Multi-modal Corpus Tool 2.0 for young EFL learners

Abstract

With the advancement of information technology, various types of corpora and concordance software are being developed for language research across different disciplines. Despite such advancements, the corpus-based approach to language learning (e.g., DDL - Data-driven learning) is still mostly limited to tertiary learners and DDL with young learners in English as a foreign language (EFL) context remains underresearched. This paper discusses the pedagogical potential of DDL with young learners using the Multi-modal Corpus Tool (MmCT) (Hirata, 2016;2020). After showing that the result of a case study conducted with pre service teachers on the use of DDL (Hirata, 2020) justifies the need to develop MmCT further for its use with young learners, this paper reports on the recent development of the tool (MmCT 2.0) and describes the pedagogical and theoretical considerations of the newly added functions.