Corpora and Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

The main objective of this chapter is to provide a critical overview of the ways in which corpora have contributed to the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research agenda so far. The chapter starts with a short introduction to SLA before examining briefly how SLA researchers have typically used learner corpora and reference corpora. It then quickly seeks to address a selected list of core issues, mostly by answering two main questions: (1) can corpus data provide a sound empirical basis for testing SLA hypotheses and developing theories?; and (2) can corpora and corpus linguistics techniques help the field of SLA address current concerns for replicability, validity, and reliability? To answer these questions, the chapter discusses the extent to which corpus linguistics and its offshoot, learner corpus research, have recently informed SLA theories, broadened the scope of SLA research instruments, and brought new perspectives on key SLA research questions. Special attention is then devoted to the current active development of research methodologies that aim to address the complexity of learner language data as typically found in learner corpora. The chapter ends with future directions for research and a list of recommendations for increased use of corpora in SLA. These recommendations address issues related to corpus design, corpus analysis, and the open science movement.