The ICNALE Guide

I am delighted to see the work on the ICNALE corpus coming to fruition. In this volume the scale and importance of the corpus are made clear both by a careful description of its contents, but also by a good survey of the research context that ICNALE contributes to. The research possibilities opened up by ICNALE are shown in a host of fascinating studies of learner language. These cover topics as diverse as vocabulary, pragmatics and paralinguistic features. Ishikawa has produced a book which all researchers interested in learner language, especially in East Asian contexts, must read. Tony McEnery, Lancaster University This book by Shin Ishikawa is the culmination of years of work with one of the best learner corpus resources available - the ICNALE. This practical introduction to learner corpus studies of written and spoken L2 registers is a goldmine for teachers and researchers of L2 vocabulary, grammar and pragmatics, while also covering lesser-explored areas of gesture and assessment through Shin's wonderful ICNALE resource. As a regular user of the ICNALE, this guide is essential reading for both experts and newcomers to the field of LCR, and stands to make an amazing contribution to language teaching and learning. Peter Crosthwaite, University of Queensland This is the first comprehensive introduction to the ICNALE project directed by Shin Ishikawa. The ICNALE is arguably one of the most ambitious and well-designed corpus projects for its international scope, unique design criteria, and rich metadata. This book will provide an overview of the project as well as major findings from the corpus, which will serve as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in researching the use of the English language by Asian learners or users and how their usage or use will be affected by various learner and environmental factors. Yukio Tono, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies