ABSTRACT
Managing a successful DDL classroom has many known challenges: What corpus should be used, and how can it be accessed or created? What words and phrases should be the focus of search activities? How are learners expected to manage data overload and discover salient patterns within the huge number of results? How can instructors avoid focusing on the technical aspects of installing and using the technology above the language analysis itself? In this chapter, Peter Crosthwaite talks with Laurence Anthony about how he developed the freeware, multiplatform AntConc corpus analysis toolkit to address some of these issues and facilitate the smooth introduction of DDL into the language classroom. The discussion begins with a history of AntConc from its earlier days as a simple concordancer to the latest release that includes powerful corpus building and analysis tools. The discussion then moves to more practical questions about how AntConc can be used to support language teaching and learning, and the best practices for its effective use by both learners and instructors.
