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Concordancing in writing pedagogy and CAF measures of writing

  • Negin Samoudi

    Negin Samoudi has a Ph.D. in TEFL/TESOL from Urmia University. She is an EFL instructor at several Iranian universities. She is an IELTS teacher trained by IDP. She has been an English teacher since 2002. Her major research areas of interest are learner centered instruction, dynamic assessment, and corpus-based materials development.

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    and Sima Modirkhamene

    Sima Modirkhamene has a PhD in TEFL/TESOL from the University of Surrey, UK. Since her return to Iran in September 2006, she has been lecturing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and researching in Urmia University, Iran. Her main research interests include: bilingualism, first and second language acquisition, and cross-linguistic transfer. She has served as the Head of the Department of English Language and Literature and the Deputy Head of the Foreign Languages Center of Urmia University since 2008.

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Published/Copyright: November 19, 2020

Abstract

Since the early twenty-first century, data-driven learning (DDL) approach that is a pedagogical application of corpus linguistics in classroom, has introduced a paradigm shift in EFL instruction. Research output, however, concerning this inductive, discovery-oriented learning is equivocal. This study, thus, explored the application of both native-speaker and local learner corpora, attesting the effect of direct vs. indirect DDL activities on 39 EFL learners’ development in CAF measures of writing. To this end, two experimental groups were taught through corpus consultation, but the control group received the conventional method of using a textbook, teacher explanations, and classroom exercises. Results obtained from three (two experimental and one control) groups of participants’ writing performances pre and post to seven sessions of paragraph writing confirmed the significant role of indirect DDL in writing more accurate and fluent paragraphs; however, no statistical evidence was found as regards syntactic complexity. Moreover, no significant effect of the direct DDL method in improving learners’ writing was observed, which is, thus, interpreted as suggestive that applying indirect DDL could be more effective than the direct DDL approach. It is concluded that classroom-based computers are not necessarily essential tools to implement the DDL pedagogy.


Corresponding author: Negin Samoudi, TESOL, Faculty of Department of English and Literature, Urmia University, Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran, E-mail:

About the authors

Negin Samoudi

Negin Samoudi has a Ph.D. in TEFL/TESOL from Urmia University. She is an EFL instructor at several Iranian universities. She is an IELTS teacher trained by IDP. She has been an English teacher since 2002. Her major research areas of interest are learner centered instruction, dynamic assessment, and corpus-based materials development.

Sima Modirkhamene

Sima Modirkhamene has a PhD in TEFL/TESOL from the University of Surrey, UK. Since her return to Iran in September 2006, she has been lecturing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and researching in Urmia University, Iran. Her main research interests include: bilingualism, first and second language acquisition, and cross-linguistic transfer. She has served as the Head of the Department of English Language and Literature and the Deputy Head of the Foreign Languages Center of Urmia University since 2008.

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2018.0258).


Published Online: 2020-11-19
Published in Print: 2022-09-27

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