Corpora and new technologies in the linguistics classroom: a pedagogical use of a clause pattern database

Natalia Judith Laso Martín; Elisabet Comelles Pujadas; María Luz Celaya Villanueva; Montserrat Forcadell Guinjoan

Authors

Natalia Judith Laso Martín
Elisabet Comelles Pujadas
María Luz Celaya Villanueva
Montserrat Forcadell Guinjoan

Abstract

Abstract

Several corpus-based studies have suggested that the observation of real instances of language production is a valuable methodological approach in the description of language. In this respect, the use of computer technology tools has recently become commonplace in the teaching and learning of second and foreign languages. This paper presents the pedagogical use of a clause pattern database which has been designed as a resource to create corpus-based teaching materials to be applied in the linguistics classroom. More specifically, the Clause Pattern Database (CPDB) provides a wide representative sample of clause patterns in context. The task derived from it and described in this paper illustrates the effectiveness of the CPDB as a methodological tool that contributes not only to improving students’ understanding of the mechanisms of English syntax but also to integrating new information and communication technologies (NICTs) in the linguistics classroom.

Keywords: corpus linguistics; lexico-grammatical study; clause pattern database; linguistics classroom; NICTs

Resumen

Varios estudios basados en corpus textuales han subrayado la relevancia de la observación de ejemplos de producción lingüística real como herramienta metodológica al servicio de la descripción lingüística. En este sentido, en el campo de la enseñanza y aprendizaje de SL y LE el uso de herramientas computacionales ha aumentado recientemente. Este artículo presenta el uso pedagógico de una base de datos de patrones léxico-sintácticos, la Clause Pattern Database (CPDB), diseñada como recurso para la creación de materiales didácticos, basados en corpus, para la enseñanza de la lingüística. La CPDB proporciona una muestra representativa de patrones léxico-sintácFticos que permite visualizar la complementación de un verbo léxico en un contexto real de aparición. La tarea que presentamos ha sido diseñada a partir de esta base de datos e ilustra la efectividad de la CPDB como herramienta metodológica que contribuye no sólo a mejorar la comprensión de los mecanismos que rigen la sintaxis inglesa, sino también a integrar nueva información y NTICs en el aula de lingüística.

Palabras clave: lingüística de corpus; estudio léxico-gramatical; base de datos de patrones léxico-sintácticos; aula de lingüística; NTICs

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