Methods of corpus linguistics in the japanese language teaching

This article explores the use of linguistic corpora in teaching the Japanese language. Given the active use of corpora in contemporary linguistic research, there is a compelling need to integrate them as a tool in foreign language education. The authors provide an overview of several existing linguistic corpora for the Japanese language and discuss potential methods for employing these corpora in lexical acquisition. The student research highlighted in this article examines terms of abuse in the Japanese language, with a focus on racist and sexist expressions. Key benefits of corpus-based learning, such as the authenticity of data, interdisciplinary approaches, and the enhancement of students’ independent study skills, are unveiled. Findings from students’ engagement with the corpora challenge the perceived offensiveness of the term SHINA, which some sources claim as derogatory, and offer new interpretations of the word YARO. The tasks suggested by the authors for conducting linguistic research using the corpus not only provide students with the opportunity to engage with the «living» language, enrich their vocabulary, and experience the role of a researcher but also aim to optimize and diversify the foreign language teaching process for educators.