Impact of assignment-oriented corpus-based language workshops on tertiary students from non-language majors

Corpus-based language pedagogy (CBLP) has been widely adopted in tertiary language EAP and ESP classrooms, with assertions that it enhances students’ competence in using target language features, and fosters their motivation and autonomy. As a type of data-driven learning (DDL), CBLP can be either delivered in direct (involving students’ hands-on consultation of corpora) or indirect (mediated by language teachers) approaches. Either of the approaches can be implemented in many forms, such as being embedded within the curriculum or operated as voluntary workshops. In the case reported in the present study, the CBLP initiatives were planned around non-language content subjects (two psychology and two business subjects) in a Hong Kong self-financed higher education institution, in voluntary workshops and in-class tutorials alongside assignment writing guides, developed based on small-scale corpora of student writing collected from these subjects. These initiatives served to support the students to write their final term papers, in the form of research reports. However, except for the in-class tutorial, the workshops lacked reception: only five students out of four subjects participated in one voluntary workshop.
In light of this, the present study examines the views of the subject teachers and students on the CBLP workshops to investigate their impact on students’ language learning for writing high-stakes written assignments. Data were collected from assignment documents, language guides developed for each subject, workshop activities and interactions, post-workshop surveys, and interviews with students and teachers before and after the workshops. Preliminary findings show that the students joining the workshop and tutorial were engaged in the CBLP activities and agreed with the usefulness of the recommended corpus tool (Sketch Engine for Language Learning, or SkELL). However, it was also found from interviews that the students might not extend their use of corpora for language learning. Especially, the teachers reflected that their students lack motivation for learning in general, in that the extra support for them might not be appreciated.
​From the findings, the implications for the present study go beyond language teaching and learning, and involve understanding students’ (de)motivation, alongside seeking ways to rekindle their motivation for language learning within the discipline. Notions such as self-determination theory will also be introduced to discuss the findings.