Development of a flipped corpus-aided spoken English training platform for Chinese learners of English

This project aims to construct a spontaneous spoken English corpus for English learners, develop a flipped, corpus-aided spoken English teaching and learning programme, enhance online curriculum innovation, and evaluate the effectiveness of flipped, corpus-aided spoken English instruction. 78 sets of spontaneous data, including IELTS spoken data produced by learners with different English proficiency levels ranging from band 5.0 to band 9.0 were collected, transcribed and annotated for four aspects. Common linguistic features produced by speakers from different proficiency levels were summarized. 13 sets of 5-minute classroom presentation data were collected and transcribed, in addition, lesson plans and teaching materials which focus on life education were designed. A 10-session online flipped, corpus-aided spoken English training programme was designed and implemented. Chinese learners of English were invited to participate in the flipped training session, and effectiveness of the training session was evaluated. Relevant learning materials (e.g., training materials, and potential IELTS speaking topics and questions) were uploaded to the learning platform for language learners to get access to. A series of sharing sessions for pre- and in-service teachers were conducted. Suggested corpus-aided tasks were provided, and frontline teachers could get access to the materials and implement them in their speaking teaching.