Corpus-based teaching materials for specialised courses: the case of English for mathematicians

Vol.11,No.1(2021)

Lucie Malá

https://doi.org/10.5817/CASALC2021-1-6

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Abstract
This paper demonstrates a usage-based approach, drawing on language corpora, to creating teaching materials. The need for such materials stems from the growing demand for courses of English for specific purposes on one hand, and the surprising lack or inadequacy of available materials for these courses on the other hand. On the example of English for mathematicians, we present three different types of exercises. First, we show deductive exercises for practising an already familiar rule. Second, we focus on the creation of an exercise where students start with a general rule but derive more specific information from specifically chosen examples. Finally, we present a fully inductive exercise, aimed at familiarising the students with the structures specific of the texts from their discipline. We believe that these exercises may serve as a source of inspiration for other teachers of English for specific purposes who find themselves in a similar situation.

Keywords:
ESP; teaching materials development; corpora; mathematics
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