Active Listenership by Kevin F. Gerigk

Active Listenership: A Corpus Pragmatics Approach to Researching and Teaching English as a Foreign Language proposes a new analytical methodology based in Corpus Pragmatics for researching conversational English. It demonstrates how interactional competence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) can be taught more effectively through data-driven learning (DDL).

The book is divided into two interrelated parts. The first reviews the methodological opportunities afforded by corpus-powered analysis in qualitative research and teaching, drawing on original data on EFL coursebook conversations used in Germanophone countries. The second part applies the newly defined methodology to the context of L2 learners, showing how DDL can serve as an entry point to expose learners to naturally occurring conversations. Teachers will learn how to plan and develop classroom work on active listenership and interaction using a DDL-focussed task design framework, which Gerigk illustrates through three sample tasks targeting active listenership at proficiency level B2. Readers will also benefit from a critical reflection on the teaching of conversational English and the role that Corpus Pragmatics can play in the future of research.

Bridging theory and practice, this flexible resource will be valuable to researchers and practitioners in the fields of Corpus Linguistics, English as a Foreign Language, and Applied Linguistics.