Author: aocblanguage

Here we go again!

Welcome everyone and let’s dive straight in to today’s topic which is Corpus Linguistics and Concordancing. To be perfectly honest I don’t fully understand these topics but let’s do our best to explore them together.

In short, “Corpus Linguistics is now seen as the study of linguistic phenomena through large collections of machine-readable texts: corpora. These are used within a number of research areas going from the Descriptive Study of the Syntax of a Language to Prosody or Language Learning” (University of Essex, 1998)

What this means in very simple terms is that if you wish to study things such as word frequency or the use of discourse makers in a particular language, compiling a database of texts written by native speakers (a corpus) and analysing these is one of the best ways to do so.

Concordancing can also be used to analyse differences in language. I recently downloaded a concordance app called AntConc, in order to analyse the implications of translating the phrase “to make a decision” into Japanese (one of my target languages) The result was both intruiging and amusing as it translates to “問題は誰が決定を下すかということだ。” the literal translate of which is “the problem is who makes the decison” This has some rather interesting implications as in the English phrase, the question of “who” is not even remotely involved, whereas the Japanese trabslation makes it a central part of the phrase, and this makes for some very interesting analysis.

Concordance and corpus can also be used to analyse indivudual speech patterns. For example, the following is a small analysis of the word frqeuency in Barack Obama’s written corpus on social media.

Corpus such as these are excellent resources from a linguistic and psychological point of view. We can determine the target audience and relative subject of the tweet just by looking at the adjectives and adverbs. Many linguists also carry out this work on a much larger scale.

What do you think of corpus and concordancing? Are they useful tools or just more of my babbling? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time!

Amee x

Hello everyone! (I need to start using real titles instead of memes…)

Anyway, today we are going to talk about PLEs! Now apart from fitting perfectly into a classic bit of internet humour, PLEs are actually something rather new and wonderful; Personal Learning Environments. In short, they are open platforms where the user has the freedom to choose the tools that are relevant to their needs or interests. (Atwell, 2008 & Hakkinen & al. 2014)

So what exactly does it mean to personalise your learning? How do we do it? And is it a good idea or a bad one? Well, let’s begin with yours truly 😉

According to a recent study I took that was designed by North Carolina State University, I am an “Active” and “Intuitive” learner. What this essentially means is that it is easier for me to learn topics that are more theoretical and allow me to discover new possibilities, and the way that I learn best is by discussing, trying and explaining. So how would I personalise the way that I carry out my learning so that I can make the most of these personal traits? Well according to (Felder and Brent, 2016) active learners benefit from discussions and problem-solving, to which I can personally testify.  Therefore, I believe that using apps such as Duolingo and HiNative, which allow you to take tests and engage in conversations with native speakers, are hugely beneficial to my learning style.

I would like my learning process to be as personalised as possible. I believe that the more personalised that my learning is, the more effective it will be and as a result of this, my positive progress will motivate me to continue learning.

I suppose the next logical question to ask is what are the advantages and disadvantages of such personalisation? Well the advantages are very clear, to personalise your learning means to ensure that your learning need are met and that you are working in an environment that is as productive as possible. However are there any disadvantages? Now, while I can’t think of many, the only one that really comes to mind is the possibility of closing yourself off to new techniques. If you over-personalise your learning and remain to rigid in that structure, you may miss out on new, alternative methods of learning that could help you to improve and perhaps expand your learning capabilities.

Of course, all this is theoretical and open to interpretation. Let me know your opinions in the comments and I have also put the link to the NCU learning traits test below, in case any of you want to find out what your learning style is!

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Until next time,

Amee x

 

 

 

 

Hellooo! (Is it me you’re…ahem anyway!)

Hi everyone! I’m back and it’s time to talk about CALL! What is CALL? Well the acronym stands for Computer Assisted Language Learning  and it’s the newest up and coming hot-shot technique in the world of language education.

As the world moves forward into the increasingly digital age, and we yearn for more connectivity, learning languages is becoming increasingly popular, and inevitably, we have tried and tested many ways of using technology to help us with our language learning. Therefore, many new apps and digital platforms have come into the fore in recent years that promise to have you speaking fluent “Insert target language here 😉 ” faster than you can say “Grammar notes”. However, it is my personal experience that such apps and platforms always lack something, and what one app has, another will lack and so on.

So with that in mind…let’s discuss my personal CALL wish-list! If I could design a CALL platform or app, what would it look like? What do I think would make the best language learning app possible? Let’s find out!

Visual Aspects

 

Although perhaps not the first thing that some may think of as important, I believe that any learning tool should be visually attractive and well laid out. According to Nokelainen (2006: 181) learning and the process of such is not a quantifiable concept, however I do believe that for many, an attractive visual aid not only entices and encourages a higher rate of programme usage, but also helps learners to retain the information that they learn.

Variety of Options

 

Many CALL platforms that I have used sometimes isolate themselves to a small number of languages, or provide more resources for certain languages over others. As a student of languages, I adore learning them, and believe that a wide variety of options is key to learning more about languages in general, and for keeping users interested.

 

Personalised Progress Checks

The very thought of exams or tests is enough to send shivers down the spine of any current or past students. However its important to map your progress when learning a language, it helps you to keep track of what you have done, and can also be a good motivator when you see how far you’ve managed to come. Therefore, I think it would be wonderful if more CALL packages could allow you to personalise how you track your progress; For example, allowing you to pick which skills you work on in an exercise, or letting you design  assessments to focus on one particular grammar point, and giving you small achievements along the way to keep you motivated. For as we all know, motivation is the key to continuation.

In short, most of the CALL packages that I have used in the past have done their jobs; they have helped me improve my language skills and I cannot fault them on that. However, I feel that the above points could make all the difference in turning something good, into something great!

 

Until next time,

Amee x

 

 

 

The Limits of my Language means the Limits of My World – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Bonjour, Hola and Kon’nichiwa!

Hello everyone and welcome! My name is Amee and I’m a second year Applied Languages student at the University of Limerick in Ireland. In this blog, I am going to explore my passion for languages, different cultures and how technology influences modern language learning; starting with my own personal experiences.

As a language learner in the 21st century, I am constantly surrounded by technology. Smartphones, television, the internet and so on. Sometimes, it can be difficult to escape the burning desire to be distracted by Facebook or Netflix, however I and many others like me have found ways to turn these distractions into aids, which help and support my language learning.

As a beginner in Spanish studies, one of my greatest aids is the app Duolingo. This is a language learning app that allows users to test their competency and slowly advance through different learning stages. While is praise this app in its ability to cater to different levels and learning speeds, the consistency of the exercises can sometimes become rather monotonous, as there is little to no change in how the learner advances. Therefore although the app is excellent for both beginners and advanced learners, the monotany of repeating the same exercise over and over, can discourage one from continuing the language learning process.

Unlike Duolingo, Netflix offers a far more fun and enjoyable learning experience, to help me with my studies in advanced French, I often watch movies or series in French, either with or without the subtitles. This is an excellent resource as it offers the learner an experience that is fun, enjoyable and far less stressful than constant tests and exams. However is does present the danger of the learner becoming somewhat lazy in their approach to learning, and heading back to the old ways of allowing technology to distract us from our goals.

My study of Japanese is in a league of its own, with the amount of work that is required and the small number of resources in Ireland compared to European languages, the internet and online resources have become an invaluable part of my learning. In order to ensure that learning this new and complex language is both fun and rewarding, I often turn to YouTube to find new and innovative ways of learning a language. In particular, a channel called “Japanese From Zero” has been extremely helpful. Out of all the mediums I use, this is my favourite as the learning is interactive and unconventional, yet also practical and comes from someone who is not a native speaker of Japanese, and therefore understands the many complications that learners can encounter.

Finally, one of the digital platforms that I use most often is Google Translate. This online translation software is excellent for single word or phrase translations, however I would strongly advise against using it to translate full sentences. This is because the software fails to take context of colloquialisms into account, and can often leave with with a translation that is slightly off, or sometimes even completely wrong.

I considered many criteria when deciding which platform was my favourite. They included; how well the platform catered for different levels, how easy the platform was to use, how enjoyable the experience was and also if the platform was able to maintain my interest. With all these factors considered, YouTube became the clear favourite for me and my language learning journey.

Thank you for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome everyone!

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