In this course you will learn how to compile a corpus and how to analyse written and spoken corpora in various ways in order to obtain an understanding of language as it is used rather than language as it prescribed or language as it appears to be based on speakers' intuitions. Thus one important component of the course is a series of “lab” activities that will enable you to produce corpus-based descriptions of vocabulary and grammar. Building on the foundation of a corpus-based analysis of language, we go on to consider the relevance of corpora for language teaching, focussing mostly on syllabus design and materials preparation. In addition, students will understand the limitations of corpus use and the issues relating to the use of corpus-based materials in the language classroom.

The objectives are to allow students to:

1, Select texts and compile a corpus
2. Be familiar with a range of corpora and their structure
3. Use text analysis software such as a concordancer to search corpora
4. Be able to carry out corpus-based investigations of the structure and function of language
5. Understand a lexico-grammatical perspective on language and lexical approaches to language learning
6. Understand the relevance of corpora to materials development and syllabus design
7. Be familiar with different uses of corpus-based materals in the classroom
8. Understand the pedagogical issues surrounding corpus/concordance use