Revisiting Language Learning Through the Self: Discovery Learning in the 21st Century

Year 2016, , 66 - 74, 17.05.2016

Dönercan Dönük

https://doi.org/10.32959/tojelt.229319

Abstract

In such countries as Turkey, where EFL (English as a Foreign Language) is the basic language teaching policy, the incorporation of grammar into language teaching has proven to be a must. However, to eliminate the concerns that revitalizing grammar in language classrooms might be resuming to traditional classrooms, the methodology to be adopted seems to be of vital importance. This paper aims to characterize a corpus based discovery learning procedure, in which learners are subjected to specific questions and experiences in such a fashion as to discover a given concept. This study offers a procedure that uses the Corpus in the classroom to teach a pre-determined grammar focus item.Unlike traditional ways, with this approach, learning can be facilitated through a specific teaching methodology, arousing a curiosity as well as posing a challenge. Thus, while the language focus is not limited to a discreet grammatical item, it is presented in a context, mainly sketched by corpus linguistics.The course methodology suggested in this article could inspire new insights into teaching lexico-grammar in EFL contexts by utilizing the facilities of ICT (Information and Communications Technology).

Keywords

ICT, discovery learning, self, language learning, corpus

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