This thesis explores the use of the word chav in written discourse in Britain published between 2004 and 2008. Taking a critical social semiotic approach, it discusses how chav as a semiotic resource contributes to particular ways of using language to represent the world – Discourses – and to particular ways of using language to act on the world – Genres – suggesting that, though the word is far from homogenous in its use, it is consistently used to identify the public differences of Britain as a class society in terms of personal dispositions and choices, and in taking an ironic, stereotyped stance towards such differences. It is suggested that these tendencies can be viewed as ideological, as contributing to social domination and inequality. Chav is also found to be subject to a great deal of metalinguistic discussion, some of which serves to critique the above tendencies, but much of which does not.

The research presented in this thesis investigates the feasibility of a corpus-influenced syllabus for primary literacy education in Japan. It achieves this with reference to two aspects of the context within which such an initiative might be developed. One is the cultural context; that is,the demands of primary ELT in Japan. Therefore this research explores policy makers’ and teachers’views, the texts frequently used in primary ELT classrooms, and some aspects of teacher training. The other focus is from a linguistic viewpoint, concerned with the identification of linguistic features which pupils need to learn for the development of their English literacy. This thesis describes an innovative method for identifying such features. The cultural context was investigated by means of three surveys, the first of which was used to inform the choice of texts to include in the corpus. The surveys reveal a lack of attention to literacy teaching and teacher education in primary ELT in Japan, but also point to some potential for syllabus development. The research offers support for a corpus-influenced syllabus for teaching English literacy, while concluding that there is a need for incorporating it into teacher education and developing teaching methodologies which suit the pedagogic context of the Japanese primary school classroom.

The interface of corpus linguistics and second language writing has led to extensive corpus-based research focusing on a description of academic writing. The overwhelming majority of this research, however, has focused on scholarly writing, which may not be a valid model for novice writing. This thesis proposes the teaching of second language writing should be informed by a staircase model of writing progression which aims instruction at the level of student writing. For English for academic purposes writers in intensive English programs, this target is first year undergraduate writing, specifically freshman composition as it is taught in North American higher education contexts. This study specifically compares the frequency of the noun phrase in freshman composition writing and scholarly writing with two main aims: to provide empirical evidence of the differences between the two levels of writing and to contribute to a description of freshman composition writing. The findings from this comparison clearly demonstrate that noun phrases in both levels of writing employ a discernible pattern, and there are distinct differences between those patterns. A critical need form pedagogical materials to focus more on phrasal structures in general, but especially nounphrases, is evident.

This thesis consists of ten chapters and its research methodology is a combination of quantitative and qualitative. Chapter One introduces the theme of the thesis, a demonstration of a corpus-based comparative approach in detecting the needs of the learners by looking for the similarities and disparities between the learner English (the COLEC corpus) and the NS English (the LOCNESS corpus). Chapter Two reviews the literature in relevant learner language studies and indicates the tasks of the research. The data and technology are introduced in Chapter Three. Chapter Four shows how two verb lemma lists can be made by using the Wordsmith Tools supported by other corpus and IT tools. How to make sense of the verb lemma lists is the focus of the second part of this chapter. Chapter Five deals with the individual forms of verbs and the findings suggest that there is less homogeneity in the learner English than the NS English. Chapter Six extends the research to verb–noun relationships in the learner English and the NS English and the result shows that the learners prioritise verbs over nouns. Chapter Seven studies the learners’ preferences in using the patterns of KEEP compared with those of the NSs, and finds that the learners have various problems in using this simple verb. In this chapter, too, my reservations about the traditional use of ‘overuse’ and ‘underuse’ are expressed and a finer classification system is suggested. Chapter Eight compares another frequently-occurring verb, TAKE, in the aspect of collocates and yields similar findings that the learners have problems even with such simple vocabulary. In Chapter Nine, the research findings from Chapter Four to Chapter Eight are revisited and discussed in relation to the theme of the thesis. The concluding chapter, Chapter Ten, summarises the previous chapters and envisages how learner language studies will develop in the coming few years.

Researchers in corpus linguistics and applied linguistics have recommended the use of corpus data by language learners to promote independent learning (Bernardini, 2004; Yoon & Hirvela, 2004; O’Keeffe et al, 2007). However, it is not clear to what extent learners are able to use corpus resources independently, and how they can be trained to use a corpus more effectively. This thesis reports a study of learners using a corpus for error correction. The learners recorded their processes using a think-aloud protocol. The thesis records three main findings. Firstly, the learners found it easiest to spot and correct errors of clause structure, noun class, adjective pattern, and collocation; they found verb pattern the most difficult errors to correct. Secondly, the learners most frequently searched for information about colligation, collocation, acceptability/occurrence of strings in a corpus, and determiner-noun agreement; they searched for information about lexical pattern relatively infrequently. Finally, the learners worked most effectively with the corpus when they entered single words as the search terms and scrutinized the concordance lines for collocates and patterns; they worked least effectively with the corpus when they entered whole strings of words. The thesis also makes recommendations for facilitating corpus use in classrooms and specifies the training that learners need to use corpora effectively.

This study is a classroom-based, mixed methods study into the influence of transcribing, reporting, and task repetition on in class student oral task performances. The study investigates two questions. First do students in an intact classroom improve task performances when they repeat the same task in subsequent performances? In a previous exploratory study by Moser (2008) students did not take advantage of task repetition opportunities to improve a repeat task performance. It was concluded that the reason for this was that amongst many students there was a lack of perceived pedagogical rationale for task repetition. On this point and more specifically the study investigates does a more transparent pedagogical focus realized through a transcribing phase or a reporting phase prior to a repeat task performance result in improved subsequent task performances. Related to this, and the second question of this study, is does the more intensive transcription work result in improved task performances than the reporting work? The results of the study reveal no significant difference between transcribing or reporting on subsequent task performances; however, there was significant results for a task repetition effect on task performances. The classroom implications of these findings will be discussed.

The study of metaphor has enjoyed a great deal of interest in recent years. Far from being considered a mere rhetorical or poetic device, metaphor has now been shown to play a fundamental role in human language and cognition. However, despite its prominence and utility in discourse, learners of English have been shown to struggle with both the production and comprehension of metaphor. The concept of ‘metaphoric competence’ should thus be considered an important aspect of language teaching and learning, but its definition and measurement remain problematic. This thesis uses an investigation of metaphor use in the written examinations of French and Japanese learners of English to address four main areas. The first investigates the development of metaphor use across different levels of written language. The second seeks to exemplify the way in which metaphor use is related to other aspects of language in this context, particularly lexis and phraseology, while the third explores the functions learners use metaphor to perform. The fourth area draws together these insights to explore what ‘metaphoric competence’ might mean in the context of learners’ exam-based written language, and how it might be measured.

The study presented in this thesis focuses on teacher-student talk-in-interaction in three Italian classes for beginners taught by two teachers, one British and one Italian, in two British universities. The aims of the study are to: (1) investigate the views of language and of language teaching/learning that informed the teachers‟ practice; (2) identify the cultural worlds and images of Italian-ness constructed through the classroom talk; (3) examine the different identities the teachers assumed as they discussed language and culture. The research combines ethnographically-informed classroom observation, video-recording of classroom interaction with discourse analysis. It is guided by poststructuralist thinking and by Kramsch‟s (1993:9) vision of language teaching/learning as “social practice that is at the boundary of two or more cultures”. It reveals similarities in the composition of the classes. Both included international students and both teachers drew on the diverse funds of linguistic and cultural knowledge represented in their classes, creating „third places‟ for language teaching/learning. The research also reveals differences between the teachers – in their views of language, their representation of Italian „culture‟ and in the classroom identities they assumed. These differences are explained with reference to the teachers‟ linguistic and cultural backgrounds and their professional biographies.

Often when teaching oral communication, great emphasis is placed on the use of target English language only in the classroom. Reasons often given to defend this policy include the use of L1 in learning English causes unwanted language interference and extended “thinking-time” slowing down a conversation. However this may not be the best policy when producing L2 writing, particularly in the early planning stage where the use of L1 might in fact reduce cognitive loads on L2 writers especially if the topic of the writing is linked to a writer’s L1 and may be best recalled in L1. This PhD study explores the questions and reservations regarding the optimum methods of planning an English essay by Japanese writers of L2 English, both in the UK and in Japan, at intermediate and advanced proficiency levels, with particular focus on the variables of language of planning and topic choice The overarching aims of this PhD study are * To investigate whether planning in L1 about an L1 related topic or planning in L2 about an L2 related topic (language and topic match conditions) enhances L1 Japanese writers’ final essay texts in L2 English. * To investigate whether topic choice independent of planning language, or planning language independent of topic choice (language and topic mismatch conditions) have any impact on plans or resulting L2 English final essay texts. This investigation takes place in three common contexts in which L1 Japanese writers of L2 English operate. The design of the study and methods used to collect, analyse, discuss and compare data are done both quantitatively and qualitatively, that is empirically and also hermeneutically.

This thesis is for ‘literature from below’. I select three groups of poor people –petty criminals, prostitutes, and apprentices –and investigate their dramatic representation in three early modern plays –The Roaring Girl, The Honest Whore, and Sir Thomas More. To overcome their representational distortion, I carry out a tripartite dialogue between documentational evidence, dramatic allusion and poetic imagination. This thesis adopts its methodology from poststructuralist historicism, but my theoretical position on Renaissance studies diverges from it in several respects, which I elucidate in the introduction. The first chapter ascertains, by scrutinizing the hermaphroditic protagonist Moll, that her cross-dressing and protean identities represent the characteristics of early modern London. The second chapter argues that early modern capitalism combined with patriarchy plays a crucial role in giving rise to prostitution by examining the courtesan protagonist, Bellafront. The third chapter, which analyzes the 1517 Ill May Day apprentice riots in the context of the 1590s London crisis, traces there presentational history of the popular insurgency and retrieves ideological implication from the early modern censorial regime. In the conclusion, I estimate ‘use value’ of Renaissance drama in our time, and from the Marxist perspective, I appraise the aesthetic appeal of the three plays.