Christoph Wolk & Sandra Götz (Universität Gießen)

Discourse markers in advanced English learner language: Possibilities and drawbacks using an automatic, corpus-based approach

One strategy for learners to overcome planning phases in spontaneous speech production is the use of discourse markers (e.g. you know, like, well; e.g. Hasselgren 2002). Previous (learner corpus) research has shown that learners heavily underuse discourse markers and prefer using alternative strategies instead (e.g. De Cock 2000; Müller 2005; Götz 2013). However, these studies have mainly focused on one learner variety in particular, whereas contrastive analyses on learners’ use of discourse markers from different L1 family backgrounds have only rarely been undertaken. Against the backdrop of a large-scale study of fluency-enhancing strategies of various kinds of English world-wide, we would like to introduce a study in which we investigate the use of discourse markers of advanced learners of English from four different language backgrounds (i.e. German, Japanese, Bulgarian and Spanish). As a database for the corpus analysis, we will use the respective components of the Louvain International Database of Spoken English Interlanguage (LINDSEI; Gilquin et al. 2010). In order to systematically assess if/how learners from different L1 backgrounds use discourse markers differently, we analyze these corpora on three different levels: We test if learners from different L1 backgrounds (1) establish fluency in different ways (e.g. by using different discourse markers), (2) use discourse markers in different positions in the utterance, and (3) if the use of discourse markers can be predicted by extra-linguistic parameters, such as age or gender.
In our presentation, we will particularly focus on the development of an application that automatically extracts discourse markers from these learner corpora and shows them in their communicative context, which makes it easier and more convenient to disambiguate their use (e.g. well as a discourse marker vs. an adverb). We will also present some first findings derived from a pilot study on discourse markers on the four learner varieties under scrutiny.

• De Cock, S. 2000. Repetitive phrasal chunkiness and advanced EFL speech and writing. In Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory. Papers from the Twentieth International Conference on English Language Research on Computerized Corpora (ICAME 20), C. Mair & M. Hundt (eds), 51–68. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
• Gilquin, G., De Cock, S. & Granger, S. 2010. The Louvain International Database of Spoken English Interlanguage. Handbook and CD-ROM. Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses Universitaires de Louvain.
• Götz, S. 2013. Fluency in Native and Nonnative English Speech. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
• Hasselgren, A. 2002. Learner corpora and language testing: Smallwords as markers of learner fluency. In Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching, S. Granger, J. Hung & S. Petch-Tyson (eds), 143–173. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
• Müller, S. 2005. Discourse Markers in Native and Non-Native English Discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Biodata

Christoph Wolk obtained his PhD from the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg in 2014, and has since been working as senior lecturer at the University of Giessen. His main research interests are the theory and methods of quantitative corpus linguistics and their integration with research on probabilistic grammar.

Sandra Götz obtained her PhD from Justus Liebig University Giessen and Macquarie University Sydney in 2011. Since then, she has been working as a senior lecturer in English Linguistics at University of Giessen. Her main research interests include (learner) corpus linguistics and its application to language teaching and testing, applied linguistics and World Englishes.