Corpus-Aided Language Learning for Chinese EFL Learners

Abstract

Effective language instruction is essential for ESL/EFL students’ language development and improvement. Language researchers, educators, and professionals have investigated the preliminary impact of input that has been purposefully maneuvered to implement language instruction. It seems that effective language instruction has been explored from teachers' perspectives. However, learners’ perceptions of language learning seem to be under-researched. For this reason, this study aims at exploring EFL learners’ perceptions of corpus-aided instruction through qualitative research. Thirty-seven Chinese EFL college students at a Midwestern university in the United States participated in this study. Writing conferences and interviews were collected and analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings showed that the Chinese EFL learners felt corpus-aided instruction was helpful in terms of two things: (1) clarifying logic and (2) organizing the structure in academic writing. However, they also reported some challenges in corpus-aided instruction. This study offers new insight into the usefulness of corpus-aided instruction by drawing much-needed attention to EFL learners' L2 writing development and improvement. Based on the preliminary findings, suggestions and implications are discussed.