Teaching noun-phrase composition in eap/esp context: A corpus-assisted approach to overcome a didactic gap

Abstract

Attributive noun phrases, namely noun + noun constructions (NNCs), is an essential typological characteristic of academic style. However, errors in their production and use are not uncommon even in the writing of advanced Russian users of academic English. As such errors slow down reading and, in some cases, lead to misinterpretations, they may be a hindrance to the publication of research results in international journals. Aiming at facilitating NNC instruction, the study focuses on linguistic and didactic aspects of this construction. It highlights NNC complexity and a lack of consensus among researchers as to their linguistic status and semantic nature. The research demonstrates that NNCs do not find proper interpretation in EAP/ESP teaching literature, which results in their misuse by non-native English contributors to international scientific journals. Based on some published practice and personal experience in teaching academic skills, the research lays down a corpus-assisted approach to teaching students to master the grammar and use of NNCs in their own discipline texts. The principal advantage of this approach is that it provides students with patterns of NNP expert use and aids EAP/ESP instructors to develop discipline-specific didactic materials based on reliable and up-to-date facts on generating NNCs.