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Thanks for stopping by.

    I'm Buse Açıkgöz, as you are aware. As an English teacher candidate, I go to Marmara University. I had been posting to this blog for a few months, then I stopped. However, I will start uploading my new pieces on a variety of subjects from now on. Today, I'll be discussing a few activities that my friend Şilan and I designed. Incorporating corpus data, these activities promote the use of technology in the classroom. At the bottom of the website, you can access the two pages of corpus-based exercises we created and the two pages of guidelines we put together for students to utilize COCA correctly.

    I want to start by discussing the activities' source. These exercises are intended to aid in the overall comprehension of the eighth unit, "Emergency and Health Problems," in the English language preparation book for Turkish students. Therefore, the English preparation book is where the concept for these activities came from and these activities serve as an additional resource for this material.

Picture 1 (the image taken from here.)

    The corpus activities center on the word "ache" within the unit on emergency and health problems, aiming to provide students with a profound understanding of its medical applications. By meticulously analyzing collocates, students will define medical contexts, identify associated symptoms, and differentiate between various types of aches. The focus extends to recognizing severity levels and actively applying language in realistic scenarios. The activities place significant emphasis on exploring collocates, enabling students to appreciate the nuanced usage of "ache" in diverse health-related contexts. The overarching objective is to empower students with linguistic proficiency, fostering empathy, independence, and clear communication skills crucial in medical emergencies while integrating technology to enhance the learning experience. Students will be able to employ COCA in these tasks by utilizing corpus data as well. For their upcoming assignments, they will be able to benefit from corpus data.   

    Designed specifically for Turkish high school students, these corpus activities explore the meaning of the term "ache" in relation to emergencies and medical issues. In addition to addressing different levels of English competence, the activities incorporate technology by using a corpus analysis tool and is made in accordance with the Turkish high school curriculum. With a focus on linguistic relevance and sensitivity, the activities seek to offer students a meaningful educational experience by helping them analyze the complex usage of "ache" in many situations connected to health and improving their digital literacy.

    The process of designing these activities was complex. As a result, we put a lot of effort into matching the activities to the intended vocabulary item and the target audience. Our lack of experience with corpus data made it harder to handle. 

    Several obstacles may arise when implementing the corpus-based activities in a real classroom. These include limited comprehension of corpus analysis, varying English proficiency levels, time constraints, technological problems such as the lack of technological devices and poor internet connections, maintaining student engagement, and evaluating collaborative efforts. If it is desired to employ such activities, then proactive steps must be taken to solve these possible issues and guarantee a fruitful and fulfilling learning experience. 

What do you know about “ache”? - Buse Açıkgöz

Using the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) - Buse Açıkgöz

 For further information, you can visit my about me page and email me. I will be pleased to answer you.