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TitleCorpus Activities for L2 Writing
SourceCASLS Activity of the Week
Body

by Robert Poole

Description: These are basic corpus searches using the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) at corpus.byu.edu designed to be completed by students for homework to explore language beyond the classroom.  As an EAP writing teacher, I feel asking students to become language researchers, study authentic language samples, and formulate their own usage guidelines is more productive than margin comments and explanations.

Procedures: Hand out one question at the closing of class to be completed for homework. Ask students to record their findings and briefly report the implications for their writing practices. 

These prompts were created in response to common errors I encounter in my undergraduate L2 writing course. These prompts can be modified for various proficiency levels. Teachers can craft their own corpus activities based on the errors observed in their students’ output.

Download the handout with the four activities here.

If you and your students are new to using the COCA, here is a handout explaining how to use it.

 

Publishdate2015-02-02 02:15:01