Review of 'Using Corpora in the Language Classroom' by Randi Reppen

Abstract

Since the 1980s a number of applied linguists have argued that what learners needed in the classroom to prepare them for real life language use were authentic rather than contrived materials. With the development of (online) corpora, such naturally occurring texts became much more readily accessible to the general public. Using Corpora in the Language Classroom has been written for those teachers who would like to take the first few steps to exploit corpora by either preparing materials for learners or by getting them to search corpora themselves, pretty much regardless of the level or context of instruction. In the series editor’s words (p. ix), it offers “a masterly survey of the nature of language corpora” and “provides numerous examples of how corpus-informed teaching materials can be developed and used in teaching at many different levels and with students in many different contexts.”