CADS innovative Corpus-driven Methodology for he Academic English Instruction of Transitional Linkers

• Autores: Marian Aleson-Carbonell, A. Ryneiskaya
• Localización: X Jornades de Xarxes d'Investigació en Docència Universitària: la participació i el compromís de la comunitat universitària / coord. por José Daniel Álvarez Teruel, María Teresa Tortosa Ybáñez, Neus Pellín Buades, 2012, ISBN 978-84-695-2877-8, págs. 2995-3011
• Idioma: inglés
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  • Texto Completo Libro
• Resumen

  • The analysis and description of discourse based on corpora (CADS - Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies) has experienced an important development during the last decade, essentially due to two main factors: (1) on the one hand the existence of new and more powerful corpus-analysis software and tools for language processing; (2) and, on the other, the realization that corpus methods can extend their application to larger fields of interest. In fact, with regards to L2 teaching, this methodology has promoted the design of specific tools, such as reference corpora, which, in turn, have shaped the ground for the description of, for instance, Academic English discursive conventions. Particularly, the knowledge of discursive and genre practices is paramount for university undergraduates who are, at the same time, acquiring proficiency in L2 and initiating themselves as academic professionals. For that reason, this study attempts to focus on the academic essay and tries to describe the differences in uses of Academic English between Native (corpus BAWE) and non- native speakers (corpus of Spanish speakers-NNS). Likewise, the paper raises issues concerning NNS proficiency assessment and, finally, intends to provide new pedagogical strategies that may facilitate the process of writing skills acquisition in Academic English. Ultimately, the data and results seem to corroborate the adequacy of a CADS approach in order to establish innovative pedagogical procedures in teaching L2 discursive competence.

    Palabras clave: Learner Corpus, Genre Analysis, Transitional Linkers, Academic English