THE MACEDONIAN COMPONENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CORPUS OF LEARNER ENGLISH

Abstract

This paper elaborates on the procedure of compilation of the Macedonian component of the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE) and highlights the possibilities for its prospective exploitation by researchers, teachers and students alike. This is the first Macedonian corpus of learner English on upper-intermediate to advanced level and it was compiled by members of the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology of Ss.Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. It is to be included in the third version of the ICLE corpus. The Macedonian subcorpus within ICLE consists of argumentative essays (a total of more than 200.000 words) written by Macedonian learners of English from the second, third and fourth year at the Faculty of Philology. Together with the other components of ICLE it will provide a valuable resource for comparing the essays of advanced Macedonian learners with those of EFL students with different mother tongues, as well as with those of native British and American students.