Corpus linguistics, applied linguistics & technology in language education
Frequency is a key determinant of acquisition because “rules” of language, at all levels of analysis from phonological, through syntax to discourse, are structural regularities which emerge from learners’ lifetime analysis of the distributional characteristics of language input.
“Language is never, ever, ever random” (Kilgarriff, 2005), not in its usage, not in its acquisition, and not in its processing. (Nick C. Ellis, 2017, p. 41) Nick C. Ellis (2017). Cognition, Corpora, and Computing: Triangulating Research in Usage-Based Language Learning. Language Learning 67(S1), pp. 40–65
Epistemological relativity, for an ELT professional, means that one acceptsthat there are infinite ways of using language and that differences do notautomatically call for judgmental evaluation. (Leung, 2005: p. 138) Leung, C. (2005). Convivial communication: Recontextualizing communicative competence. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15(2), 119-144. Check other quotations here.
[…] the very notion of “language” is a mere ideological invention. We agree that all adult linguistic categories are, ultimately, ideological constructs. However, we see inherent value in studying distinct languages and language varieties in bilingualism because of the fact that already in infancy, prior to any sociopolitical influences,both bilingually and monolingually raised children can … Read more
The second aspect is summarised in that phrase “potential patterns”. How so? The process operates in two stages. First, all the effort of a concordancer or a word-listing application goes into reducing a vast and complex object to a much simpler shape. That is, a set of 100 million words on a confusing wealth of … Read more
Q: How much should a discourse analyst know before he or she engages in corpus work? A: I don’t agree with the presupposition. No discourse analyst needs to know anything doing Corpus Linguistics. What they need (for either) is an open mind, a willingness to learn, to take risks, to make mistakes, to ask for … Read more