Data-driven Learning Approach for Teaching Verb-Noun Collocations in an English Foreign Language Context

Abstract

This study addresses the learners’ actual use of corpora in the classroom for learning verb-noun collocations. The target items were selected through a multi-level approach which consisted of three levels: a corpus-based approach, a phraseological approach and a pedagogical approach. The study relied on data collected from fifty-one participants studying general English at the intermediate level in the foundation year at a university in Saudi  Arabia.  The study ran for five weeks and included three training sessions for learners on how to use a corpus resource (AntConc) and to read and analyse concordance lines. There were also two test sessions. The participants were tracked via software tracker in both the training and testing sessions.  Data were collected through tracking logs and activity sheets. The main finding was that the participants were able to apply the DDL (Data-driven Learning) approach independently in the same way as they had been trained, which indicates that the training was successful. The learners were also able to identify the general verb patterns through the use of concordance lines.