Using Corpus Tools to Highlight Academic Vocabulary in SCLT

Using Corpus Tools to Highlight Academic Vocabulary in SCLT

by Donley and Reppen (2001)

What are the advantages of using corpus techniques to identify important academic vocabulary words? This article offer a few pedagogical usages and application of corpus tools for teaching vocabulary. It also helps Sustained content language teaching (SCLT) teachers to be able to integrate academic vocabulary teaching into their instruction.

What are the SCLT? Donley and Reppen (2001) generally define SCLT as follows: “highly salient due to its relationship with the targeted topic, conceptually related to other content words within the unit, restricted in use within one discipline easily explainable, typographically enhanced within textbooks, defined within text, and crucial to the instruction of the content.”

I definitely agree that corpus linguistic technology provide teachers and students with a principled, holistic, and empirical way to identify useful vocabulary. Teachers can use them in two ways. Firstly, they may use corpus tools to develop and adapt materials. Secondly, they may use corpus tools when they help students explore academic vocabulary through classroom activities. Another advantage of using the corpus tool is creating and adapting materials depending on teacher’s selection of academic textbooks. Donley Reppen (2001) suggests that teachers may us corpus tools for assessment, text enhancement, and material development. Especially during the class, teachers may use concordance lines, frequency lists, and extended concordance displays to devise an activity designed to target specific vocabulary words.

In conclusion, since corpus based tool and pedagogical techniques are very accessible for teachers to utilize them in class, as part of SCLT, this article provides them with information to guide vital instruction to “stress language development within SCLT.”