This paper explores the use of the Google Books Corpus (GBC) to develop English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials tailored for engineering students. The author demonstrates how corpus linguistics techniques can be employed to create authentic, discipline-specific language learning materials that better meet the needs of engineering students compared to generic textbooks.
The study presents a method for creating five grammar chapters focused on engineering English using GBC data. These chapters cover nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. For each chapter, the author provides frequency data from GBC on the most common words collocating with "engineering," "engineer," and "engineers." The chapters include definitions and examples of the grammar concepts, along with 4-5 practice exercises using authentic engineering-related sentences and vocabulary.
The author argues that this approach offers several benefits. The resulting materials contain authentic examples and commonly used words and structures in engineering, helping to meet the specific needs of engineering students. This method also provides a free, corpus-based alternative to commercial textbooks, which may not be as well-tailored to specific disciplines.
The paper demonstrates how language instructors can utilize open educational resources like GBC to design materials that align with their students' goals and course learning outcomes. The author suggests that most commercial language learning materials are designed to fit students from various contexts and backgrounds, making them less suitable for specific groups of students. In contrast, corpus linguistics technologies provide free access to authentic materials that can be adapted according to the needs of specific language learners.
Some limitations of the study are noted, including technical constraints of the GBC and the need to expand the materials into a full textbook. The author acknowledges that the materials developed are limited to the engineering context and suggests that future projects could develop additional grammar chapters and create more corpus-based exercises.
Overall, the paper presents a method for using corpus data to develop discipline-specific language materials and argues for wider adoption of this approach in ESP. The author concludes that this technique can help instructors create more targeted and relevant ESP materials, better preparing students for the language they will encounter in their academic and professional lives.