Evaluating the Use of Corpus-based Instruction in a Language Teacher Education Context: Perspectives from the Users

A recent practice in the study of language on teacher education programmes has been the use of electronic corpora, and we are therefore still at the initial stages of exploring key issues relating to their integration. Despite arguments for and against their adaptation, there is a dearth of evaluative research examining student teachers’ perceptions of learning and teaching through corpus-based activities. This paper has two main foci. Firstly, it reports some of the ways in which corpora have been incorporated into a language systems module on an MA in English Language Teaching (ELT) programme over a two-year period. More significantly, it outlines the findings from survey results, which uncover student teachers’ perspectives on their experiences of using corpora. Additionally, it explores the potentials and problems foreseen by these practitioners in relation to using such an approach in their careers. The investigation of these pertinent issues with a participant group of 25 student teachers (STs) leads to the conclusion that there is generally a positive predisposition towards the use of corpora. These attitudes vary in relation to the projected adaptation in EL teaching, and the results also show that the real teaching scenario often does not permit the ideal of full application.