Profiling Research through Error-Annotated Learner Corpora: Insights and Findings
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This study showcases the potential of error-annotated learner corpora in profiling language proficiency research. By focusing on common European Framework (CEF) levels from A1 to C2, we analyze the role of errors as criterial features that help differentiate between levels. Utilizing the International Corpus of Learner English, we conduct a threefold analysis comprising error annotation, rating phases, and error counting to develop a detailed error profile. Results reveal that while errors serve as useful indicators of proficiency development, they alone cannot fully capture language ability.
Profiling Research through Error-Annotated Learner Corpora: Insights and Findings
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Presentation Transcript
Showcasing the potential of error-annotated learner corpora for profiling research Jennifer Thewissen Centre for English Corpus Linguistics (CECL)
Profiling research • Definition • Finding ‘criterial features’ that discriminate between different levels of proficiency (e.g. Hawkins & Buttery, 2010) • CEF levels • C2 • C1 • B2 • B1 • A2 • A1
Feature we focussed on • Construct of accuracy, viz. errors • Focus on four proficiency levels, viz. B1, B2, C1, C2 • Aim = See whether errors constituted a «criterial feature» to distinguish these levels
International Corpus of Learner English (Granger et al., 2009)
Threefold analysis • Error annotation, i.e. errortagging phase • CEF rating phase • Errorcounting phase
Error tagging examples The fastspread of televisioncantransformitinto a double-edged(FS)wheapon$weapon$. I willtry to giveseveral(XNUC)proofs$proof$ of the truth of the sentence. • 46errorsubcategories • Result: a detailederror profile per text
The CEF rating procedure • Individual rating of the 223 learner scripts according to the linguisticdescriptors in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF) (Council of Europe, 2001) • B1, B2, C1 or C2 (with + and – increments) • 2 professionalraters (+ 1 rater in cases of widedisagreement) (r = 0.70)
Tracking development CEF score Error profile Development: Progress? Stabilisation? Regression?
Statistical analyses: ANOVA & Ryan (GNN) GNN = [B1/B2]>[B2/C1]>[C1/C2]
Where do progress and stabilisation mainly occur? Discriminating power of errors
Some concluding remarks • Errors (negative features) • Stronger discriminatory power between certain levels (viz. B1 vs. B2) than others (viz. B2 vs. C1 vs. C2) • Need to capture other features than errors (e.g. positive features) • Conclusion for profiling research: errors are useful but they are not enough in and of themselves