Using a Concordance Sampler
Inha TESOL
Usage
• Even when non-native English teachers have
an excellent vocabulary, there is a problem of
usage.
Concordance Samplers
Concordance samplers are a good tool for
non-native English teachers to explore usage
when preparing materials for their students.
Concordance samplers are collections of
spoken and printed text that can be searched
for usage.
The Collins Cobuild
Concordance Sampler
• The Collins Cobuild Concordance Sampler was
one of the first. It has a simple layout and is
easy to use. It can be found at:
• http://www.collins.co.uk/Corpus/CorpusSearch.aspx
• One problem with it is that it is based mostly
on written text from the UK.
Other Samplers
• Modern search engines such as Google can be used as
a concordance sampler as well.
• One advantage of Google is that it has a large corpus of
text to search from. There are also a diverse range of
source such as blogs and personal homepages along
with more academic sources.
• However, the origin of the sources on search engines is
often unknown and many non-native English has been
indexed (which is not necessarily a bad thing).
Sample concordance
• Examine the sample concordance for “was
sentenced.” What commonly occurring
patterns can you find.
• Did you find . . . ?
• Sentenced to (time) in jail
in prison
imprisonment
Ex) He was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
• Did you find . . .?
• Sentenced to life
life in prison
death
Ex) She was sentenced to death.
• Did you find . . . ?
• Sentenced . . . for (a crime)
Ex) He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for
the murder of Derek Johnson.
• Now try to find patterns for “guilty”.