Corpus software in EFL teaching: Examination of Language Exposure

Abstract

High-quality language education in technical universities requires its
interdisciplinary relation to the content of highly specialised subjects corresponding to the
training programmes aimed at instructing the future specialists. Educational materials in a
foreign language are highly productive if they emphasise the terminology and professional
vocabulary authentic to the current state of the scientific field. The aim of the study
presented in the article was to assess the validity of the lexical material delivered in the
course "English for Business Communicati-on", to determine the selection criteria for this
vocabulary as well as the methods for its assimilation and practical application.
Methodology and research methods. The applied corpus software enabled to obtain
quantitative indicators of the distribution of foreign-language business vocabulary in the
given training course. The lexical material being currently offered to students and the
professional thesaurus identified via linguistic databases was compared with the use of
comparative analysis and synthesis. The lexical units (terms, set expressions), which are the most active in the business sphere, were identified on the basis of its frequency. The
authors established the correlation between them and educational vocabulary, both from the
perspective of its integration into the course without block concentration throughout the
course of university training, and from the perspective of the variety of methods used to
practice this vocabulary. It is concluded that the applied educational material needs to be
substantially adjusted. The vocabulary does not completely reflect the realities of the
business communication sphere and the distribution of active vocational vocabulary
regulated by methodological guidelines does not entirely contribute to its strong
assimilation