, J. (2012) Deutsch, na klar!: An introductory German course, (6th edn). Boston: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Doughty, C. J. (2003) Instructed SLA: Constraints, compensation, and enhancement. In: Doughty, C. J. and Long, M. H. (eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell, 256–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckes, T. and Grotjahn, R. (2006) A closer look at the construct validity of C-tests. Language Testing, 23(3): 290–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, N. (2005) At the interface: Dynamic interactions of explicit and implicit language knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(2): 305–352.Google Scholar
Ellis, N. (2014) Cognitive AND social language usage. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 36(3): 397–402.Google Scholar
Farr, F. (2008) Evaluating the use of corpus-based instruction in a language teacher education context: Perspectives from the users. Language Awareness, 17(1): 25–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flowerdew, L. (2009) Applying corpus linguistics to pedagogy: A critical evaluation. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 14(3): 393–417.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, L. (2015) Data-driven learning and language learning theories: Whither the twain shall meet. In: A. Leńko-Szymańska and A. Boulton (eds.), Multiple affordances of language corpora for data-driven learning. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 15–36.Google Scholar
Frankenberg-Garcia, A. (2014) The use of corpus examples for language comprehension and production. ReCALL, 26(2): 128–146.Google Scholar
Gabrielatos, C. (2005) Corpora and language teaching: Just a fling, or wedding bells? TESL-EJ, 8(4): 1–37.Google Scholar
Gilquin, G. and Granger, S. (2010) How can data-driven learning be used in language teaching?. In: O’Keeffe, A. and McCarthy, M. (eds.), The Routledge handbook of corpus linguistics. London: Routledge, 359–370.Google Scholar
Herron, C. and Tomasello, M. (1992) Acquiring grammatical structures by guided induction. The French Review, 65(5): 708–718.Google Scholar
Huang, L.-S. (2008) Using guided, corpus-aided discovery to generate active learning. English Teaching Forum, 46(4): 20–27.Google Scholar
Johns, T. (1990) From printout to handout: Grammar and vocabulary teaching in the context of data-driven learning. CALL Austria, 10: 14–34.Google Scholar
Kennedy, C. and Miceli, T. (2001) An evaluation of intermediate students’ approaches to corpus investigation. Language Learning and Technology, 5(3): 77–90.Google Scholar
Koosha, M. and Jafarpour, A. (2006) Data-driven learning and teaching collocation of prepositions: The case of Iranian EFL adult learners. Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 8(4): 192–209.Google Scholar
Leńko-Szymańska, A. and Boulton, A. (2015) Introduction: Data-driven learning in language pedagogy. In: Leńko-Szymańska, A. and Boulton, A. (eds.), Multiple affordances of language corpora for data-driven learning. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1–14.Google Scholar
Mauranen, A. (2004) Speech corpora in the classroom. In: Aston, G., Bernardini, S. and Stewart, D. (eds.), Corpora and language learners. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 195–211.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, J. (2006) Corpus linguistics and language pedagogy: The state of the art – and beyond. In: Braun, S., Kohn, K. and Mukherjee, J. (eds.), Corpus technology and language pedagogy: New resources, new tools, new methods. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 5–24.Google Scholar
Nesselhauf, N. (2004) Learner corpora and their potential for language teaching. In: Sinclair, J. M. (ed.), How to use corpora in language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 125–152.Google Scholar
Pallotti, G. (2015) A simple view of linguistic complexity. Second Language Research, 31(1): 117–134.Google Scholar
Porte, G. (ed.) (2012) Replication in applied linguistics: A practical guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1990) The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11(2): 129–158.Google Scholar
Sharwood Smith, M. (1993) Input enhancement in instructed SLA. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15(2): 165–179.Google Scholar
Sharwood Smith, M. (2013) Possibilities and limitations of enhancing language input: A MOGUL perspective. In: Benati, A., Laval, C. and Arche, M. J. (eds.), The grammar dimension in instructed second language learning. London: Bloomsbury, 36–57.Google Scholar
Smart, J. (2014) The role of guided induction in paper-based data-driven learning. ReCALL, 26(2): 184–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spada, N. and Tomita, Y. (2010) Interactions between type of instruction and type of language feature: A meta-analysis. Language Learning, 60(2): 263–308.Google Scholar
Tian, S. (2005) The impact of learning tasks and learner proficiency on the effectiveness of data-driven learning. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, 9(2): 263–275.Google Scholar
Trahey, M. and White, L. (1993) Positive evidence and preemption in the second language classroom. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15(2): 181–204.Google Scholar
Vinagre, M. and Muñoz, B. (2011) Computer-mediated corrective feedback and language accuracy in telecollaborative exchanges. Language Learning and Technology, 15(1): 72–103.Google Scholar
Vyatkina, N. (2013) Discovery learning and teaching with electronic corpora in an advanced German grammar course. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 46(1): 44–61.Google Scholar
Vyatkina, N. (2015) Corpus activity: German verb-preposition collocations. Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS), University of Oregon. http://caslsintercom.uoregon.edu/content/18927Google Scholar
Vyatkina, N. (in press) Data-driven learning of collocations: Learner performance, proficiency, and perceptions. Language Learning and Technology, 20(3).Google Scholar
Yoon, H. (2008) More than a linguistic reference: The influence of corpus technology on L2 academic writing. Language Learning and Technology, 12(2): 31–48.Google Scholar
Yoon, H. and Hirvela, A. (2004) ESL student attitudes toward corpus use in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13(4): 257–283.Google Scholar
Yoon, H. and Jo, J. (2014) Direct and indirect access to corpora: An exploratory case study comparing students’ error correction and learning strategy use in L2 writing. Language Learning and Technology, 18(1): 96–117.Google Scholar