ICLE is a computerized corpus of argumentative essays on various topics written by advanced learners of English (university students of English mainly in their second or third year). The ICLE project was launched in 1990 by Professor Sylviane Granger, University of Louvain-la Neuve (UCLouvain), Belgium, and in 2002 the corpus was released in CD-ROM format (with a handbook attached). An expanded version, ICLEv2, featuring a built-in concordance, was published in 2009, and in 2020, a third version of the corpus was released, ICLEv3. This last, third version has its own web-based interface and comprises 5 million words of written English. The corpus comprises subcorpora representing as many as 26 different language backgrounds. Corpus users can search ICLE using 21 variables concerning the writers’ background as well as the task type. The existence of a corpus of advanced learner English enables a new, more concrete approach to the features of learner English. Apart from exploring comparisons between native and learner language, ICLE can be used for many other purposes, incl. the potential impact of the different first languages (i.e. language transfer). There is a list of publications based on data from learner corpora such as ICLE.
Creating Finnish subcorpus of ICLE
The FI-subcorpus consists of essays written by Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking Finns. The essays were collected from several different universities. The Finnish coordinators of the ICLE project were ÅAU-based Håkan Ringbom, Tuija Virtanen-Ulfhielm, and Signe-Anita Lindgrén (English Department). Many other people kindly offered their time and help. These collaborators included the University of Joensuu (Roy Goldblatt, Pekka Hirvonen, Cathy Rohlich and Greg Watson), Savonlinna School of Translation Studies (Anna Mauranen), the University of Jyväskylä (Riikka Alanen, Sirpa Leppänen, Anne Pitkänen-Huhta and Kari Sajavaara), the University of Helsinki (Andrew Chesterman and Mary Hatakka), the University of Turku (Bo Pettersson and Outi Pickering ), and the University of Oulu (Kauko Timlin).
New ICLE+30 and data collection for contemporary Finnish subcorpus
The project leaders at UCLouvain, Professor Sylviane Grainger and Professor Gaëtanelle Gilquin, have recently relaunched the project to collect data in the same fashion for the modern counterpart of ICLE, i.e. ICLE+30, a database created 30 years after the original corpus was compiled. The objective of the ICLE+30 project is to enable investigations of the evolution of learner English throughout the years. The English Department at Åbo Akademi is again coordinating the collection of texts for the new version of Finnish subcorpus of ICLE+30, with Izabela Czerniak and Brita Wårvik gathering the data from other partnering institutions: University of Eastern Finland (Paula Rautionaho), the University of Turku (Pekka Lintunen, Pauliina Peltonen), the University of Helsinki (Sanna-Kaisa Tanskanen), Tampere University (Mark Kaunisto, Paul Rickman), and the University of Oulu (Jenni Isokääntä). The expanding of the new, ICLE+30 continues.
Studies in the English department making use of ICLE data:
Ringbom, Håkan. 1998. ‘Vocabulary frequencies in advanced learner English: A cross-linguistic approach’. In: Sylviane Granger (ed.) Learner English on Computer. London: Longman: 41-52
Ringbom, Håkan. 1999. ‘High-frequency verbs in the ICLE corpus’. In Antoinette Renouf (ed.), Explorations in Corpus Linguistics. Amsterdam: Rodopi: 191-200.
Stormbom, Charlotte. 2018. ‘Epicene pronouns in intermediate to advanced EFL writing’. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 4(1): 1-22.
Virtanen, Tuija. 1996. ‘Exploiting the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE)’. In Terttu Harakka & Merja Koskela (eds.) Kieli ja tietokone: AFinLAn vuosikirja 1996. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän yliopistopaino: 157-166
Virtanen, Tuija. 1997. ‘The progressive in NNS and NS student compositions: Evidence from the International Corpus of Learner English’. In: Magnus Ljung (ed.) Corpus-based Studies in English. Amsterdam: Rodopi: 299-309
Virtanen, Tuija. 1998a. ‘Argumentative uses of the progressive in NS and NNS student compositions: notes on clause status and grounding’. In: Sylviane Granger & Joseph Hung (eds.) Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Hong Kong, China: The Chinese University of Hong Kong: 119-120.
Virtanen, Tuija. 1998b. ‘Direct questions in argumentative student writing’. In: Sylviane Granger (ed.) Learner English on Computer. London: Longman: 94-118.
Virtanen, Tuija. 1999. ‘Attribution of knowledge in argumentative student writing as evidence for educational ideology: a preliminary study’. In: Jef Verschueren (ed.) Language and ideology. Selected papers from the 6th International Pragmatics Conference. Antwerp: International Pragmatics Association (IPrA): 577-583.
Virtanen, Tuija. 2001. ‘The FSWICLE writer’. In Martin Gill, Anthony Johnson, Lena Koski, Roger Sell, & Brita Wårvik (eds.) Language, learning, literature. Studies presented to Håkan Ringbom. Turku: Åbo Akademi University: 121-129.
Virtanen, Tuija & Signe-Anita Lindgrén. 1998. ‘British or American English? Investigating what EFL students say and what they do’. In: Hans Lindquist, Staffan Klintborg, Magnus Levin & Maria Estling (eds.) The Major Varieties of English. Papers from MAVEN 97. Växjö: Växjö University: 273-281.
Unpublished Master’s theses based on ICLE data:
Lindgrén, Signe-Anita. 1997. Contracted Forms in the International Corpus of Learner English and in Grammars and Usage Manuals: A Descriptive Study. Supervisor: Håkan Ringbom.
Svenfelt, Maria. 1997. Hedging in NS and NNS Student Writing: A cross-cultural Study of Hedges in Argumentative Essays. Supervisor: Tuija Virtanen-Ulfhielm.
Berglund, Bettina. 2007. The Importance of Cross-linguistic Similarities: Mastering Prepositions in Finland-Swedish English Learners’ Free Production at Upper Secondary School. Supervisor: Brita Wårvik and Tuija Virtanen-Ulfhielm.
Molin, Linda. 2011. Shell nouns in ESL argumentative essays: a corpus-based study of the use of shell nouns by Finnish and Swedish-speaking learners of English. Supervisor: Mark Kaunisto.
Stormbom, Charlotte. 2014. “I have to like everybody and be of his opinion”: Epicene Pronouns in the International Corpus of Learner English. Supervisor: Signe-Anita Lindgrén. FINSSE Prize 2017 (Finnish Society for the Study of English).