The Effect of Corpus Assisted Language Teaching on the Learners' Proper Use of Punctuation Marks

Abstract

One of the critical contributions of the emerging technologies in computer sciences is the capability of corpus compilation and processing. Corpus resources and approaches are regarded as a potentially valuable areas both in developing instructional methods and designing pedagogical materials. This study aimed to explore the effect of exposing language learners to corpus data and guiding them to make deductions on the acquisition of punctuation marks in comparison to lecture based teaching. The participants were 171 prospective teachers attending a state university in central Anatolia, Turkey. The data were gathered through an achievement test, a questionnaire, and semi structured interviews. The results related to the achievement revealed that the learners who exploited corpus resources performed significantly better compared to those who received lecture based instruction. Besides, the findings also noted that the collaboration should be an important factor of success in corpus consultation among language learners. The results obtained via questionnaire and interviews underlined the positive perceptions of the participants toward corpus assisted language learning activities and materials. Suggestions were made for further research to have a deeper understanding of corpus utilization in Turkish language education.