FutureLearn

Corpus Linguistics: Method, Analysis, Interpretation (FutureLearn)

Offered by Lancaster University,

Get a practical introduction to the methodology of corpus linguistics for researchers in the social sciences and humanities. Learn how to build and query corpora in this practical course
On this course, you’ll get a practical introduction to corpus linguistics, an extremely versatile methodology of language analysis using computers.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Over eight weeks, you’ll build the skills necessary to collect and analyse large digital collections of text (corpora).
You’ll be introduced to a number of topics demonstrating the use of corpora in areas as diverse as discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, and language learning and teaching.

What topics will you cover?

Introduction to corpus linguistics and basic techniques: concordancing
Further corpus techniques: collocation and keywords
Corpus-based discourse analysis
Building a corpus: tagging and processing data
Sociolinguistics: analysing BNC1994 and BNC2014
Textbook and dictionary construction
Language learning and corpus linguistics
Swearing extravaganza: looking at language and society

Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Interpret corpus data using techniques such as concordancing, collocation and keywords.
Describe the main methodological underpinnings behind corpus linguistics.
Apply corpus linguistic techniques to the analysis of different types of data.
Collect own corpora.
Design research studies using corpus methods.
Explain corpus methods as well as a range of applications of this versatile methodology.
Perform corpus analysis using a range of corpus tools such as #LancsBox, CQPweb, USAS and BNClab.

Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone with an interest in the study of language.

Go to Class

MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Coursera

University of Lausanne

Doping : Sports, Organizations and Sciences (Coursera)

Social Sciences Sports

The objective of this course is to encourage a critical understanding of doping. To achieve this goal, this course will rely on a multidisciplinary approach that allow you to see how different disciplines get into a single object, in different perspectives and in often complementary ways. This approach will also allow us to appreciate the complexity of a subject like doping. Doping in sports is a complex practice whose definition and identification is the result of socially and historically constructed norms. This course offers to shed light on the processes that led to the use and prohibition of doping substances.

Jun 8th 2026

4 Weeks

Health Sports Social Sciences

Coursera

University at Buffalo,The State University of New York

ADHD: Everyday Strategies for Elementary Students (Coursera)

Education Social Sciences

This course will provide an overview of ADHD diagnosis and treatment. Course participants can expect to learn about ADHD as a developmental disorder that begins early in childhood, and participants will also learn about evidence-based approaches for diagnosing ADHD. Following that, two evidence-based treatment approaches (the Daily Report Card and Parenting Strategies) will be introduced. (Note these course activities are informational and are not intended to replace working with a licensed/trained professional).

Jun 8th 2026

4 Weeks

Planning Education ADHD

FutureLearn

British Council

English in Early Childhood: Language Learning and Development (FutureLearn)

Education Languages & Literature

Discover how very young children learn English as an additional language and how you can help them progress. This course for parents and practitioners will explore how young children learn English and investigate many more aspects of early childhood learning and development.

Oct 25th 2021

5-12 Weeks

Language English Child Learning

FutureLearn

University of Groningen,University Medical Center Groningen - UMCG

Language Testing During Awake Brain Surgery (FutureLearn)

Health & Society Languages & Literature

Discover the importance and the process of language testing during awake brain surgery. Language representation in the brain can be studied by testing language during awake brain surgery. In this course, you will get to know the importance of neurolinguistics and awake brain surgery by seeing the collaboration between surgical staff and neurolinguists before, during and after the operation.

Sep 27th 2021

5-12 Weeks

Language Brain Surgery Language Testing

Coursera

Leiden University

International Law In Action: Investigating and Prosecuting International Crimes (Coursera)

Law Social Sciences

Investigating and Prosecuting International Crimes’ is the second course in Leiden University’s new series on International Law in Action. The first course covered international courts and tribunals in The Hague in general. This second course provides an insider perspective into the work of international criminal courts and tribunals. You will learn about the investigation and prosecution of international crimes in The Hague.

Jun 8th 2026

4 Weeks

Law Justice Social Sciences

Coursera

University of Amsterdam

Basic Statistics (Coursera)

Statistics & Data Analysis Data Science

Understanding statistics is essential to understand research in the social and behavioral sciences. In this course you will learn the basics of statistics; not just how to calculate them, but also how to evaluate them. This course will also prepare you for the next course in the specialization - the course Inferential Statistics. In the first part of the course we will discuss methods of descriptive statistics. You will learn what cases and variables are and how you can compute measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode) and dispersion (standard deviation and variance). Next, we discuss how to assess relationships between variables, and we introduce the concepts correlation and regression.

Jun 8th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Statistics Probability Regression

Coursera

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - HKUST

Social Science Approaches to the Study of Chinese Society Part 1 (Coursera)

Education Social Sciences

This course seeks to turn learners into informed consumers of social science research. It introduces concepts, standards, and principles of social science research to the interested non-expert. Learners who complete the course will be able to assess evidence and critically evaluate claims about important social phenomena. It reviews the origins and development of social science, describes the process of discovery in contemporary social science research, and explains how contemporary social science differs from apparently related fields. It describes the goals, basic paradigms, and methodologies of the major social science disciplines.

Jun 8th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Education China Social Sciences

FutureLearn

University of Birmingham

Introduction to Linguistics (FutureLearn)

Languages & Literature

Get an introduction to linguistics and discover how research is transforming our understanding of language. Find out how language works through linguistics. Language is fundamental to our everyday social interactions, our politics and culture, and our thoughts. We all have ideas about how language works, but what separates our own intuitions from linguistic knowledge?

No sessions Available

3 Weeks

Language Linguistics Sign Language

FutureLearn

The University of Nottingham

How to Read Your Boss (FutureLearn)

Management & Leadership Personal and Professional Development

How can we talk more effectively in the workplace? This course introduces linguistic techniques to enhance business communication. Think about the conversations you have had in your workplace over the past few months. Do you ever come out of meetings wishing you had said something differently, felt misunderstood or not been given credit for your ideas?

No sessions available

2 Weeks

Business Job Workplace

Coursera

Yale University

The Global Financial Crisis (Coursera)

Economics & Finance Social Sciences

Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner and Professor Andrew Metrick survey the causes, events, policy responses, and aftermath of the recent global financial crisis.

Jun 8th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Economics Crisis Social Sciences

FutureLearn

University of Huddersfield

Stylistics: Using Linguistics to Explore Texts and Meaning (FutureLearn)

Languages & Literature

Gain insights into political speeches, beautiful poetry, and everything in between as you take a deep dive into stylistics. Uncover the real meaning behind the words you read and hear with stylistics Stylistics is the study of linguistic style in texts. It helps to explain how politicians mislead; how novelists and poets move their readers; how advertisers persuade us to buy their products and how the media influence public opinion. Stylistics empowers students to become critical readers by developing rigorous techniques of linguistic analysis.

Sep 27th 2021

4 Weeks

Speech Linguistics Critical Reading

Coursera

Tel Aviv University

Economic Growth and Distributive Justice Part II - Maximize Social Wellbeing (Coursera)

Law Social Sciences

If you really care about the big questions in the economies and societies of the 21st century, such as distributive justice - namely, inequality of income or wealth, and its correlation with economic growth - this course is meant for you. The knowledge you will gain can truly change your outlook on our world.

Jun 8th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Law Justice Poverty