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Article 1:Learning through Concordance

By Katherine Moran, e-mail: kate.moran@gmail.com, and Luciana Diniz, e-mail: esllsdx@langate.gsu.edu

A concordancer is a common feature of software programs designed to analyze a corpus ( a collection of whole texts stored in a database). When a user searches for a word in a corpus, the concordancer returns all the occurrences of the word within its context of use. The list of examples is called Key Words in Context (KWIC). Because the concordancers show so many examples in the context of the same word, language students are likely to deduce the meaning and patterns of the word. Furthermore, many of the grammatical features of a word (e.g., the preposition that follows it) are immediately clear if one analyzes several examples of the word. The contexts can be displayed in a line or in a sentence or paragraph.

Corpus-based concordances can be an effective tool for second language learning (Hunston, 2002; Sinclair, 2004). By analyzing concordance lines, for example, students are encouraged to investigate their own questions and therefore become more independent learners. Some of the primary benefits of concordance lines in language learning include promoting students' autonomy and helping them become responsible for their own learning.

Corpus linguistics methods, particularly those using the concordancing feature available for most corpora, are undoubtedly powerful tools for language teaching and learning in general, but especially for L2 writing. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, corpus-based pedagogical materials are not widely available or used by teachers and learners in both ESL and EFL contexts (Hunston, 2002; Sinclair, 2004). Partially because of the dearth of materials, teachers are often unaware of how to effectively incorporate the benefits of corpus-based concordances into their instructional modules.

SUMMARY: This article is discussing about the importance of concordance for a language learner, such as; they become motivated to study about their task, become more independent,promoting students' autonomy and helping them become responsible for their own learning.