Implementing a Three-Stage Approach to Teach Writing Skills Using the Corpus of Contemporary American English in a Foundation Program Context

This study investigates the effectiveness of the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) as a teaching tool for enhancing writing skills in English as a Second Language (ESL) learners within a Foundation Program context. The primary research question is: How does COCA influence the writing abilities of ESL students? The aim is to explore COCA’s potential to facilitate a process-based approach to writing, addressing common challenges ESL educators face. This study is significant as it contributes to integrating technology into second language learning through the application of a comprehensive linguistic corpus; COCA features over one billion words and offers various search functionalities, such as List, Chart, Collocates, Compare, Word, and Keyword in Context (KWIC). The research uses qualitative analysis to evaluate COCA’s impact on learners’ writing processes and outcomes. Findings indicate that COCA significantly enhances students’ writing skills across three structured stages: the brainstorming stage for gathering information, the while-writing stage to minimize incorrect vocabulary usage, and the post-writing stage focusing on feedback and assessment. The results demonstrate that employing COCA within a student-centered framework promotes engagement and skill development in writing. The study concludes with recommendations for further research to validate COCA’s effectiveness in teaching other language skills, including grammar, reading, and vocabulary, thereby maximizing its utility in comprehensive English language learning and ensuring that it becomes a vital resource for ESL educators.