Developing morphological knowledge with online corpora in an ESL vocabulary classroom.

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics
• Second Language Acquisition

Background:

• Morphology is crucial for language acquisition, aiding learners in understanding word structure and meaning.
• Online corpora offer valuable resources for teaching and learning English word formation and usage.
• Developing morphological knowledge is essential for effective vocabulary acquisition in English as a Second Language (ESL).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of corpus-based instruction on ESL students' morphological knowledge and vocabulary development.
• To explore how using online corpora (COCA, BNC, TIME MAGAZINE) can enhance vocabulary acquisition and corpus literacy.
• To foster student-centered learning environments and self-regulated vocabulary learning strategies.

Main Methods:

• Classroom Action Research (CAR) framework guided the study.
• An ESL vocabulary classroom setting was utilized for the intervention.
• Data collection involved recording student performance and analyzing self-reflections.

Main Results:

• Significant development in students' morphological and overall vocabulary knowledge was observed.
• Students demonstrated increased self-regulated learning motivation and independent word inquiry skills.
• Corpus literacy was fostered, supporting continuous vocabulary learning and collaborative knowledge construction.
• A community of inquiry was established, promoting collaborative vocabulary learning.

Conclusions:

• Corpus-based instruction effectively enhances ESL students' morphological knowledge and vocabulary skills.
• Integrating online corpora promotes learner autonomy, corpus literacy, and collaborative learning.
• The findings support student-centered vocabulary instruction and the implementation of corpus-based methods in ESL contexts.