Corpus Pedagogic Processing of Phraseology for EFL Teaching: A Case of Implementation

Abstract

Corpus pedagogic processing (or pedagogic mediation) is a current issue in applying corpus linguistics to classroom teaching. It is based on some scholars’ questioning of the direct use of corpora in EFL classes. For example, Widdowson (2004) questions the decontextualized nature of corpus data, and points out that the data are merely a sample of language rather than an example of authentic language use and thus may not meet the standard required of pedagogic materials. Braun (2005) is also concerned about the clash between currently existing general corpora and pedagogic requirements, particularly in terms of content, size, format, and annotation (see also Aston, 1995; Cook, 1998; Flowerdew, 2008). To address these problems, a pedagogic processing is needed to ‘transfer corpus findings into pedagogically accepted materials and means, … [which] should be realized at the level of corpus content and design as well as at the level of corpus exploitation by learners and teachers’ (Braun, 2005: 55). Some empirical studies have been conducted to implement the idea of corpus pedagogic processing. An early example is Braun’s (2005) multimedia learning platform of ELISA, which consists of a corpus engine, an authentic interview transcription, videos, communicative tasks and language exercises.