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Investigating the Use of Corpus-Informed Grammar Materials in Indonesian EFL Classrooms Oktavianti, Ikmi Nur; Eriani, Efit; Rolyna, Ifa; Prayogi, Icuk
IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics) Vol 7, No 2 (2023): Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
Publisher : Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris Samarinda

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.21093/ijeltal.v7i2.1415

Abstract

Despite the growing recognition of corpus in language teaching and learning, the importance of teaching materials informed by corpus investigation has not been widely acknowledged, especially in the EFL context. In teaching grammar, it is essential to provide authentic materials for the learners indicating both grammaticality and appropriateness. This study investigates students’ perceptions of the use of corpus-informed grammar materials and the strengths and drawbacks of these materials. The participants were 40 Basic Structure students at their first-year university level. The data were collected using questionnaires and interviews after the participants attended seven meetings with Real Grammar as the book used in the classroom. The data were then coded, categorized, and analyzed to describe how the students perceived the materials. The present study showed that most students have a positive attitude toward the corpus-informed grammar book since it enables them to know the appropriate context of use related to the register (spoken or written). Corpus-informed materials have several strengths, such as describing the register-specific and frequency information, improving language learning awareness, learning motivation, critical thinking, and many more. However, corpus-informed materials should not be the only thing to rely on, so lecturers or instructors should provide adequate explanations for the materials and corpus research. These results show that it is necessary to promote the use of corpus-informed materials in EFL classrooms, including grammar classes. However, the teachers should also be trained on how corpus works, and corpus-related terms and the use of corpus-informed materials should be reconsidered for the lower level of learners.
Necessity and Obligation Modals in English Academic Discourse: A Corpus-Based Analysis Oktavianti, Ikmi Nur
IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics) Vol 4, No 1 (2019): Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
Publisher : Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris Samarinda

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.21093/ijeltal.v4i1.312

Abstract

Modals are linguistic units that seem to be ubiquitous in nearly all genres and text categories. However, there are some tendencies in which some modals are more likely to occur in a particular text category than the others. It is said that modals are less frequent in academic texts compared to fiction and news. This paper then aims at describing the modals, focusing to those expressing necessity/obligation, by using corpus-based analysis. This study uses a general reference corpus, Corpus of Contemporary American English, and compiled the data from the academic subcorpus. The results show that statistically the usage frequency of necessity and obligation modals is negligible; however, no matter how small it is, it still purports to mark something. Among the modals in the same category there are some tendencies, e.g. modal should is the most frequent of all, followed by must, have to, shall, be supposed to, and have got to. The collocate analysis focuses on should and must and found out that the most frequent verb type following these two modals belong to thinking verbs (e.g., consider, learn, understand). However the most frequent modal constructions are should have and must have enabling a slightly different interpretation. Besides, due to the nature of language in an academic setting, it is thus predictable that the use of the core modals (e.g., should, must) is more frequent than the quasi-modals (e.g., have to).