Professor Shin Ishikawa from Kobe University gave a talk at Beijing University of Foreign Studies on 13 September to present findings from the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE) project. The ICNALE project, which started in 2007, aims to collect a diverse range of written and spoken English samples from Asian learners.

In his presentation, Professor Ishikawa explained how previous learner corpora have been limited by focusing too much on European learners and lacking metadata on learner proficiency levels. The ICNALE project has greatly expanded the diversity of learners by covering 10 Asian regions so far. Rigorous controls have also been implemented in data collection, and extensive background surveys provide rich metadata.

Key findings presented from studies of the ICNALE corpus include common features of Japanese learners' argumentative essays, such as frequent use of "I think" and "reasons". Spoken data reveals Asian learners speak faster than native speakers in interviews. Ongoing work includes rating learner samples to create proficiency benchmarks and aligning assessments to principles of English as a Lingua Franca.

Professor Ishikawa announced plans to expand the ICNALE project coverage to 22 Asian regions. The lecture highlighted how data-driven research on Asian learners can provide more relevant insights for English education across the region.

石川慎一郎教授介绍亚洲学习者英语语料库的最新研究

9月13日，日本神户大学的石川慎一郎教授应邀为我中心作了有关ICNALE项目的讲座，介绍了亚洲学习者英语国际语料库网络项目的研究成果。ICNALE项目始于2007年，旨在收集来自亚洲学习者的多样化书面和口语英语样本。

在他的报告中，石川教授解释了之前的学习者语料库过于关注欧洲学习者，以及缺乏关于学习者熟练水平的元数据的限制。ICNALE项目迄今已覆盖了10个亚洲地区，极大地扩展了学习者的多样性。数据收集过程中还实施了严格的控制，并提供了丰富的背景调查元数据。

ICNALE语料库的研究中呈现的关键发现包括日本学习者议论性文章的共同特征，如过度使用"I think"和"reasons"。口语数据显示，亚洲学习者在面试中说话速度比母语者更快。正在进行的工作包括评估学习者样本以创建熟练水平基准，并将评估与英语作为国际通用语的原则对齐。

石川教授宣布计划将ICNALE项目扩展到22个亚洲地区。该讲座突出了对亚洲学习者的数据驱动研究如何为该地区的英语教育提供更相关的见解。

ICNALE: The International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English

https://language.sakura.ne.jp/icnale/

Ishikawa, Shin'ichiro (2023).The ICNALE Guide: An Introduction to a Learner Corpus Study on Asian Learners' L2 English. London: Routledge.https://www.routledge.com/The-ICNALE-Guide-An-Introduction-to-a-Learner-Corpus-Study-on-Asian-Learners/Ishikawa/p/book/9781032180250

See also: http://corpus.bfsu.edu.cn/info/1082/1916.htm