Using corpus linguistic methods in the classroom: A one-day workshop for A-level teachers

Corpus linguistics uses computer software to study large collections of data. In the classroom it can make exciting and enabling links between traditional language and literature teaching and ICT. This one-day workshop will offer practical hands-on activities and take-away exercises specifically for extension activities and independent study.

In the morning session we will give a broad introduction to corpus linguistics relevant to both language and literature topics. In the afternoon we will focus in particular on exercises for narrative fiction. In addition to acquiring skills that can directly be applied to support students in their preparation for non-exam assessment (NEA), participants will also take away pre-prepared exercises for the classroom to support innovative corpus-based work with a range of texts.

The workshop will focus on freely available and easy-to use tools and does not require any previous experience. It will be particularly useful for those teaching AQA’s AS and A-level English Language and Literature and Language specifications but will also be of interest to those teaching on other AQA specifications.

The workshop will be led by Professor Michaela Mahlberg (University of Birmingham) and Professor Peter Stockwell (University of Nottingham), who are both internationally-renowned for their work in applied linguistics and stylistics.  They are currently working on the AHRC-funded project:  “Characterisation in the representation of speech and body language from a corpus linguistic perspective”. As part of this project they are developing the free online tool CLiC to support the corpus linguistic study of 19th century fiction.

This workshop is jointly organised by the CLiC team and AQA. For more information on the registration please see the event website.