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Speaking in a Second Language
Edited by Rosa Alonso Alonso
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 17] 2018
► pp. 127–152

Chapter 6
Exploring the spoken learner English constructicon

A corpus-driven approach

This study, which is set in the field of Applied Construction Grammar, seeks to identify the constructions that are typical of higher intermediate to advanced spoken learner English. It does so by relying on the recurrent sequences of part-of-speech (POS) tags extracted from the Louvain International Database of Spoken English Interlanguage (LINDSEI) and its native counterpart. This corpus-driven approach reveals that learner speech mainly consists of basic constructions like [NP] or [Subj V], although longer and more complex constructions can be found among the less frequent sequences. The chapter also discusses methodological issues (such as the link between POS tag sequences and constructions), as well as theoretical matters (including the place of speech in Construction Grammar).

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Construction Grammar and learner speech
  • 2. Part-of-speech tagging to explore a constructicon
  • 3. Corpora and methodology
  • 4.A corpus-driven analysis of LINDSEI’s constructicon
    • 4.1Single POS tags
    • 4.2Top POS n-grams
  • 5.Methodological afterthoughts
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.17.06gil
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