Corpus Literacy Scale

Abstract

The Corpus Literacy Scale (CLS), developed by Ma et al. (2023), is a 16-item inventory designed to measure two primary constructs among teachers: their perceived level of Corpus Literacy (CL) and their behavioral intention to integrate linguistic corpora into classroom teaching practices. The scale is theoretically grounded in a five-component model derived from the work of Mukherjee (2006) and Callies (2016).

The instrument assesses CL across five specific subskills: Understanding, Search, Analysis, Advantages, and Limitations of using corpora. Validation involved surveying teachers and student teachers in Hong Kong after they completed corpus training. The structural integrity of the CLS was confirmed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), which supported a hierarchical factor structure. The study successfully established the scale’s reliability and validity, demonstrating that CL is a strong predictor of the intention to integrate corpora into teaching (ITICT).

Keywords

Corpus Literacy, Teacher Intention, Structural Validity, Intention to Integrate Corpora into Classroom Teaching, Understanding of Corpora, Corpora Search Skills, Analysis of Corpus Data, Advantages of Corpora, Limitations of Corpora.

Authors

Ma, Qing, Chiu, Ming Ming, Lin, Shanru, Mendoza, Norman B.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Corpus Literacy Scale (CLS) is to quantitatively assess two critical psychological variables in the educational domain: teachers’ self-reported level of corpus literacy and their subsequent intention to integrate corpus-based methods and resources into their pedagogical activities within the classroom setting.

By measuring these constructs, the scale provides researchers and educators with a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of corpus training programs and to identify barriers or facilitators influencing the adoption of data-driven learning approaches in language instruction.

Construct

The CLS measures the overarching construct of Corpus Literacy (CL) through a hierarchical factor structure comprised of five distinct, yet related, subcomponents. This framework conceptualizes CL as a multifaceted skill set essential for effective corpus utilization in teaching, ranging from foundational knowledge to practical application and critical evaluation.

The five measured components assessed by the 16 items are:

• Understanding (U): Knowledge concerning what corpora are and their applications.

• Search (S): Practical skills related to querying and navigating corpus interfaces and tools.

• Analysis (A): The ability to interpret and synthesize data retrieved from corpora for pedagogical use.

• Advantages (Ad): Recognition of the benefits and positive impact of using corpora in language education.

• Limitations (L): Awareness of the constraints, challenges, and potential pitfalls associated with corpus utilization.

Validity

The validation process confirmed both the structural integrity and the predictive validity of the CLS through advanced statistical modeling.

Structural Validity: The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) strongly supported the hypothesized hierarchical five-factor structure, indicating that the scale items reliably map onto the intended underlying dimensions of corpus literacy.

Test Validity (Predictive Power): The study employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the predictive relationship between Corpus Literacy (CL) and the Intention to Integrate Corpora into Classroom Teaching (ITICT). The SEM model demonstrated a good fit to the data, with indices reported as: χ²(19, N = 181) = 39.89, p < 0.05; CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.977; RMSEA = 0.078 (90% CI = 0.00–0.04); SRMR = 0.023. The effect of CL on ITICT was found to be positive and highly statistically significant (B = 0.41, p < 0.001). The latent variable CL alone accounted for 92% of the variance in ITICT, demonstrating the scale’s robust predictive power regarding behavioral intention.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the Corpus Literacy Scale was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha for each of the five subscales.

The resulting alpha coefficients ranged from 0.775 to 0.954 across the factors. These values demonstrate good to excellent internal consistency, confirming that the items within each subscale are highly correlated and reliably measure their respective underlying construct.

Factor Analysis

The psychometric properties of the CLS were rigorously assessed via Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The analysis tested various models and concluded that the hierarchical 5-factor structure provided the best overall fit to the collected data, supporting the theoretical foundation of the scale.

Key fit indices for the optimal model were reported as: CFI = 0.956, TLI = 0.943, and RMSEA = 0.086, with a 90% confidence interval of 0.072–0.100, and an SRMR of 0.03. These results confirm the structural validity and factorial integrity of the scale for use in measuring corpus literacy among educators.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Participants respond to all items on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”

Language Available: English, Chinese

Population Group: Human (Male; Female)

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older)

Population Details: The validation sample consisted of teachers and student teachers located in Hong Kong who participated in corpus training programs.

Test Methodology: Test Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Modeling.

Keywords

Corpus Literacy, Teacher Intention, Structural Validity, Intention to Integrate Corpora into Classroom Teaching, Educational Measures, Factorial Validity, Teacher Attitudes, Behavioral Intention, Language Education, Applied Linguistics.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Ma, Qing: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3125-3513
• Chiu, Ming Ming: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5721-1971
• Mendoza, Norman B.: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0344-0709

Affiliation Email addresses:

• Ma, Qing (Education University of Hong Kong, Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies): [email protected]
• Chiu, Ming Ming (Education University of Hong Kong, Department of Special Education and Counselling): [email protected]
• Lin, Shanru (Education University of Hong Kong, Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies): [email protected]
• Mendoza, Norman B. (Education University of Hong Kong, Department of Curriculum and Instruction): [email protected]

Correspondence Address:

• Ma, Qing: [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: No data is Available

Commercial: No

Fee: No

Test Year: 2023

References

Ma, Q., Chiu, M. M., Lin, S., & Mendoza, N. B. (2023). Teachers’ perceived corpus literacy and their intention to integrate corpora into classroom teaching: A survey study. ReCALL: Journal of Eurocall, 35(1), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344022000180

Items of the Corpus Literacy Scale

This measure includes 16 items, structured across five factors/subscales:

• Understanding (U)

• Search (S)

• Analysis (A)

• Advantages (Ad)

• Limitations (L)
  The specific test items are not available in the provided text.