Introducing Corpus Linguistics to Iranian EFL Teachers

This poster will identify an approach to introduce EFL teachers to the benefits and possibilities of using on-line language corpora as a tool in their classrooms. The specific context considered here is one in which practicing teachers have little or no familiarity with applied corpus linguistics. A survey was conducted with 15 Iranian EFL teachers to ascertain relevant contextual variables, such as their knowledge of applied corpus linguistics, their willingness to become familiar with new technological approaches to language teaching/learning, skill areas they feel are inadequately served by traditional methods of teaching, their perceptions of student openness to new approaches. This poster will outline a workshop that could be used for EFL teachers. This approach would entail hands-on activities for the teachers so they would not only become familiar, for example, with a corpus and possible activities, but also have the opportunity to be creative in designing activities that could be used in their specific teaching contexts and their specific needs. Each component of what could be a half-day workshop would actively engage participants in use of an on-line corpus (e.g., COCA - Corpus of Contemporary American English). This poster seeks to demonstrate teacher education that entails learning-by-doing and targets teacher populations that might otherwise never be exposed to the use of on-line corpora in the language classroom. Although this specific presentation focuses on EFL teachers in Iran, the approach presented can be adapted to other contexts