Han Xiao, Chai Ziqing
CORPUS TECHNOLOGIES AS A TOOL FOR IMPROVING EFL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS *
Аннотация:
this paper explores how corpus technologies can help students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) improve their academic writing. By using tools like COCA and AntConc, students gain access to real-life language data, helping them expand vocabulary, reduce grammar mistakes, and improve the clarity and structure of their texts. A 12-week experimental writing course showed noticeable improvements in students lexical variety, grammar accuracy, and text cohesion. The results support the effectiveness of data-driven learning (DDL) in the EFL classroom.
Ключевые слова:
corpus linguistics, EFL, academic writing, COCA, AntConc, lexical diversity, grammar accuracy, data-driven learning
Writing well in English is a serious challenge for many EFL students. Traditional classroom methods often rely on memorizing grammar rules or using artificial examples from textbooks. These approaches don’t always reflect how language is actually used in real communication. Corpus linguistics offers an alternative by giving learners direct access to authentic texts and allowing them to analyze language patterns themselves [2].Corpus technologies like COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English) and AntConc help students explore real language use and apply it in their writing [1]. This paper discusses how corpus tools can be used in EFL teaching, presents an experimental course, and analyzes how such tools affected students’ writing performance.Corpus linguistics has developed over the past century as a way to study language empirically. Instead of relying on invented examples, linguists started analyzing real texts to understand how language works in different contexts [3]. Early corpora, such as the Brown Corpus, laid the groundwork for this approach, and with the rise of computers, corpus analysis became more powerful and accessible.Today’s tools allow both teachers and students to explore lexical, grammatical, and discourse-level patterns in authentic texts. For example, AntConc is a free program that allows users to see how words appear in context, identify common collocations, and analyze grammatical structures. COCA, one of the largest corpora, contains texts from academic, spoken, fiction, and news genres, and allows learners to compare how language is used across registers [4].By incorporating these tools into classroom practice, educators can move beyond intuition and provide students with reliable, real-world examples.Corpus-based teaching is now being applied in diverse contexts across the world. For instance, in China, teachers use COCA to help students develop academic vocabulary and understand formal writing conventions [5]. One instructor used it to teach natural science students how to use academic expressions like “X is found to be effective”, which are typical in scientific articles.In Japan, AntConc is widely used in business English classes. Students analyze models of professional writing and revise their own documents accordingly.In the UK, Sketch Engine is used in writing centers and universities to help students learn academic collocations. It has been especially effective in helping learners understand how to write with greater lexical accuracy [6].And in the US, ESL programs incorporate COCA into their grammar and writing courses, helping learners understand register differences and develop better cohesion and organization in essays.These global examples show that corpus tools can be adapted to a wide range of classroom needs, regardless of cultural or institutional context.Experimental Writing Course Using Corpus Tools.A 12-week writing course was conducted with 10 B2–C1 level EFL students to test how corpus technologies affect student writing. The first 8 weeks followed a traditional approach, while the last 4 weeks included tasks based on corpus tools.Week 1: Collocation Work with COCAStudents searched COCA for frequent collocations with the word effective. They found phrases like effective method, effective strategy, and effective communication. Then they used these in a paragraph on education reform.Week 2: Grammar Error Correction with AntConcStudents uploaded their essays to AntConc and searched for incorrect article usage and verb tense errors. They compared their sentences with authentic examples from COCA and BNC.Week 3: Academic Genre Analysis with BNCUsing the British National Corpus, students explored how transition words like however, therefore, and in contrast are used in academic texts. They applied these patterns to improve cohesion in their essays.Week 4: Final Writing Task with Full Corpus SupportIn the final task, students wrote a full essay using all techniques learned, consulting COCA and AntConc to choose vocabulary, check grammar, and organize ideas.After completing the 12-week course, students’ final essays underwent a comprehensive comparative analysis with their initial submissions, evaluating three key linguistic dimensions: lexical diversity (measured through type-token ratio), grammatical accuracy (calculated as error frequency per 100 words), and textual cohesion (assessed via discourse marker density and logical flow ratings).Table 1. Comparison of Students’ Writing Performance Before and After the Corpus-Based Course.Students demonstrated better vocabulary usage and fewer grammar mistakes. The use of cohesive devices also increased, contributing to improved logical flow in their writing.Student feedback further supported the effectiveness of corpus-based tasks:“I used to rely on Google to check how a word is used. Now I use COCA to find real examples.” “AntConc showed me how many times I repeated the same word. I started using more variety, and my writing sounds more academic”.The effectiveness of corpus tools evidenced in this study should be considered in light of their distinct advantages as well as inherent challenges. Our analysis has identified several notable advantages of corpus technologies in EFL writing instruction. One of the most significant benefits is their authenticity – unlike traditional textbook exercises, students engage with real-world language as its actually used by native speakers. This exposure to genuine texts helps bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical communication. Furthermore, these tools foster remarkable learner autonomy, rather than relying solely on instructor corrections, students can independently verify word usage patterns and refine their writing through corpus data. Perhaps most importantly, the approach cultivates critical thinking skills – instead of passively memorizing grammar rules, learners actively analyze linguistic patterns and make informed decisions about language use.Our evaluation also revealed certain limitations. Implementing corpus-based learning isnt without challenges. Some educators and students initially face technical hurdles, as the interface and functionality of tools like AntConc may require guidance to navigate effectively. Access can also pose problems, as premium resources like Sketch Engine involve subscription costs that may not be feasible for all institutions. Furthermore, the wealth of data available - while valuable - sometimes leads to information overload, particularly for beginners who may struggle to filter and interpret the extensive linguistic input.These challenges can be addressed by starting with small, guided activities and focusing on intuitive, free tools like AntConc and COCA.Corpus technologies bring real value to writing instruction in EFL. Students move from passive learners to active explorers of language. Instead of just learning what sounds “correct”, they see why it is correct - and how it is used in real texts.Our study showed that even short-term exposure to corpus tools improved students’ lexical variety, grammatical precision, and writing cohesion. These tools should not replace traditional instruction but complement it. With proper training and task design, corpus-based learning can become a core part of how we teach academic writing in the future.
Номер журнала Вестник науки №5 (86) том 4
Ссылка для цитирования:
Han Xiao, Chai Ziqing CORPUS TECHNOLOGIES AS A TOOL FOR IMPROVING EFL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS // Вестник науки №5 (86) том 4. С. 1031 - 1036. 2025 г. ISSN 2712-8849 // Электронный ресурс: https://www.вестник-науки.рф/article/23398 (дата обращения: 13.07.2025 г.)
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