1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Register Studies
  4. Volume 3, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 3, Issue 2
  • ISSN 2542-9477
  • E-ISSN: 2542-9485
PDF

Abstract

Abstract

This study applies additive Multi-Dimensional Analysis (MDA) (Biber 1988) to explore the linguistic characteristics of ‘school English’ or ‘textbook English’. It seeks to find out how text registers commonly featured in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks differ from comparable registers found outside the EFL classroom. To this end, a Textbook English Corpus (TEC) of 43 coursebooks used in European schools is mobilised. The texts from six textbook register subcorpora and three target language corpora are mapped onto Biber’s (1998) ‘Involved vs. Informational’ dimension of General English. Register accounts for 63% of the variance in these dimension scores in the TEC. Additional factors such as textbook level, series and country of publication/use only play a marginal role in mediating textbook register variation. Textbook dialogues score considerably lower than the Spoken BNC2014, whereas Textbook Fiction scores closest to its corresponding reference Youth Fiction Corpus. Pedagogical and methodological implications are discussed.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/rs.20009.lef
2021-11-23
2024-12-04

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/rs.20009.lef
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/rs.20009.lef.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/rs.20009.lef&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Al-Surmi, M.
    (2012) Authenticity and TV Shows: A Multidimensional Analysis Perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 671–694. doi:  10.1002/tesq.33
     https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.33 [Google Scholar]
  2. Barbieri, F., & Eckhardt, S. E.
    (2007) Applying Corpus-Based Findings to Form-Focused Instruction: The Case of Reported Speech. Language Teaching Research, 11(3), 319–346. doi:  10.1177/1362168807077563
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168807077563 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S.
    (2015) Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. doi:  10.18637/jss.v067.i01
     https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01 [Google Scholar]
  4. Berber Sardinha, T., & Biber, D.
    (Eds.) (2014) Multi-Dimensional Analysis, 25 Years on: A Tribute to Douglas Biber. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/scl.60
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.60 [Google Scholar]
  5. Berber Sardinha, T., & Veirano Pinto, M.
    (2017) American television and off-screen registers: A corpus-based comparison. Corpora, 12(1), 85–114. doi:  10.3366/cor.2017.0110
     https://doi.org/10.3366/cor.2017.0110 [Google Scholar]
  6. (Eds.) (2019) Multi-Dimensional Analysis: Research Methods and Current Issues. London: Bloomsbury Academic. doi:  10.5040/9781350023857
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350023857 [Google Scholar]
  7. Berber Sardinha, T., Veirano Pinto, M., Mayer, C., Zuppardi, M. C., & Kauffmann, C. H.
    (2019) Adding Registers to a Previous Multi-Dimensional Analysis. InT. Berber Sardinha & M. Veirano Pinto (Eds.), Multi-Dimensional Analysis: Research Methods and Current Issues (pp.165–188). New York, NY: Bloomsbury. 10.5040/9781350023857.0017
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350023857.0017 [Google Scholar]
  8. Biber, D.
    (1988) Variation across speech and writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:  10.1017/CBO9780511621024
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511621024 [Google Scholar]
  9. (2012) Register as a predictor of linguistic variation. Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory, 8(1), 9–37. doi:  10.1515/cllt‑2012‑0002
     https://doi.org/10.1515/cllt-2012-0002 [Google Scholar]
  10. (2014) Using multi-dimensional analysis to explore cross-linguistic universals of register variation. Languages in Contrast, 14(1), 7–34. doi:  10.1075/lic.14.1.02bib
     https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.14.1.02bib [Google Scholar]
  11. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Reppen, R., Byrd, P., & Helt, M.
    (2002) Speaking and Writing in the University: A Multidimensional Comparison. TESOL Quarterly, 36(1), 9. doi:  10.2307/3588359
     https://doi.org/10.2307/3588359 [Google Scholar]
  12. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Reppen, R., Byrd, P., Helt, M., Clark, V., … Urzua, A.
    (2004) Representing Language Use in the University: Analysis of the TOEFFL 2000 Spoken and Written Academic Language Corpus. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Biber, D., & Finegan, E.
    (1994) Multi-dimensional analyses of authors’ styles: Some case studies from the eighteenth century. InD. Ross & D. Brink (Eds.), Research in humanities computing (Vol.3, pp.3–17). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Brezina, V.
    (2018) Statistics in Corpus Linguistics: A Practical Guide (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. doi:  10.1017/9781316410899
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316410899 [Google Scholar]
  15. Chujo, K.
    (2004) Measuring Vocabulary Levels of English Textbooks and Tests Using a BNC Lemmatised High Frequency Word List. Language and Computers, 51(1), 231–249.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Clarke, I., & Grieve, D. J.
    (2017) Dimensions of Abusive Language on Twitter. Proceedings of the First Workshop on Abusive Language Online, 1–10. Retrieved fromhttps://www.aclweb.org/anthology/W17-3001.pdf. 10.18653/v1/W17‑3001
     https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/W17-3001 [Google Scholar]
  17. Conrad, S.
    (2004) Corpus variety: Corpus linguistics, language variation, and language teaching. InJ. McH. Sinclair (Ed.), Studies in Corpus Linguistics (Vol.12, pp.67–85). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/scl.12.08con
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.12.08con [Google Scholar]
  18. (2013) Variation among disciplinary texts: A comparison of textbooks and journal articles in biology and history. InS. Conrad & D. Biber (Eds.), Variation in English: Multi-dimensional studies (pp.94–107). (Original work published 2001)
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Conrad, S., & Biber, D.
    (Eds.) (2013) Variation in English: Multi-Dimensional Studies. New York: Routledge. (Original work published 2001) 10.18820/9781920689094
     https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920689094 [Google Scholar]
  20. Conrad, S. M.
    (1996) Academic discourse in two disciplines: Professional writing and student development in biology and history (PhD dissertation). Northern Arizona University.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Crossley, S. A., Kyle, K., & Römer, U.
    (2019) Examining Lexical and Cohesion Differences in Discipline-Specific Writing Using Multi-Dimensional Analysis. InT. B. Sardinha & M. V. Pinto (Eds.), Multi-Dimensional Analysis: Research Methods and Current Issues (pp.189–216). Bloomsbury Academic. doi:  10.5040/9781350023857.0019
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350023857.0019 [Google Scholar]
  22. Crossley, S., Allen, L. K., & McNamara, D.
    (2014) A Multi-Dimensional analysis of essay writing: What linguistic features tell us about situational parameters and the effects of language functions on judgments of quality. InT. Berber Sardinha & M. Veirano Pinto (Eds.), Studies in Corpus Linguistics (Vol.60, pp.197–238). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/scl.60.07cro
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.60.07cro [Google Scholar]
  23. Dumont, A.
    (2018) Fluency and disfluency: A corpus study of non-native and native speaker (dis)fluency profiles (PhD dissertation). Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain. Retrieved fromhdl.handle.net/2078.1/198393
  24. Egbert, J., & Mahlberg, M.
    (2020) Fiction – one register or two?: Speech and narration in novels. Register Studies, 2(1), 72–101. doi:  10.1075/rs.19006.egb
     https://doi.org/10.1075/rs.19006.egb [Google Scholar]
  25. Egbert, J., & Staples, S.
    (2019) Doing Multi-Dimensional Analysis in SPSS, SAS, and R. InT. B. Sardinha & M. V. Pinto (Eds.), Multi-Dimensional Analysis: Research Methods and Current Issues (pp.125–144). Bloomsbury Academic. doi:  10.5040/9781350023857.0015
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350023857.0015 [Google Scholar]
  26. Ellis, N., & Collins, L.
    (2009) Input and Second Language Acquisition: The Roles of Frequency, Form, and Function Introduction to the Special Issue. The Modern Language Journal, 93(3), 329–335. doi:  10.1111/j.1540‑4781.2009.00893.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00893.x [Google Scholar]
  27. European Council (Ed.)
    European Council (Ed.) (2004) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) (6. pr). Stuttgart: Klett.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Forchini, P.
    (2012) Movie language revisited. Evidence from multi-dimensional analysis and corpora. Peter Lang. 10.3726/978‑3‑0351‑0325‑0
     https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-0351-0325-0 [Google Scholar]
  29. Friginal, E., & Hardy, J. A.
    (2014) Conducting Multi-Dimensional Analysis Using SPSS. InT. B. Sardinha & D. Biber (Eds.), Multi-Dimensional Analysis, 25 Years on: A Tribute to Douglas Biber (pp.297–316). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/scl.60.10fri
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.60.10fri [Google Scholar]
  30. Gabrielatos, C.
    (2013) If-conditionals in ICLE and the BNC: A success story for teaching or learning?InS. Granger, F. Meunier, & G. Gilquin (Eds.), Twenty Years of Learner Corpus Research: Looking back, moving ahead (Presses Universitaires de Louvain, pp.155–166).
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Gilmore, A.
    (2004) A Comparison of Textbook and Authentic Interactions. ELT Journal, 58(4), 363–374. doi:  10.1093/elt/58.4.363
     https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/58.4.363 [Google Scholar]
  32. Gilquin, G.
    (2016) Discourse markers in L2 English: From classroom to naturalistic input. InO. Timofeeva, A.-C. Gardner, A. Honkapohja, & S. Chevalier (Eds.), Studies in Language Companion Series (Vol.177, pp.213–249). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/slcs.177.09gil
     https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.177.09gil [Google Scholar]
  33. Götz, S.
    (2013) Fluency in Native And Nonnative English Speech. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/scl.53
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.53 [Google Scholar]
  34. Gouverneur, C.
    (2008) The Phraseological Patterns of High-frequency Verbs in Advanced English for General Purposes: A Corpus-driven Approach to EFL Textbook Analysis. InF. Meunier & S. Granger (Eds.), Phraseology in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching (pp.223–243). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/z.138.17gou
     https://doi.org/10.1075/z.138.17gou [Google Scholar]
  35. Gray, B.
    (2015) Linguistic Variation in Research Articles: When discipline tells only part of the story. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/scl.71
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.71 [Google Scholar]
  36. Gray, B., & Egbert, J.
    (2019) Editorial: Register and register variation. Register Studies, 1(1), 1–9. doi:  10.1075/rs.00001.edi
     https://doi.org/10.1075/rs.00001.edi [Google Scholar]
  37. Gries, S. Th.
    (2015) The most under-used statistical method in corpus linguistics: Multi-level (and mixed-effects) models. Corpora, 10(1), 95–125. doi:  10.3366/cor.2015.0068
     https://doi.org/10.3366/cor.2015.0068 [Google Scholar]
  38. Hyland, K.
    (1994) Hedging in academic writing and EAP textbooks. English for Specific Purposes, 13(3), 239–256. 10.1016/0889‑4906(94)90004‑3
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0889-4906(94)90004-3 [Google Scholar]
  39. Johansson, S., Leech, G. N., & Goodluck, H.
    (1978) Manual of information to accompany the Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen Corpus of British English, for use with digital computer. Department of English, University of Oslo.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Le Foll, E.
    (2020, October). Issues in Compiling and Exploiting Textbook Corpora. Presented at theJapanese Association for English Corpus Studies2020, Tokyo. doi:  10.13140/RG.2.2.32006.60487
     https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32006.60487 [Google Scholar]
  41. Le Foll, Elen
    (2021) Bibliographic metadata of the Textbook English Corpus (TEC) (Version v. 1.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4922819
     https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4922819 [Google Scholar]
  42. Le Foll, E.
    (in preparation). Textbook English: A Corpus-Based Analysis of the Language of EFL textbooks used in Secondary Schools in France, Germany and Spain.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Lenth, R.
    (2020) emmeans: Estimated marginal means, aka least-squares means [Manual]. Retrieved fromhttps://CRAN.R-project.org/package=emmeans
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Love, R., Dembry, C., Hardie, A., Brezina, V., & McEnery, T.
    (2017) The Spoken BNC2014. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 22(3), 319–344. doi:  10.1075/ijcl.22.3.02lov
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.22.3.02lov [Google Scholar]
  45. Love, R., Hawtin, A., & Hardie, A.
    (2018, September). The British National Corpus 2014: User manual and reference guide. Retrieved fromcorpora.lancs.ac.uk/bnc2014/doc/BNC2014manual.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Lüdecke, D.
    (2020) sjPlot: Data visualization for statistics in social science [Manual]. Retrieved fromhttps://CRAN.R-project.org/package=sjPlot
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Meunier, F., & Gouverneur, C.
    (2009) New types of corpora for new educational challenges: Collecting, annotating and exploiting a corpus of textbook material. InK. Aijmer (Ed.), Studies in Corpus Linguistics (Vol.33, pp.179–201). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/scl.33.16meu
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.33.16meu [Google Scholar]
  48. Miller, D.
    (2011) ESL Reading Textbooks vs. University Textbooks: Are We Giving Our Students the Input They May Need?Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(1), 32–46. doi:  10.1016/j.jeap.2010.12.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2010.12.002 [Google Scholar]
  49. Mindt, D.
    (1987) Sprache, Grammatik, Unterrichtsgrammatik: Futurischer Zeitbezug im Englischen I (first). Frankfurt am Main: Diesterweg.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. (1995) Schulgrammatik vs. Grammatik der englischen Sprache. InPerspektiven des Grammatikunterrichts (Vol.404).
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Muhammad, S.
    (2020) A corpus based comparison of variation in online registers of Pakistani English using MD analysis (PhD dissertation). University of Münster.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Müller, S.
    (2005) Discourse Markers in Native and Non-native English Discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/pbns.138
     https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.138 [Google Scholar]
  53. Mundry, R., & Sommer, C.
    (2007) Discriminant function analysis with nonindependent data: Consequences and an alternative. Animal Behaviour, 74(4), 965–976. doi:  10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.12.028
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.12.028 [Google Scholar]
  54. Nini, A.
    (2014) Multidimensional Analysis Tagger (MAT) (Version 1.3). Retrieved fromsites.google.com/site/multidimensionaltagger
  55. (2019) The Multi-Dimensional Analysis Tagger. InT. B. Sardinha & M. V. Pinto (Eds.), Multi-Dimensional Analysis: Research Methods and Current Issues (pp.67–96). New York: Bloomsbury. 10.5040/9781350023857.0012
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350023857.0012 [Google Scholar]
  56. Quaglio, P.
    (2009) Television Dialogue: The sitcom Friends vs. natural conversation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/scl.36
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.36 [Google Scholar]
  57. Rautionaho, P., & Deshors, S. C.
    (2018) Progressive or not progressive?: Modeling the constructional choices of EFL and ESL writers. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, 4(2), 225–252. doi:  10.1075/ijlcr.16019.rau
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.16019.rau [Google Scholar]
  58. Römer, U.
    (2004) A Corpus-Driven Approach to Modal Auxiliaries and Their Didactics. InJ. McH. Sinclair (Ed.), How to Use Corpora in Language Teaching (pp.185–199). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/scl.12.14rom
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.12.14rom [Google Scholar]
  59. (2005) Progressives, Patterns, Pedagogy: A Corpus-Driven Approach to English Progressive Forms, Functions, Contexts, and Didactics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/scl.18
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.18 [Google Scholar]
  60. (2006) Pedagogical applications of corpora: Some reflections on the current scope and a wish list for future developments. Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, 54(2), 121–134. 10.1515/zaa‑2006‑0204
     https://doi.org/10.1515/zaa-2006-0204 [Google Scholar]
  61. Svartvik, J., & Quirk, R.
    (1980) A corpus of English conversation (Vol.56). Studentlitteratur.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Usó-Juan, E., & Martínez-Flor, A.
    (2010) The teaching of speech acts in second and foreign language instructional contexts. InPragmatics across Languages and Cultures (pp.423–442). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110214444.3.423
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110214444.3.423 [Google Scholar]
  63. Veirano Pinto, M.
    (2019) Using Discriminate Function Analysis in Multi-Dimensional Analysis. InT. Berber Sardinha & M. Veirano Pinto (Eds.), Multi-Dimensional Analysis: Research Methods and Current Issues (pp.217–230). Bloomsbury Academic. doi:  10.5040/9781350023857.0020
     https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350023857.0020 [Google Scholar]
  64. Vellenga, H.
    (2004) Learning Pragmatics from ESL & EFL Textbooks: How Likely?TESL-EJ Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 8(2), n. p.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Winter, B.
    (2019) Statistics for Linguists: An Introduction Using R. New York: Routledge. doi:  10.4324/9781315165547
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315165547 [Google Scholar]
  66. Wolk, C., Götz, S., & Jäschke, K.
    (2020) Possibilities and Drawbacks of Using an Online Application for Semi-automatic Corpus Analysis to Investigate Discourse Markers and Alternative Fluency Variables. Corpus Pragmatics. doi:  10.1007/s41701‑019‑00072‑x
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s41701-019-00072-x [Google Scholar]
  67. Zuppardo, M. C.
    (2013) A linguagem da aviação: Um estudo de manuais aeronáuticos baseado na Análise Multidimensional. [Aviation Language: A Study of Aeronautical Handbooks Based on Multi-Dimensional Analysis], 11, 6–25.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/rs.20009.lef
Loading
Register variation in school EFL textbooks
Register Studies 3, 207 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1075/rs.20009.lef
/content/journals/10.1075/rs.20009.lef
/content/journals/10.1075/rs.20009.lef
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): coursebooks; language teaching materials; multidimensional analysis (MDA); textbook English

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error