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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear Patrick,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I began using concordances in my classroom at the
upper-intermediate level-Advanced about 2 years ago (not that they can't be used
at lower levels). Through trial and error I found that using concordances
(sometimes edited, sometimes not) with a worksheet, worked best. Believe me, at
least with my Spanish students, they still have to work hard together,
negotiating meaning, coming up with rules and so on.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>At the beginning, I just handed out a list from the
COBUILD on-line concordances (before getting the BNC sampler) and said
basically, "see what you can find"-I'm afraid I didn't realize that what seemed
so obvious to me, was far from obvious to them. Although, admittedly, I
started out with some pretty tough words like glimpse/glance and grab/snatch
(you know, the kind material writers seem to love to put in a box along with 10
other words with no collocations/co-occurrences and very broad
categories). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thankfully, at the TALC conference in Graz, I was
able to obtain Chris Tribble and Gly Jones's Concordances in the Classroom
(Houston:Athelstan) and I've been using their material and suggestions ever
since (albeit mainly with key words and grammar although there are excellent
suggestions regarding other uses).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So, although I haven't done any research into
which would be best (your A or B), I think the frustration level is lower
and the sense of accomplishment is higher giving them some guidance. And yes, it
is less time consuming and as you probably know, in an EFL
setting, time *is* of the essence.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, since everyone seems to be putting in their
'two cents' lately, I thought I'd put in mine. Hope it's of some small
interest.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Take care,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Linda</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:patrick@lingomotors.com" title=patrick@lingomotors.com>Patrick
Hanks</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:michael.rundell@dial.pipex.com"
title=michael.rundell@dial.pipex.com>Michael Rundell</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A href="mailto:corpora@hd.uib.no"
title=corpora@hd.uib.no>corpora@hd.uib.no</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, November 01, 2001 10:27
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Corpora: RE: corpora: evidence
and intuition</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>hi
Michael -</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>Ah! one of the most core points about
Corpus</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001> Linguistics ever made!</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>(or
perhaps I should say "corest"?)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>Of
course, you're right. </SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial
size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>A corpus is only a collection of texts,
when all is </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>said
and done. </SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001> Explanations </SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>do not spring, fully formed
without human </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>intervention, from a corpus -- nor
</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>even from a concordance.
Corpus</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001> data </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>needs to be interpreted (in different
</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>ways, for different applications).
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>But
the question is, whose interpretation? Whose
intuitions?</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>TEFL
Teachers, please tell</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>: do students learn better if presented
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>with
A, or with B? - </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001> A)
Pre-sorted sets of concordance</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial
size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001> lines (maybe with carefully
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>
crafted explanations already attached), or </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>
B) U</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>norganized concordances, which they have to wrestle
through, </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>
forming their own hypothe</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial
size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001>ses</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=903445320-01112001> and imposing
their own order.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>Obviously A is quicker -- but, if time is not a
problem, is B more effective?</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001>Patrick</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial
size=2><SPAN
class=903445320-01112001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>