Data-driven learning and young learners: Perceptions and attitudes of Japanese elementary school students toward EFL corpus-based activities.

There is an increasing amount of research into corpus-based study as a pedagogical approach in language learning. This is most commonly known as datadriven learning (DDL) and can refer to both computer-based and paper-based activities. Despite the growing interest, the vast majority of published research into DDL investigates university students and there is a serious lack of inquiry into children and adolescents. This paper seeks to add to the limited knowledge that currently exists on pre-adolescent learners. Present research into young learners primarily investigates corpus-supported or paper-based learning; therefore, the aim of this particular study is to compare the latter with direct corpus use in order to help improve our understanding of young learner attitudes toward both forms of DDL. A small-scale, mixed-methods study was designed to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of Japanese sixth-grade elementary school students toward EFL corpus-based activities. Five participants took part in a month-long course of four one-hour online sessions, with data collected via a pre-study survey, post-class questionnaires, and post-study interviews. Results show that students display a very favorable attitude toward DDL activities, with a clear preference for paper-based activities over computer-based activities. The findings also highlight the importance of 'scaffolding' in young learner education and the potential obstacles that must be overcome to ensure that DDL activities can be successfully implemented in the EFL young learner classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]