This book shows how corpus analyses can enhance students', practitioners' and researchers' knowledge of academic language. The book provides a reader-friendly discussion of the key concepts, practices and research applications of corpus linguistics which are relevant to the EAP community.

The volume:

* empowers readers to compile and analyze EAP-relevant corpora to support their practice;

* draws on open-access resources, allowing readers in all contexts to engage in corpus analyses;

* examines how corpus studies have advanced the description of spoken, written and computer-mediated academic discourses;

* contains numerous reflective and hands-on tasks.

Corpus Linguistics for English for Academic Purposes is an essential book for EAP students, practitioners and researchers who wish to develop corpus analytical skills to support their learning, teaching and research practice. It is equally important to novice corpus linguists who wish to find out how they can contribute to the ever-expanding area of EAP.

About the Author

Vander Viana is Associate Professor in Education, directs the Master's in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and is the founder/leader of the Language in Education Research Group at the University of East Anglia. His areas of research expertise include corpus linguistics, English for academic purposes, TESOL and language teacher education.

Aisling O'Boyle is Lecturer and Director of the Centre for Language Education Research at Queen's University Belfast. Her areas of research expertise include the application of corpus linguistics to language learning and education, and she has research interests in the socially embedded nature of English language education.

Reviews

"This important and timely addition to the EAP literature provides a wealth of information and practical know-how on the potential of corpus analysis to support students, EAP practitioners and EAP researchers in developing understanding of academic English. Readers will come back to this book time and time again for evidence-based information on academic English and as a practical guide to using corpus analysis. The book should be essential reading on EAP teacher education programs." -Prof Helen Basturkmen, University of Auckland

"In the last 20 years corpora have become central to EAP: transforming how we study and teach language for academic purposes by providing more detailed and robust descriptions of texts and encouraging students to take a more active and reflective part in their learning. In this up-to-date and highly accessible book, Viana and O'Boyle provide a well-structured and highly readable introduction to the use of corpus analysis in English for Academic Purposes, taking the reader from basic word searches to more complex analyses of tagged texts and lexical phrases. The book is packed with clear definitions, authentic examples, useful classroom ideas and step-by-step guides on how to conduct analyses of corpora which are freely available online. Regular comprehension questions and reflective tasks help scaffold this journey of research-informed reflective EAP practice. This, then, is an exceptionally valuable addition to the literature on EAP and will be extremely useful to those seeking to learn how they can use corpora to both research and teach academic English." -Prof Ken Hyland, University of East Anglia

"Corpus Linguistics for English for Academic Purposes is a very welcome addition to volumes specifically targeting EAP practitioners and researchers. First and foremost, the book provides clear, practical step-by-step guidance on exploring academic discourse through freely accessible corpora and search tools. In this way, the book is also of use to anyone interested in approaches to investigating language use. But this book offers even more. Including examples from corpus studies of written, spoken and computer-mediated academic discourse, the book provides those in the field of EAP with a range of insights into academic communication - not least the importance of attending to disciplinary variation. Each chapter is very clearly set out, with regular tasks and practical activities to engage the reader and develop skills. The practical tools and techniques are also exemplified throughout showing just how invaluable how corpus linguistics can be for the EAP practitioner. If you are interested in learning more about how corpus linguistics can inform EAP practice, wish to develop practical skills for exploring corpora, or are leading courses exploring academic discourse, then this is book for you." -Dr Carole MacDiarmid, University of Glasgow

"The book has several strengths. First is the high replicability of the clear and detailed methodological explanations, allowing readers from various backgrounds to replicate the procedures in their explorations. Readers are pointed toward corpus tools not only allowing for working with freely general and specialized available corpora (Chapter 3), but also for self-built corpora (Chapter 5); not only for online corpora examination but also for offline corpora investigation (Chapter 6). Second is its comprehensiveness because of its broad coverage of topics, disciplines, genres (e.g., occluded genres in Chapter 4) and registers (e.g., CMAD in Chapter 9). The third one is its accessibility. It provides the types of corpora available, with home page hyperlinks and key compositions, saving readers considerable time compiling corpora." -Review by Hongyan Zhao and Jingyuan Zhang (both from the University of Science and Technology Beijing) in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes

Book Information
ISBN 9781138742086
Author Vander Viana
Format Paperback
Page Count 260
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g