Collocation Dictionaries as Inductive Learning Resources in Data-Driven Learning - An Analysis and Evaluation

Abstract

Advocacy of corpus-based data-driven learning (DDL) in foreign language learning classrooms has grown in recent years, though DDL has not become particularly widespread in practice. In the same period of time, there has been considerable publishing activity of corpus-based collocation dictionaries; however, the possible role that collocation dictionaries may play in DDL has not, to date, been considered. This paper seeks to analyse what contribution four English monolingual collocation dictionaries might make to ‘soft’ DDL inductive learning activities in the classroom. The paper provides a description and comparison of the dictionaries, and examines and compares the data provided by concordance lines for a series of DDL questions, with data from the collocation dictionaries. The paper ends by making a number of recommendations for the inductive use of the four collocation dictionaries, and suggests ways in which the dictionaries might be adapted to such usage.