Creating a COCA-Supported Corpus Material Through the ASSURE Model

This week we worked in groups of three to create a teaching material using the ASSURE model. Group work can be unpredictable, but ours turned out balanced and functional. Each of us contributed to different stages of the plan, and the final product came together more smoothly than we expected.

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For this assignment we worked in groups of three to design an AI enhanced, corpus based teaching material supported by an ASSURE lesson plan. Our target group was preparatory year students aged 14 to 15. Although they have studied English for years, most of their experience is limited to classroom hours, which makes practical usage difficult. Because of this, we chose the difference between since and for, a topic that looks simple on paper but often creates confusion when learners try to use it in real situations.

Where the ASSURE model meets COCA: the desk behind our material.

We created two main products for this task. The first was a visually organized and revised Canva worksheet that guided learners through the entire process . Through our Current Issues in Teaching instructor’s revision and insights we changed the form colours and basic mistakes that can confuse learners. The second was the full worksheet that students would work on during the lesson worksheet. Both materials were designed to push students beyond memorizing rules. They began with gap fill tasks, moved into COCA searches to find authentic collocations, and finished with an AI assisted accuracy check. This structure followed Ma et al’s four principles by testing prior knowledge, giving students hands on corpus work, helping them notice patterns, and requiring them to produce output.

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Of course real classrooms come with challenges. Technology access is never guaranteed. A weak connection or a missing device can slow everything down. Some students may feel overwhelmed when navigating a corpus for the first time, and AI tools always require monitoring to ensure the information they give is reliable.

Despite these limitations, this task showed how COCA and AI can make grammar instruction clearer, more meaningful, and far more engaging when organized through the ASSURE model.

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