Data-driven learning

This chapter investigates the effect of data-driven learning (DDL) by comparing the use of a new corpus tool, #LancsBox, with the use of a corpus-based collocations dictionary for academic collocation learning. Learners in the study improved their collocational knowledge by using #LancsBox, although not significantly. No improvement was found through consulting the collocations dictionary. The majority of learners believed that direct corpus consultation using concordance lines and collocation graphs facilitated their collocation learning, whereas learners in the dictionary group considered the use of a dictionary to be more beneficial for writing than learning collocations. Interestingly, learners from both groups reported that they would continue using the assigned tools in future language learning and teaching.