3Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
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TEACHING ESL IN HIGHER EDUCATION USING SPOKEN CORPORA, ENHANCING LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH AUTHENTIC
LANGUAGE SAMPLES
Djalilova Aytkul Nuralievna
Teacher at Chirchik State Pedagogical University Email: aytkul. [email protected]
ABSTRACT
This article explores the integration of spoken corpora as a valuable resource in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in higher education. With the aim of enhancing language learning and instruction, the study investigates the potential benefits and implications of incorporating spoken corpora into ESL courses. By utilizing authentic language samples derived from spoken corpora, educators can provide learners with exposure to natural language use, including vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and discourse patterns.
Keywords: Teaching ESL, higher education, spoken corpora, authentic language samples, language learning, vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, pronunciation, discourse patterns.
INTRODUCTION
Authenticity is crucial in language learning as it exposes learners to real-life language use and situations. Authentic materials, such as native speaker conversations, texts, and multimedia resources, offer learners exposure to natural vocabulary, grammar, and cultural context. Authenticity enhances listening comprehension skills by exposing learners to various accents, intonations, and speech patterns. It also promotes the development of communicative competence, cultural understanding, and the ability to engage in meaningful interactions with native speakers.
English as a Second Language) in higher education refers to the teaching and learning of English language skills for students who are non-native English speakers and are pursuing higher education studies at the tertiary level. It is aimed at developing the language proficiency and communication skills necessary to succeed academically in an English-speaking higher education environment.
In ESL programs in higher education, the focus is on helping non-native English-speaking students attain the language skills needed to fully participate in academic coursework, engage in research, and communicate effectively in various
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
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academic contexts. The instruction often encompasses the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with an emphasis on academic language and the specific language demands of higher education.
METHOD AND RESEARCH
The ultimate goal of ESL in higher education is to help students develop the language skills necessary to succeed academically, integrate into the academic community, and confidently communicate their ideas and knowledge in English. ESL programs may offer courses at various levels of proficiency, provide language support services, and offer additional resources to assist students in their language development journey while pursuing higher education studies.
The integration between ESL and spoken corpora lies in the use of spoken corpora as a resource for language learning and instruction in ESL contexts. Spoken corpora are collections of recorded spoken language samples that can be analyzed and studied to gain insights into natural language use, including vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and discourse patterns [1].
In the context of ESL, spoken corpora serve as valuable sources of authentic language input for learners. They provide real-life examples of how English is used in various contexts, such as conversations, interviews, lectures, or discussions. By utilizing spoken corpora in ESL instruction, educators can enhance language learning by exposing students to authentic language samples and facilitating the development of various language skills. The use of spoken corpora in ESL instruction offers several benefits [2,4]:
Authenticity: Spoken corpora provide learners with real-world language use, allowing them to encounter genuine language patterns, idiomatic expressions, and colloquialisms that may not be readily apparent in traditional textbooks or classroom materials.
Language Variation: Spoken corpora can showcase different dialects, accents, and registers of English, exposing learners to the rich diversity of the language. This exposure can improve learners' listening comprehension skills and help them develop an understanding of different varieties of spoken English.
Vocabulary and Collocations: By analyzing spoken corpora, learners can identify and study vocabulary words and collocations used in natural spoken language. This can aid in expanding learners' vocabulary repertoire and developing a more nuanced understanding of word usage in context.
Grammar and Discourse Patterns: Spoken corpora allow learners to observe the grammatical structures and discourse patterns that are commonly used in spoken
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
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English. This can help learners develop more natural and fluent speaking skills, as well as enhance their understanding of spoken language conventions.
Pronunciation and Intonation: Spoken corpora provide learners with models of pronunciation and intonation patterns used by native speakers. By listening to and imitating the language samples from the corpora, learners can improve their own pronunciation and develop more accurate and natural intonation.
The integration of spoken corpora in ESL instruction offers an opportunity to expose learners to authentic spoken language and engage them in meaningful language analysis and practice. It supports the development of various language skills, enhances learner autonomy, and promotes a deeper understanding of English as it is used in real-life contexts. DISCUSSION
Teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) in higher education using spoken corpora can be an effective approach to enhance language learning and provide authentic language input to students. Here are some steps and strategies to incorporate spoken corpora into ESL instruction [3]:
Selecting Appropriate Corpora: Choose spoken corpora that align with the language proficiency level and learning objectives of your students. Consider the variety of English used in the corpora, such as regional accents or different English -speaking countries, and ensure it is relevant to your students' needs.
Introducing Corpus Linguistics Concepts: Familiarize students with the basic concepts of corpus linguistics, such as the nature and purpose of corpora, concordancing, collocations, or frequency analysis. Explain how corpora can provide authentic language samples and help them develop their language skills.
Preparing Corpus Activities: Design activities that integrate spoken corpora into classroom instruction. Here are a few ideas:
Concordance Analysis: Provide students with concordance lines from the corpora and have them analyze the usage patterns, collocations, or grammatical structures surrounding target words or phrases. This helps develop vocabulary knowledge and understanding of contextual usage.
Listening Comprehension: Use audio or video recordings from the corpora for listening comprehension activities. Students can listen to authentic conversations, interviews, or speeches and answer comprehension questions, practice note -taking, or engage in discussions about the content.
Speaking Practice: Play audio recordings of conversations from the corpora and have students imitate the language patterns, intonation, or pronunciation. They
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
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can practice role-playing dialogues or engage in communicative activities based on the language features observed in the corpora.
Error Analysis: Use spoken corpora to identify common errors made by ESL learners. Extract examples of learner errors from the corpora and discuss them with students, allowing them to analyze and correct the errors. This helps raise awareness of common pitfalls and improve accuracy.
Guided Analysis and Reflection: Guide students in analyzing and reflecting on the language features observed in the corpora. Help them identify patterns, differences in register or formality, cultural aspects, or discourse strategies. Encourage critical thinking and discussion about language use in different contexts.
Independent Corpus Exploration: Introduce students to online corpus resources or software tools that allow them to explore corpora independently. Provide guidance on how to search for specific language patterns, collocations, or idiomatic expressions. Assign tasks or projects where students can investigate language phenomena of interest to them using the corpora.
Integrating Corpus Work in Assignments and Assessments: Incorporate corpus -based activities into assignments, projects, or assessments. For example, assign research papers where students use corpora to support their linguistic analysis or ask them to create their own mini-corpora based on specific topics to explore language use.
Authentic Listening and Speaking Opportunities: Encourage students to listen to authentic spoken language outside the classroom, such as podcasts, interviews, or TED Talks, and discuss their observations in class. Provide opportunities for students to practice speaking skills using authentic language from the corpora.
Reflective Feedback: Provide individualized feedback to students based on their analysis of the corpora. Address their language strengths and weaknesses, guide them in improving their language use, and suggest resources or further corpus-based activities to support their learning.
There are a few spoken corpora that are suitable for higher education ESL instruction [1,3]:
International Corpus of English (ICE): The ICE corpora represent different varieties of English from various countries. They include spoken texts, such as conversations, interviews, and discussions, providing a diverse range of spoken language for analysis and study.
British National Corpus (BNC): The BNC includes a significant amount of spoken language data, covering various genres and contexts. It offers a valuable resource for studying spoken English in British contexts.
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Chirchiq davlat pedagogika universiteti
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Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik Zamonaviy filologiya va lingvodidaktikaning dolzarb masalalari
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Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA): COCA is a large and widely used corpus that includes both written and spoken language. It provides access to a substantial collection of spoken texts from different genres, such as interviews, conversations, and radio shows, representing American English.
Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE): MICASE focuses specifically on academic spoken English. It consists of recordings of university lectures, seminars, and conversations among students and professors. This corpus is particularly suitable for ESL students in higher education who need to develop academic language skills.
Cambridge English Corpus: The Cambridge English Corpus includes a range of spoken language data, such as conversations, interviews, and discussions, collected from learners of English as a second language. It can be beneficial for ESL students as it provides examples of learner language and common errors.
Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English: This corpus contains spoken language data from a diverse range of speakers across the United States. It includes conversations, interviews, and other spoken interactions, making it a valuable resource for studying regional accents and language variation. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the integration of spoken corpora in teaching ESL in higher education offers significant advantages for language learning. The use of authentic language samples derived from spoken corpora provides learners with exposure to natural language use, fostering the development of various language skills. By incorporating spoken corpora, educators can enhance vocabulary acquisition, improve listening comprehension, and promote more accurate pronunciation and intonation. Furthermore, the inclusion of spoken corpora supports the development of academic language proficiency by exposing learners to specialized vocabulary and discourse patterns in their respective fields of study. Overall, the utilization of spoken corpora in ESL instruction in higher education creates an authentic and engaging learning environment that prepares learners for real-life language use and academic success.
To scaffold the activities appropriately for your students' proficiency level and provide necessary support and guidance throughout the process. Spoken corpora can be a valuable resource to enhance language learning in higher education by providing real-life language input, promoting critical analysis, and fostering autonomous learning.
REFERENCES
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Chirchiq davlat pedagogika universiteti
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Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik Zamonaviy filologiya va lingvodidaktikaning dolzarb masalalari
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1. Flowerdew, L. (2012). Corpus-based Approaches to ELT: Spoken Language and English for Specific Purposes. Routledge.
2. Djalilova, A. N. (2024). Use Of Spoken Corpora in Language Learning and Teaching. Texas Journal of Philology, Culture and History, 28, 4-7.
3. Friginal, E., Lee, J. J., Polat, B., Roberson, A., Friginal, E., Lee, J. J., ... & Roberson, A. (2017). Corpora of spoken academic discourse and learner talk: A survey. Exploring Spoken English Learner Language Using Corpora: Learner Talk,
4. Gablasova, D., & Bottini, R. (2022). Spoken learner corpora for language teaching. In The Routledge Handbook of Corpora and English Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 296-310). Routledge.
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