An exploratory study on the role of attention in corpus-based English learning

초록

Based on Johns' (1991)Data-Driven Learning and Schmidt's (1990) Noticing Hypothesis, this study investigated the role of attention in corpus-based activities using think-aloud protocol. Specifically, this study examined which level of awareness (i.e., perception, noticing, and understanding) L2 learners show during corpus-based activities and how their attention allocation is affected by English proficiency and task complexity. Three Korean university students with different levels of English proficiency performed two different corpus-based tasks while thinking aloud. The results revealed that the students with a higher proficiency level were more successful in allocating a higher level of attention and consequently discovering correct rules. The increased complexity of corpus-based task negatively affected the students' attention level,requiring more external assistance on the task. These findings suggest that corpus-based activities should be carefully designed with due consideration of the learner's proficiency level and task complexity so as to raise an awareness level for successful discovery learning.

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